The Digi Diary: Telfar’s radical new pricing system and reminiscing on vaporwave

Faved

We're loving the bits of vaporwave popping up on our feed! If you were around during the beloved 2010s Tumblr era, you probably remember when vaporwave was in its peak micro-trend era. Vaporwave is a microgenre that consists of ‘80s and ’90s-inspired electronic music, visual art filled with early internet nostalgia — repurposed through a futuristic lens, as well as tongue-in-cheek social commentary on the vapid glamour of late capitalism. We’ve been seeing remnants of vaporwave recently, with its cousin genre '80s synthwave going strong in the mainstream, future funk and vaporwave artist Yung Bae currently touring the world and iconic chillwave track Home by Resonance still doing its rounds on Tiktok. Aesthetic-wise, the revival of Y2K tech optimism within design in the past year feels very similar to the retro Windows 95 style we saw in early vaporwave visual art. The bleak and ironic aesthetic of the genre also reflects today's social critique on capitalism and hype- consumerism, and the ‘theres no ethical consumption under capitalism’ phrase becoming a trend. Vaporwave never died per se, as its underground scene continues to thrive, but we love the fact that the spirit of the genre can be felt outside of its niche community, and hope to see a full-blown revival on the horizon!

Followed

We’ve been super into the work of artist okniceok, aka Danny, who brings familiar symbols of the screen, like ‘00s clip art-esque icons, pixelated images and ASCII art, onto paper. Danny’s drawings feel super nostalgic and sentimental but also totally of the times — like a cross between doodles in your school notebook, the inspirational quotes your grandma posts on Facebook, the distorted visual language of today’s memes, and the hyper-realistic drawings you tried to do during your adolescent artsy phase. Lucky for us, Danny posts a new drawing every few weeks.

Hacked

Telfar’s new pricing system is giving us serious hacker vibes as it intends to show just how rigged fashion is by flipping the whole industry on its head. Telfar’s aim is to price their clothes in reverse; the more popular an item is, the more chances consumers have to buy it at a lower price. Using a dynamic pricing model means that the costs of items won’t be fixed and higher demand means bulkier orders, which then leads to cheaper manufacturing costs. And this slash in price allows Telfar to also slash the price for their customers. Telfar Clemens has always wanted his clothes to be super accessible and affordable, which is a testament to his community-driven ethos. With Telfar, luxury isn’t just exclusive to the upper echelon and wealthy, but is inclusive of everyone, and this new pricing model is proof of that. Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

Blocked

Dating apps continue to prove just how difficult modern heterosexual dating is. We’ve been aware of the disparities between groups when it comes to getting matches and responses, thanks to OkCupid’s research data back in 2009 and 2014, but Decode resurfaced more eye-opening data from the dating app AYI back in 2013. Asian women received the most responses, while Black women received the fewest responses. White men were the most popular amongst their gender, while Black men received the fewest responses (although they received the highest from Black women).

Whilst this data isn’t new, it’s still relevant — The Digital Divide, the first comprehensive look at "digital-sexual racism", was published in 2021, and digs deeper into the gendered racism that we’re witnessing in online dating. It seems as though even on the internet discrimination is unavoidable, especially for Black women and men as racism and misogynoir is repurposed within the digital realm —  issues surrounding race such as colourism, fetishisation and stereotypes need to be addressed in the real world if we don’t want them to seep into the digital.

For more content like this, explore the rest of the Digiverse, or connect with us on TikTok or Instagram. If you’re a brand or business and want to inspire your audience in innovative ways, reach out to our strategic & creative lab eve@thedigitalfairy.co.uk