We’re back with another edition of GOOD SIGNS — a monthly round-up of 4 letters, looking at what’s bubbling up.

These aren’t trends (yet!). These are signals, patterns, counter-trends. Stuff that’s emerging, continuing, sticking out, or simply what we’re finding interesting in the last month.

Enjoy! And let us know what you think in the comments.

Skip to the bits you fancy.

03:13 — BRAND NEW DEAL // Brands have been funding the arts (see this episode). Now they’re funding infrastructure.

Places it’s showing up:

* The Ordinary ran a free express bus between Domino Park and Prospect Park, eliminating a despised 50-minute subway route.

* The UK is dropping intricate designer tiles into standard public toilets. Not brand-sponsored but could have been.

* Starbucks opened an EV lounge next to a Ford dealer. Rivian has its Outposts.

Pendulum Swing → Meanwhile, brands are backing out of public life entirely. The Pride flags came down.

08:30 — PRIVATE SOURCE // Nobody trusts influencer reccs anymore. Everyone’s bought. Except for the community you pay to be in Conversations are happening in the DMs. And platforms are building for your personal taste and sphere.

Places it’s showing up:

* Real decisions happen in Substack group chats now. “Best private chef in Chamonix?” Your paid-sub-friends are there to answer it.

* The founder of Yellow Trace says the honest talk lives in her DMs and at afterparties. Not in public.

* The Mall and Phia turn your receipts and your closet into a feed your friends can shop.

Pendulum Swing → Brands can’t buy their way in. When Satisfy and Adidas tried with their Circle Pit, the Substackers came for them from every direction.

20:13 — LONG-FORMAT EXPERIENTIAL // Experiential is going long-format. Something with many parts you can sit with, sleep in, and come back to. It’s the 5-minute movie ad version of experiences.

Places it’s showing up:

* Design Within Reach turned a historic property into a rentable home with Boutique Homes. I’d move into the Boathouse.

* Delta’s Flow State Flight starts with a focus kit on every seat and ends with a lounge waiting for you inside Copenhagen’s 3 Days of Design.

* Fortnum & Mason put a picnic on a boat down the Thames.

Pendulum Swing → Balenciaga’s burner account is filled with iPhone photos to keep their permanent feed clean, but gives you a less filtered view.

27:18 — BOT BUYERS // Agents fill and handle your cart now. But beware, you risk becoming a wholesaler and a random SKU.

Places it’s showing up:

* Google’s Universal Cart lets you add products from any retailer across Search, Gmail, Gemini, and YouTube.

* Meta is rolling out WhatsApp AI agents that recommend products and book appointments for you.

* Robinhood’s new agentic card makes purchases on your behalf.

Pendulum Swing → Relationships are paying off. Evereve is near $450M on stylists who give you an hour, no commission.

35:41 — RISK AVERSE // Uncertainty has everyone hedging their bets. Especially when it comes to the ‘kids’. We want guarantees, refunds, and safe outcomes. It’s risk-aversion to the max.

Places it’s showing up:

* Founders School will refund your $600K tuition if you don’t make $1M by graduation.

* Wealthy families are sending kids to school for fiscal prudence.

* 1-in-10 teens can’t leave the house without an adult. 80% can’t leave the neighborhood.

Pendulum Swing → Boom Boom is finally here, steak and booze and leather. We only want puritanical vibes from our children, apparently.

Letters referenced:

* Design Within Reach made an Airbnb (ps. it not actually an Airbnb)

* Free People backs the girls, literally

* Adidas’s 5-min ad might be the future

* Balenciaga made a burner account

That’s all, folx.

– Chris

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