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Tuesday's Big Briefing:

The fridge flex economy. Status kitchens and fridges are, for a certain tax bracket, becoming the hot, new thing.

'"I don’t think I’ve had a client that’s wanted to reveal their fridge for a very long time," said Martyn Lawrence Bullard, an English interior designer. "In the last five years, everything we’ve done has had a hidden fridge."'
Case in point. | NYT
The Short Shrift.
Reading between the lines. 'The kitchens of the wealthy in the United States today are capable of providing a humbling experience to the uninitiated. Attempts to procure ice cubes can transform the most dignified guest into a hapless burglar rummaging through drawers for loose gems.'

👉Stay in the know: Read the report here...
Internal
Lean Luxe: Quarterly Partners
New opportunities for Q4 2021
**Heads up: We're now taking sponsors for Q4 2021 🙌🙌
Sponsorships are open across two tiers: Gold Tier (9 total placements per quarter) and Silver Tier (6 total placements per quarter). We're limiting this to just four partners per tier. Potential partners go to: Lean Luxe: Quarterly Partnerships to view all details.

Fun fact: The document is also something of a "state of the publication" report––so even if you're not a potential sponsor, you might enjoy the progress report so far. Sponsors are free to get in touch with me directly. –– Paul.


–– Email for sponsorship opportunities (please specify your tier!)
In Partnership with Endear
A Message from our Sponsor
Q3 | September 2021

Endear.
The all-in-one clienteling app for omnichannel brands.

September Series | Edition No. 1 / 1.
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Chances are you have a store team that builds customer relationships everyday, stays informed on the latest local trends, and acts as your brand's eyes and ears on the ground. And yet, they're left without a streamlined way to continue customer conversations outside the store or report feedback to HQ. That's where Endear comes in. Learn more about our all-in-one clienteling platform and see how much more sales your store team could be driving in store and online with Endear.

–– Try Endear's (free) sales calculator here 👉
Many thanks to Endear. Their support keeps Lean Luxe going.
The House View
Our opinions, analysis, criticism
On modern luxury news
The Culture Pulse: The commercial impact of signing CR7.
Ohtani for MVP and Cy Young? Inside Glenmorangie’s new distillery. RIP cloth masks. 100 best movies on HBO Max. Pitchfork reviews Erykah Badu's 'Baduizm'. Amazon may soon stream live performances. A (brilliant) political essay from The Economist. Kanye’s power finally feels finite. The office cheapens physical presence. 'Air Disasters' is a hit. What’s next for Rachel Nichols? What do when your basement floods. Apple backs down. The humble confidence of Seamus Heaney. And the commercial impact of signing CR7.
Brands are coming for your ears.
And you knew it had to happen too. This isn't a report on the rise of brands advertising on podcasts; rather, this one is far more interesting: the sounds that brands are coming up with to define their brand sound. In summary: "The latest front in branding’s battle for our attention is audio––as will be familiar to anyone who has measured out their lockdown with Netflix 'ta-dums.' By this stage of late-stage capitalism, even the smallest brands have a 'look and feel.' Now, faced with a saturated visual field and a consumer stampede to audio, companies are looking to complement their 'tone of voice' with a matching 'voice of tone.' In contrast to advertising’s traditional audio tactics of iconic singles and vexatious jingles, 'sonic branding' aspires to develop a strategic 'soundscape' of 'aural assets'…by sequencing each brand’s “audio DNA.'"


Times New Roman doesn’t have to be boring.
This one's for the font nerds out there. A fun essay by graphic designer Michael Xing explores the opportunities to be had with Times New Roman––if you're willing to get creative. Key thought here: "Now, I won’t go into the history of Times New Roman, but I’ll say that the typeface has existed a very, very long time since its use in newspapers. But times have changed, and designers still use Times New Roman in the current Graphic Design scene. What bugs me, however, is that they have only used them mostly as just standardized body text (like the labels in Kiehl’s) or in Brutalist design. People have also approached the typeface with a horizontally-squeezed look (which makes it look like a crude attempt of a condensed typeface)." We can do better than this, he argues.

Tech startups poach fashion talent.
Startups like Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and Snap are scooping fashion editors––offering attractive paychecks, and, in most cases, valuable equity––and the fashion world has taken notice. An interesting anecdote here that does well to sum up the scenario: "This, in part, is why Pinterest poached her. The platform, at first popular among sorority girls and brides-to-be, was copying YouTube and Instagram and trying to strengthen its relationships with creators and influencers from the worlds of fashion and design. Kanai’s job was to translate between the two species: She would help the fashion people and other content creators understand how to use the platform, and she would help the designers and engineers better understand the desires of the influencers. Kanai was, in some ways, following the latest trend among fashion editors."


––
👋 The Lean Luxe Staff
info@leanluxe.com
@leanluxe
Get Connected
Lean Luxe Connect.
Our (free) invite-only Slack channel
⏰ Countdown: New invites are dropping in September!
Lean Luxe isn't just a newsletter. Our central motivation? Connecting HENRYs like you around a shared interest in modern luxury, brands, and culture. Media is part of that. Building out a world for Lean Luxers to connect on their own terms around this interest matters even more.

We're dropping a new batch of Lean Luxe Connect invites in September. Applications are rolling, and you'll still be considered for future drops even if you miss this one. Your profession, seniority, or expertise in e-commerce (or DTC) aren't what we look at. A simple desire to engage socially with like-minded folks around these shared interests is what matters most.

👉Apply here to meet your fellow Lean Luxers (it's 100% free).

*Eligibility: 1) You must be a Lean Luxe subscriber for at least one month. 2) A minimum 60% newsletter open rate based on your profile (ask us for yours). For more insight on Lean Luxe Connect read this, as well as Hunter Walk's thoughts on our Slack strategy.
The Ticker
Fresh, hot links
Lighter fare
Maybe they’re born with it 
Maybe it’s Topo Chico. The Cut

At-home car repair is becoming a thing 
Nobody wants to sit around a repair shop waiting. Axios

The future of the gym is hybrid 
Just like the office. WSJ
 
No such thing as sustainable fashion 
That’s according to a new research report. Fast Company

A crash course in sherry
By way of San Sebastián. Punch

St. Agrestis’ has a new aperitivo called ‘Paradiso’ 
A bracing citrus profile and a spicy aroma. NYT
 

** News or tips for The Ticker?  
Send tips on news, quotes, coverage, mentions in the media to info@leanluxe.com.

Comments, questions, tips?
Send a letter to the editor –– Paul Munford
mpm@leanluxe.com / @leanluxe

Copyright © 2021 Lean Luxe Inc.


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