"Weekend Reading" is a weekly rundown of our favorite stories from around the web.
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Arizona Ice Tea & adidas' 99 Cent Pop-Up Sneaker Release Shut Down by Police
"Summer’s favorite ice tea, Arizona, has outdone itself; following 2018’s pop-up shop where limited-edition apparel was sold for 99 cents, the New York-based beverage company has linked up with adidas Originals to release a range of product—including four sneakers—that are all priced at one dollar."

via: Hypebeast

Instagram Hides User Likes In 6 More Countries to Lessen Social Pressure
"Instagram says the move is “because [it wants] your followers to focus on the photos and videos you share, not how many likes they get.” Ideally this would lessen social peer pressure on the site, especially considering studies have found that Instagram in particular can have adverse affects on mental health."

via: Highsnobiety

One Guy Paid $850,000 for a Rare Sneaker Collection Being Auctioned by Sotheby’s
"Sotheby’s first-ever sneaker auction isn’t scheduled to end until July 23, but it’s already a success. That’s because one man has bought 99 of the 100 exceedingly rare shoes that were up for bidding, for a grand total of $850,000."

via: Quartz

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault Passes Bill Gates to Become World’s Second-Richest Person
"The billionaire power rankings have shuffled, as LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault has passed Bill Gates to become the second-richest person in the world. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, Arnault now has a net worth of $107.6 billion, topping Gates by more than $200 million. Jeff Bezos remains the world’s richest person with a net worth of $125 billion."

via: Highsnobiety

How to Transform Your Home Through Japanese Design Philosophy
"In the West we may be becoming less religious, but we’re still just as spiritual. Many of us share an overwhelming need to find peace in this chaotic and often testing socio-economic climate – something that is demonstrated in the way we latch onto the promise of serenity from the likes of organizational guru Marie Kondo, and in our nostalgia for the utilitarian beauty of Modernist architecture, a movement which inherited much of its aesthetic and structure from Japan via architects like Junzo Sakakura and Kunio Maekawa, who worked closely with pivotal figures such as Le Corbusier. Ritualistic design and a focus on social functionality can be traced back to the traditional construction of Japanese homes, yet is now accepted by many as the peak of aspirational living. A recent trip to Tokyo allowed me to take a deeper dive into the appeal of Japanese spirituality and how it is being adopted by the West via interior design."

via: AnOther

Consumers Will Spend More than $3 Billion on Single-Use Outfits This Summer, Alone.
"Single-use plastics, or disposable plastics – such a straws, coffee lids, and water bottles, which are used only once before they are thrown away or recycled – have been a topic of increased discussion amongst national and local governments, as well as non-profit organizations – and individuals – devoted to addressing and ideally, chipping away at the tons of pollution that finds it way into oceans across the globe each year. One category of products that is routinely left out of the larger single-use conversation? Fashion. It turns out, the industry has a single-use problem of its own of increasingly significant proportions."

via: The Fashion Law

Dolce & Gabbana Scandal May Be Old News in the U.S., But the Brand is Still Struggling in China
"Dolce & Gabbana is still “cancelled” in China on the heels of a questionable ad campaign from the Italian design house – featuring a Chinese model eating pizza with chopsticks – and subsequent backlash over racist commentary from one of the brand’s founders. While consumers in the West have not fully sworn off the Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana-founded brand, and in fact, some have seemingly forgotten the scandal altogether, “the impact of the crisis is still being felt in China, which is estimated to make up around a third of the brand’s total sales,” according to Gartner L2’s Digital IQ Index: Luxury China 2019."

via: The Fashion Law

CEOs, Not Designers, Are Fashion’s New Stars
"Business-side executives are becoming brand ambassadors, sometimes surpassing their creative counterparts in public profile."

via: Business of Fashion

Toys ‘R’ Us Is Coming Back With a High-Tech Twist
"In its mission to claw its way back from bankruptcy and reestablish itself in the hypercompetitive toy market, the brand has a new high-tech angle. Toys “R” Us, or rather Tru Kids (the company that is helping to manage the brand names left in the wake of the liquidation last year), has teamed up with b8ta, a software company that specializes in immersive retail experiences, and will each own 50% of the new endeavor. According to CNBC, the company hopes to open 10 stores around the U.S. in 2020 and may even bring back its New York City flagship."

via: Fast Company

Airlines Are Finally Fixing the Middle Seat
"Its design is unique in that it staggers the typical three-seat arrangement, so that middle-seat passengers sit slightly behind others in their row. Last month, the S1 received FAA approval to be installed on planes; an undisclosed U.S .airline will be putting them on 50 planes by the end of 2020."

via: Fast Company

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