Small Bites: Poppi's Hotline, Vacation x Erewhon + Schiaparelli saves Couture?
Welcome to Small Bites, a weekly roundup of collabs, media, and campaigns that arrested my development this week.
First, I wanted to pick up on my last post about attention, specifically around the Paris haute couture shows. I talked about how many things in life these days, including big fashion shows, don’t stick around long enough in our heads to have any real impact as they’re competing with SO MUCH CONTENT. Fashion shows happen; we see them in our feeds for a day or two, and then they go off to the fashion archives to die a slow death.
But, one fashion brand has captivated my attention over the last week for continuing to tell the story of its latest couture collection through its amazing designer: Daniel Roseberry of Schiaparelli. Instead of a one-and-done approach, Schiaparelli is going deeper into the story of its latest collection by sharing behind-the-scenes content, including the designer sketching the looks, along with a 3-part content series on Instagram, hosted by Roseberry. The series is just delightful, as it’s hosted by the charming and relatable Roseberry, who gives an inside look into his creative process and inspirations behind his jaw-dropping creations. I say “relatable” because Roseberry shares personal stories and drops a few f-bombs in there for good measure.
This is such a blatantly obvious approach to keeping the conversation about the collection going, but not many (or any) big fashion brands are doing it post-show. Spotlighting the designer gives viewers a way in to the world of haute couture, which, yes, let’s face it, none of us can afford, but many of us can appreciate the artistry. And what about the response?
Just have a read of the comments, where people are asking for this content for every couture show. One commenter even goes so far as to ask for a full IMAX movie of the making of the collection. This comment on the first episode got me in the feels: “It’s brutally beautiful to see the designer himself speaking about his creations and the process behind it.”
So kudos to the Schiaparelli social and content team because you might have just saved couture.
Now, on to some Small Bites:
Heinz x Kate Spade
Technically, this launched a week ago, but I kind of think it’s genius. Yes, we’ve had far too many collabs, and some are saying that merch is dead, but this one has the feel of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup art. The ketchup packet purse and loafers are a little weird, but the T-shirt and tote are kinda cool. Not many other brands are as iconic as Heinz, and their creative team has done a bang-up job of making the brand relevant and, dare I say, even artful…? Not sure I would ever wear a Heinz-branded T-shirt, but I applaud the effort, nonetheless.
Vacation x Erewhon
You might think this is an old story, as the Vacation x Erewhon smoothie has launched and gone, but they’re keeping the smoothie alive by sharing a reader-submitted recipe. So even if you missed out on the sunscreen-inspired delight, you can make your own at home. They even sent out the recipe to their email subscribers, which is how I found out about it. Vacation is the king of brand content creation and world-building, honestly. I wrote about the many ways I love the brand here. Check out
Poppi’s Flavor Hotline
Speaking of nostalgia, everybody’s favourite functional soda brand, Poppi, launched a 1-800 hotline for soda lovers to up their flavour quotient. This is a pretty novel way to engage with fans and continue promoting their new summer flavour, Orange Cream, while offering up content like daily affirmations and sounds of the beach. Thanks to fellow Substacker
What caught your eye this week? Let me know in the comments!
If you liked this post, consider giving it some love, share it, or better yet, become a subscriber so you never miss a post!
Thanks for the shoutout! (I like coconut, but that smoothie may be overkill)