It feels like it’s going to be a pivotal year! I certainly raised a glass to fresh starts last night. And will again at today’s New Year’s Day lunch at La Mercerie!

expect to see a lot of “letting go” and transitioning as we leave 2020 behind

• 2020 was tough. Even with no pressing health or financial issues, it was a traumatic year.
• But 2020 also gave people time to reflect on what they truly want out of life and figure out the best way to get where they want to be. And that’s why I believe this is going to be such an exciting year.
• And btw, for those of you asking if I’m going to do my annual trend report, I’m not! Things feel too much in flux. However, I re-read last year’s report and it has stood the test of time. Check it out!

And with that, please scroll down for this week’s Top 10 (with a sprinkle of predictions).

1. Fashion is Back: LOVE LOVE LOVE this man’s style

I literally chased him down the street to ask what he was wearing. It’s a Junya Watanabe x Levis collaboration. His fabulous tote bag was another collaboration: Todd Snyder x LL Bean. PREDICTION: Men are turning into major fashionistos and high/low collabs are once again a thing.

2. Shmeel.NYC: check out this new neo-urban streetwear brand

Shmeel‘s pop-up on Rivington this past Sunday was a MASSIVE SUCCESS. Another example (along with Antithesis) of a new generation of streetwear designers getting their moment in the spotlight as we head into 2021.

lines to get in to Shmeel were ridiculous, influencer sightings galore, e.g., ParkAvNYC.

Samuel Sternberg, the founder of this 1-year old brand, looks all of 18. He’s very sweet on social media. Wishing him much success!

BTW: I asked guys waiting in line about the brand. Most had recently discovered it on Instagram or TikTok. The power of social media shopping is undeniable (see #3 below).

3. TikTok and Instagram: the new Yelp And Vogue

“Chinese apps are to 21st-century shopping what American malls were to last century’s.”

The Economist (Jan 2, 2021)

I wrote about this briefly last week but social media shopping clearly deserves another look especially after seeing the phenomenal turnout at NoMo Kitchen (even on a Monday!) plus the insane crowds at the Shmeel pop-up.

Going out on a limb here but TikTok is key to NoMo Kitchen’s success! click on play below.

Instagram still popular for fashion, travel, cocktail ideas (but may be falling behind)

4. Art Market Predictions for 2021 (Source: Financial Times/Paywall)

Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti notes that the forced move online has brought in a new generation of buyers, 40% of whom have come on board since March 2020 (32% are millennials). Buyers in Asia have been particularly active and here too, they have been a younger generation typically buying between $50,000 and $500,000.

Most of these have come to the art market via luxury goods, an area that will continue to expand into the fine art world.

Financial Times

All indicators point to the importance of brands learning how to straddle the divide between the art world and luxury, between artists and the entertainment world. This is a trend driven by millennials and GenZ.

5. I SET UP MY NEW SPECTRUM MODEM & ROUTER: you absolutely can teach an old dog new tricks!

If anyone has Spectrum, call to get the new replacement modem and router. The old ones are “non-compliant” – whatever that means. But the best news of all: the new equipment VASTLY improves the strength and range of your wi-fi! We now have a strong signal throughout the entire loft!

Backstory:

• I got rid of my cable boxes and in making those arrangements I was told my modem and router needed to be updated because they were “non-compliant.”
• A few days later, a giant box arrived with new equipment and tons of cables.
• I asked Brad if he could help me set it up but I soon found out that tech is truly not his thing.
• I dug in, read the instructions, called Spectrum once, and ta-da, within half an hour, I was set up. Also connected Alexa, my phone, iPads etc. Easy peasy!
• Darned proud of myself!

6. Co-Working May Be Down — But Don’t Count it Out

I have Not been to Soho or Ludlow House to work since they’ve reopened but have dropped in to eat (fab!)

• However, several friends have recently mentioned they are sick of working from home and are in the process of finding suitable co-working spaces. Several are checking out Soho Works.
• And despite hearing of many co-working space closures (especially WeWork), I’ve recently heard that Office Evolution, a Colorado-based company, is going strong. It has dozens of business centers throughout the country and is opening an outpost in Austin (which has a booming economy right now). They already have locations in Dallas and Houston and are expanding in other parts of Texas as well. (Source: Austin Culture Map)

With so much still up in the air about who will be returning to the office (and when), it makes sense for companies to forego long-term leases in favor of flexible co-working spaces. Plus, companies may want short-term, bigger spaces to comply with social-distancing protocols.

7. EXCELLENT insights on new renting trends (Source: RentCafe)

Based on insights and analysis from 5.8 million renter applications nationwide, Gen Z is now the second most active group of renters overtaking Gen X-ers, while the front-runner generation of Millennial renters is shrinking.

Highlights:

• 18 of the 30 largest U.S. cities saw more renters leaving compared to last year – led by Detroit, New York, and Seattle.
• Apartment rents decreased in all top 10 most expensive cities for renters in 2020 with San Francisco, New York, Boston, and Seattle in the lead.
• Phoenix’s average rent ($1,182), on the other hand, registered the most significant yearly surge among the nation’s 30 largest cities.
• Renter movement was concentrated over May and June, with a sharp initial rise in renters on the move and a sudden drop in June.
• Oddly, more people decided to stay in their current apartments. 10% fewer renters applied for new apartments this year. Sounds like 10% of landlords were amenable to rent reductions.

8. WATCH: Mass Moca documentary

LOVE this documentary – and love this museum. I had the chance to visit for the first time in 2019 (thank you Janine King!). It’s really exceptional!

The documentary introduces us to Nick Cave’s spectacular installation, “Until” which now, coincidentally, is on exhibition at The Momentary (a satellite of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art). Really makes me want to go back to Bentonville, Arkansas to see it firsthand.

9. New Podcast Discovery: Whiskey & Ginger from Andrew Santino

LOVE watching/listening to Andrew Santino’s chats on Whiskey & Ginger. CAVEAT: Santino and many of his guests cover some pretty out-there topics. To me, they are incredibly funny and quirky. If you’re hyper-sensitive this may not be for you, but I love these guys and am also learning a lot from Santino about how to become a better listener (which is, of course, key to being a better conversationalist).

• The Andrew Schultz interview turned me on to Whiskey & Ginger in the first place. Schultz, IMO, has the potential to become THE next major player in the entertainment world (as a producer rather than a standup).

Benny blanco IS AWESOME!! Super talented, sTRANGE and QUIRKY but SO NICE!

If you find either Andrew or Benny interesting, you’ll also love Lil Dicky (Dave Burd) and Marc Rebillet.

10. 136% increase of people seeking supernatural readings (in 2020). (Source: the Guardian)

The psychic services industry in the US – which includes astrology, mediumship, palmistry, aura-reading, and tarot – was valued at $2.2bn in 2018 (up 52% from 2005). Some celebrities consult spiritual healers just as they do therapists or nutritionists.

The Guardian (12/26/2020)

Anyone else noticing how many people are talking/posting about their “readings?” This week I even overheard two street vendors (guys) in deep conversation about what 2021 has in store for them based on their astrological signs.

And that’s a wrap – not just for the week but for 2020! Yikes!

I wish we could raise a glass to toast the New Year together. But no such luck this year.

However, I do want to close out this post with a final look at the photos defining 2020 for me. Some are celebratory, some are scary. They sum up the year in a way that words cannot.

January

Broadway/Nolita – Retail in free fall, and this was well before COVID hit us.

February

February 5 departure on Nat Geo trip to Central/South America. The highlight for me was Torres del Paine, Patagonia (Feb 16-18), followed closely by Iguacu Falls (Brazil side).

March

Nat Geo trip ended March 4 (and is even sweeter in my memory because it turned out to be the last of my travels until at least August 2021, and even that’s iffy).

• Returning to NYC, I was so naive about what was to come. Visited crowded museums and galleries, checked out new restaurants, and my very last outing was to the Edge at Hudson Yards on March 11th.

• On March 12th, the hammer came down and NYC went into lockdown. March was also when online grocery shopping/deliveries kicked into high gear.

• We also got our first inkling that businesses were anticipating looting would go hand-in-hand with the shutdown. The mayor and the media chastised retailers for sending the “wrong” message but as it turns out business was more in tune with what was to come than the city was.

April

Cuomo’s daily briefings became must-watch TV and the highlight of my day as I hunkered down. When not watching Cuomo, I was forced to watch endless moving trucks empty out my neighborhood.

May

The old saying about March “coming in like a lion, going out like a lamb” was inverted for May. The month started so optimistically with workers returning to construction sites, restaurants doing takeout and cocktails-to-go, and the city’s bike lanes chock-a-block with NYers happy to get out of their apartments.

Then came May 30th. The protests started during the day. By nightfall, we had riots, vandalism and looting the likes of which I’ve never seen before.

June

Plywood became the symbol of the city.

• But NYers are resilient. By late June, neighborhood restaurants reopened. They single-handedly saved the city from further mayhem.

July

Restaurants were really dialing up their A-Game and I had my first “fancy” meal out in months thanks to my friend Richard Degnan. Things were looking up.

August

GREAT MONTH! Again, restaurants leading the way, shutting streets to traffic on weekends allowing for more outdoor dining. Also great birthday celebrations, both my own arranged by Rodrigo as well as the sunset cruise he organized for his 41st birthday. Restaurants deserve a ticker-tape parade when this is over.

September

Museums reopened, the US Open was virtual but amazing (I watched every day). On the restaurant front, the best of the best got themselves situated for outdoors dining (Vongerichten’s Fulton and Marc Forgione’s Peasant). And I started drinking Manhattans. And finally, moving trucks brought people BACK TO THE CITY.

October

First time to Storm King in upstate NY. You can’t get more social distanced than this when it comes to art appreciation. How I had never been here I don’t know?

• Halloween was a fantastic, local affair. It convinced me that Christmas would be equally festive (and it was!).

November

NYC’s Christmas lights at Hudson Yards were spectacular. They set a high bar for retail for years to come.

• And then, totally by happenstance, my friend Joe and I had a magnificent lunch at Peak (now-shuttered again because indoor dining is banned). But highly recommend and I know it will be the first spot I hit up when things open up again.

December

No parties in 2020. Just Brad and I savoring great red wines, champagnes, and chowing down on wonderful salumi, cheeses, and shrimp. Totally chill and outstanding Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations.

And that, my friends (if you made it this far), is truly it.

I’m going to leave you with a Bill Murray quote that speaks to me and maybe you also.

It might also explain why those of us who are a little older have been able to handle the pandemic better than some of our younger friends – even though we’re at a higher risk of dying. (Source: Stanford.Edu)

“Youth is the gift of nature, but age is a work of art.”

Bill Murray on Turning 70

Love you all. Have a great – and safe – weekend! And look forward to seeing you ALL in 2021.