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The Business of Fame: 1920-2020

In an essay for Dirt, Alioto likens virtual garments to bootlegs. “The fake (sign) may not subsume the real (reference), but it exerts power over the way the original is perceived,” she writes. “Eventually, they almost need each other to stay culturally relevant.” In this way, she argues, “What happens in the metaverse doesn’t stay in the metaverse... See more

Friends with Benefits (FWB) • In the Future of Fashion, Everyone Gets Paid

While there are notable differences in the complexity, nuance, allusion, artistic innovation and experimentation found in mass, mid, and high culture, the argument that one is intrinsically more valuable than the others is, of course, fundamentally elitist. It’s no accident that this sort of cultural work—by Macdonald and others—is often the pet pr

Anne Helen Petersen • Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman

Asynchronous Pay-as-you-go: Whether it’s Lance Bass singing happy birthday to your aunt or your favorite fubol star revealing he’s much more charismatic on the pitch, these platforms host talent to sell their time on-demand.

Michael Rothman • All The Ways To Make Money In Media Without Ads

Class still exists, but there’s no longer just one aesthetic per class. Instead, “class” is expressed merely by price points that exist within consumer subcultural categories.1

Toby Shorin • Life After Lifestyle

Putting talent at the center of its business opens up entirely new opportunities for media companies when the core asset and value is attributed to the individual. The new line of business now becomes somewhat inverted: instead of everything being limited to under a brand halo where advertisers buy on the brand and consumers subscribe to the brand,... See more

Jarrod Dicker • The Next Media Business: Talent, Reputation and Lessons from Record Labels

After authentic models, the next best thing is a woman who looks like she could be a model, a “good civilian.”

Ashley Mears • Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

With shopgirls, department stores could harness what historian Peter Bailey termed, in his history of Victorian sexual culture, parasexuality. Writing about bar maidens, Bailey conceptualized parasexuality as feminine sexuality that is “deployed but not fully released.”

Ashley Mears • Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

Now, social media allows anyone to dig into her wardrobe and explain an intimate self to a public. There is, accordingly, no dearth of women and girls making jump-cut videos of their outfits. If Rockmore’s years set her apart, it’s not because she looks good “for her age,” whatever that means; it is because, at 54, she is very much dressing for fun... See more

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The Business of Fame: 1920-2020

Friends with Benefits (FWB) • In the Future of Fashion, Everyone Gets Paid

Anne Helen Petersen • Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman

Michael Rothman • All The Ways To Make Money In Media Without Ads

Toby Shorin • Life After Lifestyle

Jarrod Dicker • The Next Media Business: Talent, Reputation and Lessons from Record Labels

Ashley Mears • Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

Ashley Mears • Very Important People: Status and Beauty in the Global Party Circuit

New York Times • The Rise of the Over-50 Fashion Mentors (Published 2022)