WELCOME TO THE·BY·PRODUCT. A WEEKLY RECAP OF WHAT IS GOING DOWN & WHAT IS COMING UP ON THE INTERNET. WE ALL KNOW THERE ARE FALSE NEGATIVES, BUT SHOULD THAT NOT GIVE ROOM FOR FALSE POSITIVES?
WAKING UP UNDER THE WEATHER FOR THE SECOND DAY IN A ROW I DECIDED TO SELF TEST FOR COVID-19, I KNOW IT IS SO NOT FASHIONABLE TO GET IT ANYMORE BUT, I TESTED TWICE AND GOT TWO VERY DIFFERENT RESULTS. EITHER WAY I FEEL LIKE CRAP.
WHICHEVER DIAGNOSIS I CHOSE TO BELIEVE, THAT WILL NOT STOP MY MEDIA DIET, AND THAT WILL NOT STOP THE PUBLISHING OF THIS NEWSLETTER. EVEN IF IT HIT YOUR INBOXES LATER THAN USUAL.
ANYHOW THIS WEEK WEAVES IT’S WAY THOUGH A SERIES OF LINKS THAT TOUCH ON THE AUTOMATION OF CREATIVE, WHY WE ARE STIL WEARING SAMBAS, AND THE UGLY UNDERBELLY OF BEAUTY. ENJOY, AND PLEASE DO SHARE. IT MEANS A LOT. THX.
THIS WEEK’S HOT TAKE
Sleepwalking into oblivion.
FASHION OR NOT
“Many cultural disciplines are easy to fake,” Rabkin continued. “Fashion is easy to fake because you just hire a team of designers and you come out at the end of the show, take the bow, take the credit.”
Give a listen to this bonus post from one of my faves on #Substack. Amy O’Dell’s Back Row. / Via Back Row
FORGET THE METAVERSE
Kyle Chayka recently finished his manuscript for his upcoming book, Filterworld. It contains six chapters, with an introduction and conclusion, exploring how I think algorithmic feeds and recommendations — TikTok, Netflix, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify — have flattened culture. / Via Kyle Chayka Industries
UGLY BEAUTY
Katy Kelleher has spent much of her life chasing beauty. As a child, she uprooted handfuls of purple, fragrant little flowers from the earth, plucked iridescent seashells from the beach, and dug for turquoise stones in her backyard. As a teenager she applied glittery shimmer to her eyelids after religiously dabbing on her signature scent of orange blossoms and jasmine. And as an adult, she coveted gleaming marble countertops and delicate porcelain to beautify her home.
This obsession with beauty led her to become a home, garden, and design writer, where she studied how beautiful things are mined, grown, made, and enhanced. In researching these objects, Kelleher concluded that most of us are blind to the true cost of our desires. Because whenever you find something unbearably beautiful, look closer, and you’ll inevitably find a shadow of decay lurking underneath. / Via Simon & Schuster
AUTONOMOUS CREATIVITY
There have been a few posts about automating the creative process alongside humans this past week. The ability for AI to improvise across tools, capabilities and resources unlocks a range of new use cases. For example, imagine a brand that personalizes all aspects of their marketing to make it more relevant and engaging for consumers. Paul Aaron’s post on behalf of Addition and Aaron Shapiro’s on behalf of PRODUCT / Via Medium & The Drum
HERON IN NYC
If you can believe it, it was Preston’s first time on the NYFW calendar, despite having been a presence in the city’s menswear scene for the better part of a decade. He hasn’t shown a collection in NYC since 2016, when he unveiled an unexpected and brilliant collaboration with the city’s Department of Sanitation that minted the Virgil Abloh consigliere and Been Trill alum as a bona fide rising star of American fashion. / Via GQ
ARTIFICAL ARCHITECTURE
In an opinion piece published on Dezeen today, Leach warned that architecture jobs are already being put at risk.
Leach asked ChatGPT for an "attention grabbing" answer to how AI could negatively impact the architecture profession in the future.
"In the near future, architects may become a thing of the past," the bot responded. "AI is quickly advancing to a point where it can generate the design of a building completely autonomously." / Via Dezeen
ARTIFICAL ARCHITECTURE
How female-identifying musicians and subjects have taken ownership of the color blue on album covers. You should also subscribe to this amazing newsletter. / Via The Art of Cover Art
TIME TO SAMBA
The Samba's popularity is no secret. Released over 74 years ago, it's second only to the Stan Smith is the list of adidas' best-selling sneakers of all-time. But, in an industry congested with more sneakers and innovation than you can shake a Crep Protect Spray can at, how exactly is the humble adidas Samba surviving? / Via Highsnobiety
META WHAT?
Remember when we were all going to ditch our humdrum lives, tedious physical needs and uninspiring friends and family, so that we could live a life of virtual bliss in the metaverse? When we could give up the endless pursuit of self-improvement and just exist as perfect avatars instead? Whatever happened to that? I am not sure you can blame Midjourney and ChatGPT. / Via FT