Blackbird Spyplane is a newsletter written for enthusiasts: bunny shoppers who stock highly specific saved searches on eBay as if it were a competitive sport. There's nothing cruel or frivolous about it, other than an intrinsic appreciation for the genre Crispy outerwear Once associated with people who are cold and weak.
This is largely due to the newsletter's strong voice, which might read like a parody of a spooky men's internet style writer — things he likes are "psychedelic," "fire," "delicious," "vibe," and "cool crazy" sometimes in letters. Big — but more like a hyperbolic version of the internal monologue of Jonah Weiner, the journalist who started Blackbird Spyplane in May 2020 with Erin Wylie, an industrial design talent scout for Apple. (Mr. Weiner is a contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine.)
Beneath that over-the-top sound, though, is sincerity. A newsletter that began as an outlet for "unbeatable reconfiguration"—recommendations for fashion, culture, and décor—and interviews with creative types about personal style has become a growing space for the master. Weiner, who usually writes the newsletter, and Ms. Wylie, who frees him, to indulge their obsessions.
the master. wiener and mrs. Willie, who lives in North Oakland, California, has positioned himself as unfettered by advertiser influences, much like a zine book. As with zine writers, their audience is rather small by digital media standards, though not insignificant. Blackbird Spyplane is hosted on Substack, which does not release specific subscriber numbers, other than to say that the newsletter has "tens of thousands" of subscribers on the free version, while "thousands" pay at least $5 a month for additional content.
In the first year, the couple researched new wares and antique ceramics and asked famous people about their shopping interests. They still do it, but they also publish longer articles about it slight hair loss And the Weird color trends for cars; Advice on how to do this make friends and "cop" responsibly (or not at all); decrees against the things they seethe problemLike Heather Gray Tees; and Theses On why the '90s (rickety) coffee shop aesthetic trumps the modern (Scandinavian) coffee shop aesthetic. Still everything turns out with intentional chaos netstalgic graphics.
"When it comes to fashion and fashion coverage, a lot of it these days is more like marketing," Weiner said. "There are a lot of people who like the Internet better when it seems so artisanal, distorted, and idiosyncratic."
Substack doesn't even provide demographic information to the creators of its newsletter, but anecdotally, Blackbird Spyplane has a large media following, which makes it look impressive. Caitlin Phillips, a Advertisingemailed, "Getting my clients into Blackbird is the best way to mass-email every New York fashion writer, menswear and womenswear."
However, while the newsletter has attracted female readers and Q and A topics - such as Sandy Liangwho spoke to Blackbird Spyplane about buying Polly Pocket toys on eBay, wanting to buy a pair of Skechers she had been rejected as a child and other "things that shaped me as a designer, but I feel I'm not high enough for other people to care about," she said — for always Her content appeared to be "dude-leaning," as Ms. Willie said, or "coded-male" ace. Fox Once you put it on. Sound absorption can, at times, feel like watching Dr. Jekyll (if a socialist) beat the master. Hyde (if castaway), one in a classic LL Bean dress and the other in Homme Plissé Issey Miyake.
Ellen Van Dusen of the housewares and apparel line Dusen Dusen They joked that the pattern has a "learning curve".
“The first time I read it, I was like: ‘This is crazy. I don’t even know if I can understand what they’re trying to say here.’ The second time I read it, I was like: ‘Okay, this is performance art.’” this is funy. It's a joke - it's humor." And the third time I read it, I was like, “Oh my God, there is so much valuable information here.” (Ms. Van Dusen Once cooperated on a line of jackets with mrs. Willie.)
And last week, the Blackbird Spyplane got a little less dude-inclined, with the introduction of a new column by Ms. Wylie, focus more on women's fashion. It's called the Concorde, in keeping with the theme of supersonic aircraft, and it's spelled by the sound of it: casual, loose, because nothing else would "feel really good." Willie said a few days before sending out the first edition to all subscribers. (In the future, Concorde will release twice a month to paid subscribers.)
"It's her version of a crazy prose style that's a lot less rambunctious than my own," said the master. Weiner, who reversed roles with Ms. Wiley as its editor at Concord. "If anything, I was like, 'You don't need to use all capital letters here.'" "
This is because the Blackbird Spyplane's sound, however outstanding, isn't everything to them. They think their readers respond more to the energy behind it, "The idea: This thing is going to pop up in my inbox, and it's just going to be fun." Weiner said. “This is not a structured, algorithmic, AI version of a fun, friendly voice.”
"You are could Designing an artificial intelligence to serve the disparate things we connect.” Willie, who used it Concorde's first transmission To dissect her interest in silver, a platter of Roman anchovies linked Video Björk to Martin Margiela's 1990s designs. "But I don't think anyone would do that."
Ms. Wiley emphasized that Pop-Ups will still have unisex tastes "because anyone can wear anything," she said, and because she defines her personal style in this way. she and mr. Weiner, both 41, are a longtime couple (although they don't specify how many years they've been together) and trade in clothes. He recently got a pair of her Lauren Manoogian jeans.
But since the early days of the Blackbird Spyplane, Ms. Wylie wanted to research more women's fashion. She spent nearly a decade editing and writing for magazines, and before that she worked for a fashion forecasting company. Two things held her back: the demands of her time from her day job and the fact that she and Mr. Weiner "errs on the side of being anti-growth," as he puts it.
“We just have a general foot-on-the-brake approach to this thing in terms of expanding it,” said the master. Weiner said. "We have no problem staying put."
This extends to the way they make money. They turned down offers from major luxury brands, such as a French fashion house that wanted them to include its latest video collection in its newsletter and an online retailer that wanted to collaborate on a capsule dedicated to young makers.
"corrosion of the true editorial" is the cause of mrs. Willie said she quit magazines in the first place.
"Everything I was asked to do was sponsor or direct my ad, and that didn't go very well," she said.
They also don't accept gifts, an extremely rare policy in an ecosystem where brands shower fashion writers, editors, and influencers with expensive bags and trips all paid for in exchange for content. They claim to earn newsletter-related income solely on subscriber fees, infrequently merch drops - Once the shoes were made by a Finnish shoe brand called Tarvas - and small profits from purchases made via affiliate links on eBay or Bookshop.
“There is something that is obviously dusting and dating with that mentality, but we're okay with being dusty and bouncing around in this way,” said El-Sayed. Weiner said. (If it sounds like a bad process, keep in mind that Blackbird Spyplane has pulled major names as interview subjects, including Seth RogenAnd the AllahAnd the Jerry Seinfeld And the Andrei 3000some From the master. Winner performed separately glimpse. Its earnings are likely to add up to six figures annually.)
“You open any fashion magazine right now, and I guarantee you there will be a collection of clothes that no one on the magazine thinks is particularly cool,” said the master. Weiner said. “They have advertisers to keep them happy. If there's something about this newsletter, it's because we think you'll love it. It's a very straightforward proposition.”
As direct as possible for a newsletter that, in its most recent issue, used the following phrases: "cerebellum-bussin quasi-paradox", "slapping 'plant-based' spells", "polytheistic wrap" and "roasted and shoe-roasted". "
Source link
0 Comments