You are cordially invited to this weekās brew of High Tea, your dispatch of š„internet culture served piping hot. This week: real recognize real in the virtual world, Barbie goes fourth-wave (and teaches us a thing or two), and pigs fly...on TikTok.
Drink up šøāļø
what weāve been sipping on:
High Tea said: no fake friends. Well, maybe a virtual pal or two since we been staying lonely in lockdown and our islands on Animal Crossing just aināt been hitting the same lately š. Meet virtual beings: aka the mandem, the future of entertainment and a calm multi-million dollar industry. Since bursting onto the scene weāve befriended virtual influencers (cc: Bermuda-is-bae), idolized VTubers (Hatsune Mikuās own VR theme park is underway), and even relied on chatbots (Replika - hi how are ya?) for mental health help and support. Itās safe to say that in 2020 that weāre ready to risk it all for our virtual virtuosos.
barbieās glo up š š»
ICYMI: Barbie is a vlogger now, and sheās woke af. After launching the Barbie vlogs back in 2015 due to dwindling sales, makers Mattel managed to revive the dollās gen z relevance with motion-capture, a refreshed narrative and a new YouTube channel. Forget the focus on the doll face and the cookie cutter outfit, now Barbie and pals chat to their 9.1M (and counting) subscribers on topics such as bullying, finding your voice, depression, anxiety and even, wait for it, meditation. Is Barbie a misunderstood feminist icon? We think so. Especially if her latest wellness vlog, titled āMaking Sense of a New Routineā, is anything to go by. With Barbie also feeling the woes of being bored in the house (same, tbh) she offers her young audience a lifeline with a long list of things to do to keep happiness up and boredom down.
Also did we mention just how ārealā these vlogs are? Peep Barbieās curiosity and self-awareness, mixed with the meticulously detailed facial expressions and movements. Mattel has been able to humanize and ameliorate Barbieās ātiredā image to a vibrant and determined Z who is unapologetic and doesnāt pretend to have all of the answers (cc: š Emma Chamberlain). We crown Barbie with the best virtual glow up of 2020.
sheās (right) back
Okay, we couldnāt talk about virtual beings without a nod to the OG and our fave āchange-seeking robot with the dripā, Lil Miquela. This bitch has been going OFF in quarantine ā partnering with Yuna, Justine Skye and BĆ¼low to raise money for musicians and music-industry workers impacted by the pandemic, as well as BLM grassroots organizations. Sis is securing the bag for causes to get behind, aka a staple for Zs who come correct with front row seats to your cancellation if yāall arenāt about dismantling systemic racism these days.
After partnering with CAA (the šof the Hollywood establishment) last month, who knows whatās next for Lil Miq and her team. What we can say for sure: blink and youāll miss it, bc this is about to blow up.
this could get gruesome
If Ashnikko isnāt on your radar yet, wyd?! Weāve been stanning this bb alien since she dropped Thrust back in 2k17. The rest of yāall caught up last year šøāwhen she hit the mainstream with breakout banger STUPID ft. Yung Baby Tate, going viral on TikTok (ofc). tl;dr you canāt put āstupid boy think that I need himā in your bop and not expect it to explode with the Zs.
Itās clear from Ashnikkoās latest release, Cry ft. Grimes, that we aināt seen nothing yet. Anime inspired CGI, featuring the mutating and metamorphosing duo, catapults us to a parallel universe and allows for visual storytelling that plays with our sense of reality ā blending genres in one fell swoop. Cerberus, Greek mythologyās three-headed dog that guarded the Underworld, gets one hell of a 2020 rewrite ā taking the form of Ashnikko as her demon alter ego. Grimes, ofc, does not disappoint. We stan our alien queen.
Next stop: weāve got our headsets on and weāre roaming around alternate landscapes, exploring new realities and escaping the constraints of keeping our feet firmly planted on boring old planet earth. Now that would truly be out of this world.
trollz + rats + sharks. oh my!
Look, allow us for a hot sec, weāre talking about our šøāproblematic fave once again. You know what they say: ask for forgiveness, not permission. Itās no secret that 6ix9ine has a knack for social (Tory Lanez is still shaking), but itās his aptitude for animation that has us turning (shark) heads this week.
We can map 6ix9ineās affinity with Zs across (you guessed it) TikTok, which gives us a lens into how his fans are using AR animojis to insert themselves into the heart of Tekashiās narrative. ICYMI: when you only have 15 seconds to tell a story, you gotta cut right to the chase. Itās no surprise, then, that many fans (or otherwise š) are capitalizing on the opportunity to ride the coattails of his clout (or a sly drag) by exploring additional layers of their visual identity. Say it louder for people at the back: the meme is the message.
And the buck doesnāt stop there. Snap has been weighing in on this meme-amorphosis for a minute already. Their artist lenses continue to elevate this element of role play for fans and haters alike, doubling down on intuitive ways to insert the consumer into a quasi-first person podium position. Snap said: youāre back and they mad? Sure. To *chefs kiss* this journey from front row to front and center, Snapās partnership with SoundCloud (hi Snap Summit š») will no doubt continue to foster this exploratory environment and make headway for š„spatial audio/visual collabs.
Snap lenses for 6ix9ine, Ashnikko & Travis Scott
p.s. TikTok is also doing bits in the AR space, without simping for third-party uploads (like Appleās animoji), using their effect assistant and its brush tools. Yep, thereās a shark brush (for all the 6ix9ine stans), but the lil pig š½ has to be our uncontested fave. And, well, we think it speaks for itself.
balmain en vogue
Itās no secret that the fashion industry is hurting from COVID-19. Between clothing sales plummeting since March, bc, letās face it, no-one wants to cough up for full drip just to...serve...at home, and Gucci abandoning seasonal collections (fashion week? We donāt know her) ā itās clear fashion is in need of rescuing. Weāre already starting to see glimpses of a revolution, with moves to embrace virtual models: oh haiii bionic Bella š¤. Not a totally new concept, we must pay respects to those first-movers, a la Balmainās āvirtual armyā in 2018, a creative decision which left many in the fashion world open-mouthed:
We can say the world wasnāt ready back then, Olivier, but we are now. Tl;dr models are out-of-work and fashion houses are out-of-luck if they want to showcase their collections as-standard this season. Virtual influencer and activist NooNoouri was already killing the campaign game pre-COVID, signing with IMG and partnering with Dior, Hugo Boss and Versace on their latest digital spreads ā however now traditional IRL showroom modelling is getting a face-lift. How do we know? Olivier Rousteing himself, Balmainās Creative Director, announced the launch of Balmain first virtual showroom this week; a digital third space full of avatar muses, and stars himself as the host (with the most). We canāt lie, his avatar is pretty uncannyā¦
A bid to win affections for Balmainās upcoming cruise collections at its flagship Parisian address, we think this is a huge red-soled-step in the right direction for fashion houses to embrace new ways of digitizing their art and adding expansive experiences around retail. Imagine if we can start dressing our own avatars on Insta or TikTok with Balmainās virtual collection a la Animal Crossing. With Snap announcing its partnership with Louis Vuitton at this yearās Summit, via an AR logo trigger, weāre excited to see how big name designers will continue to push away from their bricks and mortar boundaries to engage new audiences. Hey social commerce, come get your bag š°! This is something weād definitely pay forā¦a message to fashion houses: DONāT BE SHY PUT SOME MORE!
As digital communities, the Very Onlineā¢ and Twitter stans thrive during lockdown, we see these virtual beings taking on new roles, and adapting to meet the needs of their loyal fanbases. Forget conversations of āare you real tho????ā, itās no longer important. Rather, weāre seeing virtual beings - and virtual platforms that facilitate these experiences - stepping up to reach a whole new level of permeation (soon to be domination š) in mainstream landscapes, and coming to a third place near you. In a world where influencers content is confined to their four walls of lockdown, weāre relying on virtual beings to keep us entertained, engaged (and even afloat š) before we totally lose our minds.
kettleās on: ones to watch
New tweets, who dis? Wait, did you hear that? Twitter has launched audio (to a select few), marking one of the most monumental updates in the history of the co (lol). From Taylor Lorenzās ASMR debut to Cardi giving us *that* laugh, weāre gearing up for new ways to interact and stan our faves. Ahem, Twitter if youāre reading this, the British tea is sorely missed ā weāre here if you need šøāļø
Donāt throw Belle Delphine out with the bathwater. Okay, weāre shook. This week Belle Delphine returned from her mysterious internet hiatus (paddling pool accident, donāt ask), to drop her GOOBA remake (9.7M views in 4 days). But wait, thatās not all...when is it ever with Belle Delphine? For all you avid BD fans (*taps mic* anyone out there?), you can now show her some love (and some $$$) on Only Fans...where else?! Between Caroline Calloway and her literary themed šø (weāll never look at Miss Honey in the same way) and Tana Uncensored, we simply cannot keep up. If one thingās for sure, itās that these ladies are not about to fumble that Only Fans bag. Go get em, gals. šš
The Legend Himself. Weāve spilled some tea on Wave before, but we gotta put respect on the name since they sealed the deal on their latest round of $30M funding for virtual concerts. Next week R&B artist John Legend, arguably Waveās biggest star yet (allow it, Dolly), will be performing his new single Bigger Love as his own avatar on the virtual stage. Fans with 6DOF VR will be able to tune in and experience the full immersion of being in the crowd in real time, while others can tune in on FB and YouTube. Weāre excited to see how John sets his scene, in a world where creatively *nothing* is impossible. We šcanāt š wait.
Okay, you made it, just in time for our final virtual bee-ing š of the week.
ttyl,
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