What’s In Issue #21
Eight Women On Regrets | Is It Time To Hire A Chief Metaverse Officer | The Power Of The #NoMakeUp Selfie | Three-Ingredient Noodles
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Editor’s Note
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Regrets, I’ve had a few, sang Frank Sinatra and, truth be told, we all have them. Some might be small – not speaking up in a meeting or saying something stupid to a friend – while others might be all but life-altering… say, getting married way too young (but that’s another story for another time). Regrets are supposed to be our enemy but what if we started using them for good?
In a new book, The Power of Regret, Daniel H Pink says we’re actually better off acknowledging our regrets than pretending we don’t have any, and that if we lean into those negative emotions, if we talk about them, we can use them in a positive way.
Looking back, I wish I hadn’t spent so many waking hours worrying about what others thought of me, particularly about my appearance. The anxiety was almost crippling at times. Okay, truthfully, I say ‘was’, but I mean ‘is’. It still affects me, but maybe admitting it here means I can face it now and not be so fearful of it in the future. You know, weirdly, I do feel a little less burdened…
So, what about you? Is there something you wish you had done differently? A regret you have that you can as use a lesson to live a better life? Send me your thoughts by hitting “reply” to this email.
In the meantime, enjoy the issue.
Susan
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SUITE SUCCESS
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L-R clockwise: Zadie Smith, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Jenni Konner, Anna Brockway and Iris Apfel.
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Eight Women On Regrets
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In her 1961 essay On Self-Respect, Joan Didion described an antidote for feelings of regret: learn, and move on from them. “People with self-respect have the courage of their mistakes,” she wrote. “Character – the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s own life – is the source from which self-respect springs.” Below are eight women on their own regrets, big and small.
Jenni Konner, Executive Producer of Girls
“There were times I felt so lucky just to be in the room that I forgot I had value. It’s easy, as the only woman in a room full of male comedy writers, to be so excited to be at the table that you forget how important your voice really is.”
Jessica Lange, Actress
“I regret those times when I’ve chosen the dark side. I’ve wasted enough time not being happy.”
Gloria Steinem, Feminist Organiser
“When people ask me if I regret not having children, I can feel the pressure to say ‘yes’. But I don’t and I never did. When I was much younger I assumed I had to have children. I assumed everyone had to have children. But someone said once that not everyone with vocal chords is an opera singer. And not everyone with a womb needs to be a mother. When the Pill came along we were able to give birth – to ourselves. Even today I still feel such gratitude towards the Pill, and I think there are millions who feel this.”
Zadie Smith, Author
“Letting my father go to voicemail the day he died. Not having children earlier. Not being able to live two completely different lives simultaneously.”
Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of Bumble
“I regret not pushing the envelope with some fun and creative marketing ideas I have had. In fear of them being too grandiose or risky, I have sometimes taken a safer route. I think breaking the rules (not the law) can be healthy and help you grow into something you might not have known was possible.”
Nora Ephron, Director
“Oh, how I regret not having worn a bikini for the entire year I was twenty-six. If anyone young is reading this, go, right this minute, put on a bikini, and don’t take it off until you’re thirty-four.”
Iris Apfel, Fashion Icon
“I suppose a few normal regrets, but I don’t like to harp on them or think about them. If I did something wrong or stupid, it’s gone, finished, and I hope I’ve learned from it.”
Anna Brockway, Co-Founder & President of Chairish
“I regret it every time I don’t follow my instincts. I’ve made this mistake in hiring, and it’s just a big disaster all around.”
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Nope, it’s not a scene from the remake of Peter Pan. It’s from the world’s first Metaverse Fashion Show.
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Is It Time To Hire A Chief Metaverse Officer?
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There are now 63 of them on LinkedIn, Walt Disney just appointed one, as did Prager Metis, New York, and Nike and Balenciaga are currently hiring for specific Metaverse-related roles, which now begs the question: does your company need a Chief Metaverse Officer?
But, before we get into that, let’s rewind just a bit. Metaverse is a term that was coined by sci-fi author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel, Snow Crash. It describes a virtual world where people represented by “avatars” – another term he introduced to the lexicon – can work, play, shop and live. His ideas have gone on to become hugely influential in Silicon Valley, where he’s revered as some sort of Nostradamus of the tech world.
So, while Web3 (as outlined in a recent issue of The Suite) is mainly about who will own and control tomorrow’s internet, the Metaverse centres on how users will experience it. Defined loosely, it’s an all-digital layer of reality that floats above, around, and throughout the features of the real world. In the words of Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, “The Metaverse is here, and it’s not only transforming how we see the world but how we participate in it – from the factory floor to the meeting room.”
It exists right now in a series of embryonic digital spaces, such as Facebook’s Horizon, Epic Games’ Fortnite, and Roblox’s digital space for gaming and game creation. There’s also the blockchain-based digital world Decentraland, where the world’s first Metaverse Fashion Week happened last month. Brands like Etro, Tommy Hilfiger and Dolce & Gabbana all showcased their digital wares.
Along with luxury fashion brands, big tech companies are also fighting for the best talent to build their Metaverse platforms. But while companies hire engineers to work on virtual reality, they’ll need someone in a leadership position to oversee it.
Enter the Chief Metaverse Officer. Part-marketing manager, part-future strategist, this is “someone who intrinsically understands the culture of the Web3 ecosystem, and can implement holistic strategies surrounding a brand’s presence, equity and community engagement in the Metaverse,” explains Sami Tauber, Founder, Artist and Chief Metaverse Officer at VNCCII.
“They also need to be an expert in strategic foresight, communication, blockchain, virtual avatars, virtual goods and collectibles, virtual real estate, cryptocurrency, youth culture (ie. Gen Z), cloud computing, 3D artistry, NFTs, as well as gaming engines,” says Tauber.
Some argue that in a decade, the CEO role will be no more, replaced with more specialised leadership roles like the Chief Data Officer, Chief Technology Officer or, indeed, the Chief Metaverse Officer. In fact, everyone will be an expert in this realm, as the word ‘Metaverse’ itself will take on a meaning akin to ‘digital’, with far-reaching implications across all business functions.
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SUITE STYLE
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Lizzo couldn’t be arsed wearing shapewear that cut off her circulation, so she created her own line. Our internal organs will be forever grateful.
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The Shape Of Things To Come
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Shapewear is big business. The success of game-changing brands like Spanx, Kim Kardashian’s Skims, and Savage x Fenty has seen the category transform into a multi-billion-dollar business, valued at US$1.9 billion in 2020 and projected to reach US$6.95 billion by 2030, according to data by Allied Market Research. And now there’s a new player in town…
Last week, Lizzo announced that she’s launching her own line of shapewear called Yitty, and it’s personal, not least because the brand name is rooted in her childhood (“Yitty” is what an aunt called her when she was young). The 33-year-old singer, rapper and songwriter spent the entirety of her life trying to change the way she looked, and the embarrassment and physical injuries she experienced while wearing shapewear left their mark. “It was a painful experience that led me towards hatred of my body,” she shared on a live stream with her fans last week. “[They were] a tool used to make me feel shitty about myself; I couldn’t breathe, I would be sweating profusely, and [eventually] I just said fuck it.”
The three-time Grammy Award-winning artist has now partnered with activewear giant, Fabletics, to create pieces that are as vibrant and unique as their creator, and can be worn “underwear, outwear, anywhere”. Lizzo is also focused on the versatility and comfort factor of the new range and how it connects with her broader mission. “Other than music, never have I ever been able to create something tangible that people can take home and use to make themselves feel more confident,” she says. “The confidence is from within. You put this on, and you tell yourself that you look good because I promise you, you’re going to feel good.”
Yitty goes on sale 12th April.
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SUITE BEAUTY
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PSA: The following content might make you feel better about yourself.
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The Power Of The #NoMakeUp Selfie
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We used to blame magazines for unattainable beauty standards and for making us feel less than, but at least we could put the thing away and wait another 30 days before a glossy new issue arrived. Now we blame each other, thanks to Instagram and, what’s worse, it’s literally in our faces all the time. While the detrimental impact that social media is having on teenagers is well-known, it doesn’t mean the older we get, the less adverse we are to its damaging effects. Social media can, quite simply, make us feel just as bad as teenage girls do, especially when our face doesn’t match how we feel inside.
Here’s a simple solution. Switch up your feed and start following the likes of Paulina Porizkova, who’s more than happy to post frequent #nomakeup selfies. “I post them because I would love to see my peers do the same. I have a craving to see real faces of my age, so I don’t feel so alone in aging,” the 56-year-old model said recently. Her peers are obliging and she’s no longer feeling so alone. Drew Barrymore, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Aniston, Tyra Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Lopez, Halle Berry, Tracee Ellis Ross and Helen Mirren are all sharing images of themselves au naturel – big pores, tiny veins ‘n’ all.
It’s refreshing, raw and a reminder of what real skin looks like – the opposite of the plethora of filters available on Instagram. Late last year, the platform announced that it would ban those filters designed to mimic plastic surgery. A billion people have used them in the past year, according to Facebook’s augmented reality platform, Spark AR. While this might lead to less unrealistic images being shared, the onus will always be on the user. If you find yourself thinking about a little nip and tuck after every scrolling session, it might be time to unfollow, block, and give yourself a break. And if you’re looking for a boost to your self-esteem, it’s probably best you look elsewhere.
Would you dare to go bare and post a #nomakeup selfie? Hit reply and let us know. Maybe even send us the pic. I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours...
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HOME, SUITE HOME
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Well, that’s tonight’s dinner sorted.
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Hand-Cut Noodles With Three Ingredients
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Take two cups of flour, 130ml of water and one teaspoon of salt, and what do you get? All you need to make your own hand-cut noodles this evening.
The recipe comes courtesy of Tiffycooks, and she even provides a 34-second video if you’re too tired to read. We like her style.
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SUITE NEWS
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Condé Nast is now unionised. More than 500 employees from 11 publications, including Vogue and Vanity Fair, requested that the media company recognise their union organised with the NewsGuild of New York. “The era of ‘a million girls would kill for that job’ is quickly coming to a close,” said Bon Appétit senior food editor Christina Chaey, referencing the Vogue-inspired movie The Devil Wears Prada. “And all for the better.”
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s long-awaited Spotify podcast is finally set to launch. The series, Archetypes, will feature “uncensored conversations” with guests, including experts and historians, on stereotypes that have historically affected women. The Sussexes signed their deal with Spotify in 2020, and the podcast is said to debut this summer.
Victoria’s Secret announced an US$18 million investment in LA-based brand Frankies Bikinis, founded by Francesca Aiello – the latest comeback strategy for the retailer. Victoria’s Secret will take a minority stake in the swimwear brand, re-introduce swimwear into its product mix, and aims to reach a younger customer demographic. Most of Frankies Bikinis’ customer base is under 30.
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SHORT & SUITE
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In Case You Missed It...
*The feminist history of the corset and what Bridgerton gets wrong. Fast Company
* Sounds of the forest is an online library that will lull you to sleep. Timberland Festival
* Succession, but it’s Arrested Development. YouTube
* How an Ivy League school turned against a student. The New Yorker
* The most unforgettable descriptions of food in literature. The Atlantic
* Here’s a baby sloth learning how to climb. A BABY SLOTH. YouTube
“What other people think of me is none of my business.”
Long before Lean In et al, there was Bette Davis, the protofeminist born on this day in 1908.
Listen to this clip from a 1963 interview, Bette Davis on the Sexes, where she openly discusses the gender equalities of the era.
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