you're not high status if you're a striver
things right now 62—week of 3.2.26
Baby Batemans or “Meet the Finest Boys in Finance”
Vape Shop Chic or Gucci FW26
Taste or ‘the new core skill’
Ugly Americans of Pew’s new survey on public morality
Two things caught my eye this fashion month: Demna's runway debut at Gucci and Interview Magazine's editorial "Meet the Finest Boys in Finance". Both are statements about status in 2026 and the degree to which nobody knows what is high-status anymore.
Luxury goods used to be a reliable indicator. But as Demna well knows, a Gucci cross-body bag is more likely to be worn by a drug dealer than an Ivy League alum. And even if an Ivy League student bought one, are we sure that student is even literate? Princeton isn't. The university may introduce proctors to its examinations for the first time since its honor code was introduced 133 years ago. But as the viral success of the cheating startup Cluely proves, honor codes don’t work in our newly low-trust culture. We are living through the 'looting the treasury' phase of the American empire, and there is no honor among thieves.
That bag is a dupe and so is that degree.
This was the issue Demna had to solve: how to reinvigorate a brand whose truest expression is the knock-off? Whose essence is distilled in the musty basements beneath Canal Street? The semiotic code of Gucci is tackiness. It's status anxiety. The Gucci consumer believes the monogram, the racing stripes, and, more than anything, the logo hold magical properties that will transform the wearer, that will make them wealthier, more beautiful, more respected. And if you believe these symbols hold these fantastical powers, why shouldn’t they transform the lowly knock-off too?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to 8Ball to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.