We’re almost there. As we creep towards the final stretch before Christmas, email responses get slower, costs get higher and commitments get closer. But fear not – it’s not all festive doom and gloom. We’ve rounded up some of the top industry news of the week to keep you soldiering on during the last week before the big day. Keeping reading for our Monday Briefing of all things teasers, tours and Twitter breakdowns this week.
SAM WISE MANAGES CHAOS WITH NEW SINGLE ‘THANKFUL’
In the true spirit of Christmas, Sam Wise took to the streets of Lambeth, South London, to ask people what they were grateful for. Following a career-defining few years including a collab with Billionaire Boys Club and co-signs from Frank Ocean and the late Virgil Abloh on his rap collective group ‘House of Pharaohs’, the enigmatic artist is back with his latest video for good-vibes single ‘Thankful’. Fans underneath the video were certainly feeling grateful for Wise’s latest track, with one commenting “This guy always brings positive vibrations. Your music is healing bro”.
SPACED OUT: MAI-ANNA DROPS ‘JUPITER’
Mai-Anna reaches intergalactic levels with her new single ‘Jupiter’. The New-York born, Japanese-Puerto Rican R&B singer is no stranger to reaching universal milestones – at 22, the artist has already catapulted her career into the London music scene, supporting Odeal at his headline show at Jazz Cafe earlier this month. Teasing the topics of rejection and heartbreak, Mai-Anna’s latest single is an ode to upholding your self-worth and exploring sexuality.
MUCH ADIEU ABOUT THE NOTHING PHONE
Just weeks after OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei teased US talks surrounding the release, it has now been announced that The Nothing Phone (1) is ‘preparing for US launch’. The sleek new release features long standing Android features with a freshly updated user interface. The Nothing Phone also boasts 50% faster loading times and bug-solving, self-repair software. Stay tuned for feedback…
AUBREY TEASES 2023 TOUR
It’s been almost five years since Drake hit the road, with the music mogul hinting at a 2023 tour whilst catching up with Twitch streamer Roshtein recently. Whilst the chart-topping musician is likely still focusing on rescheduled Apollo Theatre dates, Aubrey definitely has shows on the brain, revealing to Roshtein that, the thing he was most looking forward to next year? “(A) Tour. I can’t wait.” Here’s hoping.
DUKESARCHIVE HITS NEW HIGHS
It’s pretty clear that the Chrome Hearts hype isn’t dying down anytime soon, with a pair of the brand’s reworked Levi’s 550 jeans selling for a mind-bending $6,500 (£5,342) via cult fashion archive DUKESARCHIVE. Adorned with lambskin Chrome Hearts patches and branded button details, the sale of the highly coveted piece follows Chrome Hearts’ meteoric rise to success following various influential figures such as Drake, Kylie Jenner and Lil Baby spotted wearing their pieces. DUKESARCHIVE founder Duke Schöning revealed to CULTED that some variations of the staple jeans have even been known to sell for up to $15k on resale. $6.5k is starting to sound like a bargain…
ELON’S TWITTER SAYS: “TIME TO PAY UP”
In another shocking, though unsurprising move from Elon Musk, Twitter has now announced that it will no longer be allowing “free promotion of certain social media platforms”. This includes the sharing of links which lead to Instagram, Facebook and various other competitors, in a bid to keep users on their platform (and only on their platform, it seems). Whether this move will drive users away or keep them in their gilded cage, only time will tell.
MSCHF REACHES LOOPY NEW LEVELS
Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF are back with another wonderfully weird creation, this time in the form of none other than a… giant fruit loop? Accurately named ‘The Big Fruit Loop’, the creation is exactly that: clocking in at 930 calories, the delectable drop follows MSCHF’s slew of ironic, viral releases which aim to satirise “the absurdity of our cultural, political, and monetary systems.” The truth is sweet, indeed.
PUFF YOUR OWN PUFFER WITH TNF
The North Face’s latest release has just dropped – and it’s giving sleeping bag chic. The release – a puffer vest with classic TNF branding – may look normal to the naked eye, but looks, in this case, are deceiving. Featuring an air-dependent layer, the vest’s ‘puff’ is fully adjustable and is accompanied by its own little TNF hand-pump (kind of adorable).
YEP, RIHANNA & A$AP’S LATEST COLLAB IS CUTE AF
Everyone calm down – Rihanna just made her TikTok debut with a surprise clip of her and A$AP Rocky’s adorable new son. In a post that sent stans everywhere spiralling, its safe to say that this was the Christmas treat we all needed. With the name still unconfirmed, we’ll dub the handsome chap the ‘Rihanna x A$AP collab’ for now.
FRANK OCEAN TIDES US OVER WITH ‘BLONDED RADIO’ MERCH
Taking a break from fresh releases for his ‘Homer’ jewellery line, everyone’s favourite industry tease Frank Ocean has treated us all to a range of merch celebrating his ‘blonded radio’ show. Featuring t shirts, posters plus a one-of-a-kind vinyl of his 2016 LP ‘blonde’, the collection has pretty much almost sold out – so if you’re hoping to secure a gift from the release, you’d better hurry. Merry Christmas, Frank.
More on CULTED
See also: FASHION SCHOOL: YOUR CHEAT SHEET ON ARCHIVAL REINVENT
See also: DON’T THANK SANTA, THANK US: THE PERFECT XMAS GIFT GUIDE FOR HER, YOU OR ANYONE
