6. I somehow made the MET Gala about the recession (sorry)
Plus, enjoy my Mom's review of Berkshire Hathaway's Annual Shareholder Meeting
Hello cozy people. The MET Gala was Monday and Colman Domingo won it.
I watched it on E! while I cooked dinner and I watched the Vogue livestream on Youtube while I ran on the treadmill. Who am I?
Ok, fine, it was 20 minutes of brisk walking and 5 minutes of running, but at least I left my bed.
I was particularly excited by this year’s theme - "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style." I guess I wasn’t the only one, because the gala raised a record-breaking $31 million for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute. This is the highest amount the gala has ever raised in its 77-year history.
Why did it raise so much money this year? Some speculation:
The 1% is just getting richer. Cancelled in 2020 due to Covid, the gala raised $16.4M in 2021, $17.4M in 2022, $22M in 2023, $26M in 2024, and $31M in 2025. So, I guess it’s not that record breaking at all - every year just goes up. The Met Gala has long been criticized as a flagrant display of wealth and, as we sit on the precipice of a recession, it’s further evidence of the ever widening wealth gap. Though everyone has been preparing for a recession, in this article an economist definitively says one is coming and that it will start this summer.
Menswear needs more love. The 2025 MET Gala was the first time in over 20 years that the event and exhibition focused exclusively on menswear. There’s also a general sentiment online that there is no “new-age GQ.” Seems like a gap in the market I’m sure someone will fill.
People are energized to celebrate the contributions of Black people. Of course I hope it’s because the theme aligns with the Costume Institute's spring 2025 exhibition, which explores the cultural and historical significance of Black style and the concept of dandyism within the Black diaspora from the 18th century to the present day. After a string of tone-deaf themes including the Gilded Age and Karl Lagerfeld, it’s a breath of fresh air.
Fashion journalist Amy Odell said the exhibition is the best one she remembers seeing. It includes clothes worn by Frederick Douglass and personal effects of W.E.B. Du Bois, which from a historical standpoint is very cool. (She also just wrote an interesting piece about the Met Gala being one big display of Anna Wintour’s dominance, a great read).
The exhibition delves into how Black individuals have used sartorial choices as a means of self-expression, identity formation, and even resistance in the face of societal challenges.
And speaking of societal changes, Warren Buffet is finally retiring. At Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting on May 3rd, Buffett announced his intention to retire from his role as CEO at the end of the year. He recommended Greg Abel, the current Vice Chairman overseeing all of Berkshire's non-insurance business operations, to replace him. The board is expected to unanimously agree.
Even though Warren is in his 90s people were still somehow shocked by his retirement announcement. Shares of Berkshire Hathaway experienced a notable drop (around 5%) in early trading on Monday. However, many analysts maintain optimism in Berkshire Hathaway's enduring fundamental strength and Greg Abel's leadership.
In case you, like me, don’t want to sit through an annual shareholder meeting, here’s my mom’s unsolicited text message review:
“I watched the Warren Buffett annual meeting. It was touching and informative. He’s pretty sharp for a 94 yr old!”
Don’t worry, she also reviewed the MET Gala:
“I thought it was fun to watch. I thought the jumpsuits were ugly.”
Anyways, Warren Buffett's tenure as CEO has been objectively extraordinary. Since taking control in 1965, he transformed a failing textile company into a $1.16 trillion conglomerate. His investment acumen has generated an average annual return of 19.9% for investors, significantly outperforming the S&P 500. His net worth as of May 2025 is estimated to be around $168 - $169 billion, making him one of the wealthiest people in the world. And despite this success, Buffett has been a vocal advocate for higher taxes on the wealthy, even having a tax proposal named after him ("the Buffett Rule").
Have a great retirement Warren!
Today’s letter includes: 4 things to talk about at parties including how to be a good brand strategist and Italian brain rot explained. Plus whether or not the Charli XCX concert was fun and which celebs were in VIP.
Do you know about Ballerina Cappuccina? Gen Z loves her. The “Italian brain rot” subgenre (which is not strictly Italian) emerged in January, when absurd characters generated by artificial intelligence started to show up in TikTok feeds. The memes have some vague Italian-ness to them but they are not necessarily for or by Italians. Ballerina Cappuccina, for example, was created by a 24-year-old in Romania.
Other Italian brain rot characters include Tralalero Tralala and Bombardiro Crocodillo. Why? Because they can. And because kids get to “know about something their parents can’t understand,” according to Yotam Ophir, an associate professor of communication at the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences.
Here’s how to be a great brand strategist. LinkedIn influencer and strategy lead at Quality Meats Creative, Joe Burns, served up a very fun flipbook on being a great brand strategist. The basic gist of it is “to be a noticer.” It’s cheeky and I love the visual style.
On the other side of the ring we have Jasmine Bina, another strategist/cultural futurist I love (Hi Jasmine!) and CEO of Concept Bureau. She says strategists need to do more than notice and actually participate. “As subcultures get deeper and parts of the zeitgeist retreat to places untouched by AI, it will be hard to be a good strategist without the embodied knowledge of participation.”
Herman Miller is releasing a new furniture collection in partnership with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. The teaser video shows us absolutely nothing - just sweeping landscapes of New Mexico (the collection is also called ‘New Mexico’). It will be available in North America and Japan. Herman Miller promises it will be: “Familiar but unique. Limited. And available beginning May 20.” You can sign up for updates, which I already did for you as I’ve been to Georgia O’Keefe’s residence and art studio in New Mexico and that baby is move-in-ready in my opinion. I hope the collection brings that same vibe.
There’s a new Bezos-backed electric truck but it seems sort-of pointless. Jeff Bezos is trying to give Elon Musk a run for his money. A startup called Slate Auto has received significant backing from Bezos. The Slate Truck is envisioned as a radically affordable electric pickup.
But to achieve this low price point, the truck will come with minimal standard features, including:
Manual roll-down windows
Manually adjustable rearview mirrors
No standard paint job (buyers can opt for vinyl wraps)
No built-in infotainment system or speakers (it will have a phone mount and USB power)
A basic dashboard with knobs for climate control
It’s giving Amazon Basics, honey. Does anybody really want that? The guy in this video certainly doesn’t.
Listening
I have a real soft spot for well-written and executed pop music. So mostly that.
Everyone in Brooklyn has been posting from the Charli XCX concerts. Two of my besties who work in the music industry went for free on opening night and were disappointed. They said it felt like she was just performing for the handheld camera, not the audience. Their celeb sightings in the VIP pit included Diplo, Charli’s beau from the 1975, and the guitarist of All Time Low (the jury is out on if this counts as a celeb and yes, we have questioned our friend on why he was able to recognize him).
However, if social media from the following nights is to be believed, the show looked kinda incredible, including continuing the party outside of Barclays. I can’t decide if I have FOMO or not.
Speaking of performing for the camera, I can’t wait to see Charli’s acting chops - she’s set to produce and star in A24 Movie ‘The Moment,’ based on her own original idea. Obviously A. G. Cook will do the score.
Watching
Prestige TV is my love language.
Since we are on the topic of Colman Domingo, did you see Sing Sing? If not go watch it now. That movie should have won many Oscars SMH. And here’s a related headline with an article I chose not to read: Miles Teller To Play A Nashville Star With A Secret In Fantastical Comedy ‘Possum Song’ For ‘Sing Sing’ Writer-Director Greg Kwedar.
After I wrote about everyone watching Conclave, I followed suit. It was also Oscar-worthy. The real-life Conclave begins today, May 7th.
Wearing
Here lies my OOTW (outfits of the week).
I went to the Ms. Foundation Gala (an org founded by Gloria Steinem) but I took the subway. Thus -
Before:
And After:
If you didn’t already see the Forever 31 skit from SNL, it is unfortunately extremely accurate.
I love wearing Rigatoni Tagliatelle! Don’t forget to give this letter a heart or re-stack for the algo if you enjoyed!
Thanks for reading! It would mean a lot if you gave this article a heart! <3
Time out...your mom watches the BH annual meeting? I knew I liked her.
Signed up for those Georgia O'Keefe updates real fast!