Dressed, But Not Free: A 5-Part Cultural Deep Dive into the 2025 Met Gala
Black style was the theme, but systemic exclusion remained the reality. This series unpacks fashion as protest, performance, and power play, from erased archives to branded bodies.
Who Profits When You Find Your People?
From subcultures to wellness apps, this essay explores the ethical tension between authentic community and commodified identity—asking what’s left of self-expression when belonging becomes a business model.
The Burden of Black Wealth: Visibility, Power, and the Price of Success
What happens when Black women succeed in systems never built for them? This piece interrogates Black exceptionalism, capitalist contradictions, and why Black visibility in luxury is both radical and relentlessly policed.
The PLT Rebrand: Aesthetic Upgrade or Strategic Facelift?
PrettyLittleThing wants to trade pink polyester for quiet luxury — but is this a real evolution or just polished greenwashing? This deep dive unpacks the brand’s identity crisis, cultural pivots, and what happens when fast fashion tries to grow up.
The Rise of Rebellious Branding: From Counterculture to Corporate Strategy
Rebellion used to disrupt. Now it sells. This essay unpacks how brands have commodified protest, transformed resistance into marketing strategy—and why rebellion, once radical, now risks becoming a profitable performance.
Beyond the Black Squares: How Beauty Brands are Failing Black Consumers and What Needs to Change
Many beauty brands promised change during the BLM uprisings—only to return to performative gestures. This piece breaks down the cycle of tokenism, failed shade launches, and the urgent need for systemic inclusion in beauty.
The Business of Influence: Stormzy, Kendrick & The Double Standards of Corporate Activism
Stormzy and Kendrick Lamar both stand for justice but their corporate partnerships sparked wildly different reactions. This essay unpacks the cultural double standards, capitalist contradictions, and systemic power plays behind corporate activism in hip-hop.