Key points
- Juan Atkins, the Detroit techno pioneer Ruby Justice Thelot calls the godfather, has died.
- Coperni is ceasing operations after tech-driven runway stunts failed to build an enduring business.
- Vinyl sales rose 20% in the UK and 13.7% worldwide from 2024 to 2025, but only half of buyers own a player and Gen Z buys for the object.
Coperni shuts down after years of tech-driven runway moments
News
- Coperni ceases operations. The Paris fashion house known for Bella Hadid's sprayed-on dress and a NASA aerogel bag is shutting down. Ruby Justice Thelot says Coperni captured the zeitgeist but could not convert that interest into an enduring business.
- Techno pioneer Juan Atkins dies. Atkins, born in Detroit, formed Cybotron and helped name the genre after one of its tracks. Ruby Justice Thelot says techno was invented in Detroit, not Berlin, and recommends Jeff Mills' eulogy.
- Vinyl sales climb as analog revival grows. Vinyl sales rose 20% in the UK and 13.7% worldwide between 2024 and 2025, while streaming holds 82% of music revenue and vinyl 9%. Ruby Justice Thelot credits Taylor Swift, and only half of vinyl buyers own a player.
- Phone-blocking tools become a consumer category. Yondr, whose pouches lock phones away, went from $174k of spending in 2021 to $19m in 2025. reMarkable reported $433m revenue in 2024 and Opal over $10m ARR, though only 6 to 7% of screen-time app users return monthly.
- School phone bans spread across 37 states. Ballotpedia counts 37 states with a school phone ban or limit. Ruby Justice Thelot favours teaching conscientious use over bans, siding with Dana Boyd against Jonathan Haidt, and says another app will not help.
- Young adults say phones take too much time. A 2020 Pew survey of about 9,000 adults found 53% said they spent too much time on their phone, rising to 70% among 18 to 29 year olds. 45% tried to cut back and only 25% succeeded.
- Luxury brands turn to craft artisans. Ruby Justice Thelot says luxury houses including Apple and Prada chose craft-forward artisans for recent campaigns, and predicts a K-shaped culture of handmade high-end goods and cheap mass production. Hermès works with illustrators and sculptors on store vitrines.
- Independent audio makers chase home sound. Ruby Justice Thelot says independent speaker makers are appearing in the UK and New York as vinyl listeners upgrade their home audio, and notes OJAS speakers showing up widely. She says music hardware has become fashion.
- Ex-Vanity Fair editor makes the case for DVDs. Radhika Jones wrote in the New York Times that her family bought a DVD player again, describing the shadow work of maintaining technology. Ruby Justice Thelot reads it as a desire to own media rather than depend on streaming licensing.