Charlotte Mair's Linkedin Analytics

The Met Gala isn’t just about fashion. It’s about meaning. It’s where style becomes statement. Presence becomes positioning. And fabric becomes a form of strategic communication. This year’s theme, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” centered on the Black dandy, which explores the importance of clothing and style to the formation of black identities in the Atlantic diaspora. But beyond the theme, here’s what stood out: This was a carpet of returns, reveals, reverence. And every moment meant something. 👉🏾 Lets start with Rihanna. She wore Marc Jacobs, wrapped in a white, crystal-embellished gown she co-designed , paired with a feather-boa-trimmed cape and dramatic headpiece. On that carpet, she confirmed her third pregnancy. Why here? Because the Gala is legacy-coded. Because hen Rihanna reveals new life in couture, she’s not just participating she’s asserting lineage, and power. 👉🏾 Ayo Edebiri’s look was soft, but it spoke volumes. The Ferragamo gown, in ivory, was detailed with red coral-like beads. A tribute to her Nigerian father’s Edo culture, where coral beads are worn during weddings and royal occasions symbols of beauty, power, and wealth. This is how you carry ancestry into aesthetic. 👉🏾 And then there was Lewis Hamilton. Wearing Burre, styled by Ib Kamara, accessorised with a Stephen Jones beret and a pearl, garnet, and cowrie shell brooch the look took months to create. Inspired by jazz icon Cab Calloway and artist Barkley L. Hendricks, it was part fashion, part homage. The cowrie shell holds significance in many African cultures as a symbol of fertility, spirituality, and trade. 👉🏾 Diana Ross returned after two decades and reminded us who wrote the blueprint. In a self-designed, sweeping white gown embellished with crystals and trimmed with feathers, Ross didn’t just show up. She re-entered the cultural chat, on her terms. Why now? Because icons don’t chase relevance they reinforce legacy. And why wouldn’t she turn up for this theme? 👉🏾 Dua Lipa and Callum Turner debuted as a couple. The Met Gala isn’t just for fashion statements. It’s for public story shifts. Announcing a relationship on this carpet is a form of controlled narrative. It says: “We’re not hiding. We’re defining who we are, in front of the right room.” 👉🏾 Madonna returned for the first time since 2018. She wore a champagne satin suit, paired with a cigar. The look was subtle, but the message was bold. After years of being scrutinised for her appearance and age, Madonna styled herself like a mogul, not a muse. And Madonna has always aligned herself with subversion, style as rebellion, and identity as performance all core tenets of the Black dandy archetype. So, it makes sense for this to be her ultimate return. Interestingly enough the biggest takeaway I always get from these themes is a reminder that symbolism outlasts virality. In other words, positioning isn’t what you wear. It’s why you wear it.

Marketeers and brand builders have long known that attention is the new currency. But, entertainment is what actually earns it. The brands growing fastest aren’t just distributing content, they’re making things people want to watch. 👉🏾 29 of the 30 most entertaining brands saw revenue growth last year. 👉🏾 Two-thirds saw double-digit gains. That’s not by accident, it’s a shift. 👉🏾 Brands like Duolingo, with its chaotic charm on TikTok, Liquid Death, turning hydration into performance art, and rhode skin, seamlessly blending culture and commerce are showing us what happens when marketing becomes entertainment. In a fragmented media landscape, you’re not just competing with other brands. You’re competing with creators, culture, and everything on your For You Page. So the question isn’t just “how are we showing up?” It’s, ‘’Would anyone care if we didn’t?’’ #AD

In autumn 2023, Foot Locker was the No. 9 footwear brand among teens. By early 2024, it had dropped off the list. But this spring, it’s back at No. 10. What changed? They reconnected with Gen-Z and re-centred itself in sneaker culture. 👏🏾 Their new campaign shows exactly how they did it. Foot Locker brought in LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson to lead the first video in a wider campaign called “Stay in Rotation.” The video, “Life in Rotation”, shows Johnson on a spinning pedestal in three different outfits. Each is paired with a different pair of Puma shoes: the Speedcat, Speedcat Ballet, and La France. Puma’s the first brand partner to show up. Adidas, Nike, and New Balance are on the way this spring. Each drop will tap into a different “moment and mood” in sneaker culture. Think: retro kicks, Y2K runners, and classic skate shoes. Why is this campaign a brilliant move for Foot Locker? 👉🏾 The Flau’jae effect: She has star power in both basketball and music. She’s willing to experiment with her style. She has an organic connection with Gen-Z. And she’s got incredible social media reach. 👉🏾 Staff-led content: Alongside Flau’jae, Foot Locker’s sales associates (aka “Stripers”) will create content about their own sneaker rotations and how they help customers build their looks. This reflects the shift in Gen-Z, how they’re moving away from hype culture and the idea of collecting sneakers, towards self-expression and personal style. The staff content hits that perfectly. What does this mean for brands and marketers? Ask yourself: + Are you showing up where Gen-Z already is - in culture, not just in channels? + Are you moving with the cultural shift? + Are you building authentic relationships with consumers at the local level? I’m so here for this campaign. 👏🏾

The rise of Substack isn’t about newsletters. It’s actually about ownership. Right now, 👉🏾 Creators are exhausted by algorithms
👉🏾 Brands are at the mercy of platform changes
👉🏾 Everyone’s chasing fleeting attention
👉🏾 Traditional press still gatekeeps power and POV Substack offers something else, depth, control, and longevity. Since launching in 2017, Substack has grown into a competitive platform with over 20 million monthly subscribers and 5 million paid subscribers. The top 10 publishers alone generate more than $40 million annually, showing the real earning potential of direct-to-audience content. As of December 2024, Substack ranked as the 26th most-visited news site globally, cementing its place as a serious player in the media landscape. And I can’t lie, it’s fast becoming one of my favourite platforms to get lost in reading more in-depth pieces, and exploring loads of new subjects. But it isn’t just a place for writers. It’s where the media industry is being rewritten. 👉🏾 Journalists are reclaiming their voice, not waiting for editors to approve work. 
👉🏾Influencers once dismissed as “just an aesthetic” are proving they have perspective. 
👉🏾 Parents, founders, researchers, creators outside the content bubble are building platforms on their own terms. In fact on Wednesday, Piers Morgan launched his own Substack. Why does it matter if you have 10,000 email subscribers vs. 100,000 Instagram followers? Because email is intimate and a different kind of influence. The platform for slow content and getting lost in words may have just arrived! I bloody love it! 📸 Tech Crunch

What’s the difference between propaganda and marketing? It’s not as obvious as you might think. Propaganda wasn’t always a ‘dirty’ word. In 1622, the Catholic Church created a department literally called “Congregatio de Propaganda Fide.” Its goal? To spread the faith. Nothing more, nothing less. Fast forward to World War I, and the word shifts. Propaganda becomes a tool for governments to shape public opinion, rallying support, controlling narratives, often blurring the line between persuasion and manipulation. Marketing, meanwhile, grows from commerce. It’s built on choice, value, and storytelling, ideally with transparency at its core. So what’s the real difference? Marketing invites you to choose. Propaganda pressures you to believe. In a world full of messages, it’s worth knowing which one you’re hearing and which one you’re creating. 👩🏾‍💻 This was the topic of my Substack newsletter this week. The Digress drops every Sunday. You can sign up here: 📧 https://lnkd.in/eY_SvmNV

Cash is dead? Not even close. It’s quietly making a comeback. Yesterday morning, a BBC report revealed that MPs are debating whether shops and services should be legally required to accept cash. Why? Because more people are using it to budget, especially during the cost-of-living crisis. (Card-only payments make it easy to overspend. Cash keeps you in control.) And the data backs it up. Cash usage has increased for the third year in a row since the pandemic (Nationwide). Nearly 33 million withdrawals were made from Nationwide ATMs last year, up 10% from 2023. For brands and marketers, this shift matters. It signals a new mindset. Intentional, budgeted spending. 👉🏾 More people are using cash. 👉🏾 More people are spending with intention. 👉🏾 More people are valuing small, affordable treats. So, ask yourself, how can you: + Show up in places where people still use cash? + Make small purchases feel more thoughtful and worth it? + Run in-store or event moments where cash adds to the experience, like a discount, a £10 shelf, or even a stamp card? Cash isn’t dead. It’s just getting more intentional.

Two generations. One economy. Completely different reactions. This week on The Digress (my weekly newsletter), I unpacked how economic trauma has shaped two generations very differently. And why that matters for marketing in 2025. We’ve been here before. But the way we respond? Depends on when we came of age. 👉🏾 Millennials have lived through multiple economic downturns at nearly every major life stage. Dot-com crash. Great Recession. Covid. So, they don’t panic anymore. They budget. They meme. They move on. 👉🏾 Gen Z are re-thinking their role. They live online, where economic anxiety trends in real time. From #layofftok to financial memes, they’re constantly exposed to other people’s stress. And that just makes theirs worse. Why does this matter to marketers? Because recessions don’t just change how people spend. They also change how people feel. And that emotional shift shows up in everything from TikTok trends to skirt lengths and brand loyalty: 👉🏾 Milkmaid dresses and maxis are back (skirt lengths tend to fall during downturns) 👉🏾 Revolve and Anthropologie have been leaning into vintage-inspired collections 👉🏾 ASOS, Zara, and eBay have reported major spikes in nostalgic styles throughout 2024 So, how do you market to both generations? During recessions, people usually fall into four groups: + Slam-on-the-brakes + Pained-but-patient + Comfortably well-off + Live-for-today Your job as a brand is to figure out where your audience sits, and speak to that. The brands that come out stronger are the ones that: 👉🏾 Refocus their messaging to meet people where they are emotionally 👉🏾 Invest in the channels that still matter 👉🏾 Double down on trust, because familiar names feel safer when things feel shaky 👩🏾‍💻 The Digress drops every Sunday. You can sign up here to read the full article📧 https://lnkd.in/eidfiTZk

I really love that in 2025, I get to call this work 💛

Coachella is the melting pot of all things music, pop culture and fashion. And I’ve been lucky enough to go multiple times. (The brand and fringe events are genuinely some of the best I’ve ever seen.) Here’s what went down in the first weekend of Coachella 2025: 👉🏾 Red Bull debuted the Red Bull Mirage, a multi-level, 20,000 square-foot installation, with its own musical lineup and a pop-up omakase experience by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. 👉🏾 Aperol returned with its famous Piazza, an Aperol-orange Italian oasis where friends could relax, take photos, and play digital trivia to win exclusive prizes.  👉🏾 The 8th annual Revolve Festival returned with a banging lineup, including live performances from Lil Wayne, Tyga, and special guest Cardi B. 👉🏾 Postmates by Uber brought the heat (and the cheese) with remix collabs on LA’s most iconic pizza slices. 👉🏾 The HEINEKEN Company spun festival nostalgia with vinyl vibes, sets from Pusha T Afrojack and Cordae, and of course served icy brews in their listening bar hideaway. 👉🏾 To celebrate a 10-year long partnership, American Express gave cardholders the ultimate flex: exclusive merch customisation with a Coachella twist. Talk about FOMO. 👉🏾 The New Bar returned for its third year as the official non-alcoholic partner, providing the sober-curious a home base, fully stocked with non-alcoholic beverages from brands including ALMAVE, Recess Zero Proof, Free AF and FRENCH BLOOM wines. 👉🏾 Pinterest brought the moodboard to life with beauty bars, trend stations, and IRL inspo from Ramisha Sattar. 👉🏾 Charli XCX brought out Lorde, Troye Sivan and Billie Eilish, giving us another taste of Brat Summer. 👉🏾 Lady Gaga gave the headline performance featuring tracks from the beginning of her career to her latest album Mayhem. 👉🏾 And Megan Thee Stallion brought out Queen Latifah. Mental. Then of course, there are the brand trips, which are a moment in themselves. 👉🏾 Kourtney Kardashian brought back desert wellness with luxe tents and SPF-soaked rituals with the most iconic brand trip: Camp Poosh. 👉🏾 Vick, Verdy, and friends touched down at the GUESS?, Inc. JEANS Compound, complete with all the best GUESS clothes, Gin & Juice this weekend, and the perfect pool. 👉🏾 Airbnb hooked Pop Crave up with the most insane house, right next to the Empire Polo Field.  Weekend 1, done. See you in Weekend 2.

Had an absolute blast speaking at Advertising Week Europe last week. A little blown away by the response - thank you for all the kind messages, calls, and emails. Such a great conversation, and energy in the room. Big shout out to Chloe Davies for curating a killer session. Word on the street is… we’re running it back? Catch you at Cannes! #AWEurope25 📸 Photography by Shutterstock for Advertising Week

GAP started as what some might consider a basic brand, the uniform of ‘’mall culture’’ and “safe” fashion. But in 2025? It’s quickly becoming a quiet luxury staple. Here’s how it happened. For years, GAP was stuck.
 👉🏾 Not ‘cool’ enough to be streetwear.
 👉🏾 Not elevated enough to be premium. 
Just… there.
(I should say, I love GAP. But culturally, they flatlined.) Then something shifted. 👉🏾 GAP didn’t try to out-hype Nike.
 👉🏾 They didn’t try to out-price Loro Piana.
 They played a different game entirely. They structured cultural credibility over trend-chasing Appointing Zac Posen as Creative Director in 2024. Most recently he designed a custom look for Laura Harrier for the Met Gala 2025, created in the GapStudio. They partnered with legacy icons like Dapper Dan and The Brooklyn Circus not just for hype, but heritage. They tapped into nostalgia with real emotional weight (the logo hoodie isn’t new, it’s familiar that’s the point). Owned normcore as a flex, not a fallback letting simplicity speak in a world of chaos. And here’s why their approach was so clever. 👉🏾 They launched a new category ‘GapStudio’ that elevated the simple quality they are globally famous for. 
 👉🏾 They reframed the meaning of what they already made. That’s repositioning without reinvention - that’s strategy. At The Fitting Room, we say this all the time, 
‘’You don’t need a trend to be relevant. You need meaning’’ And GAP found it. The results 👉🏾 Their hoodie becomes an updated statement piece 
 👉🏾 Their logo becomes an anchor
 👉🏾 Their brand becomes a world Over the next 5years, more consumers will understand that premium isn’t about price.
It’s about identity, emotion and repeatability. You only have to look at the resale market. GAP collabs are flipping like they’re Supreme. Look at the moodboards. Stylists are pairing GAP basics with Margiela. Look at the vibes. What used to be “plain” is now intentional.

We’re looking for an Operations Director to join The Fitting Room on a fixed-term contract and help steer the ship as we scale and evolve. We're seeking someone with a proven track record of helping agencies achieve operational excellence and building structured frameworks. This is a 3–6 month opportunity to bring further clarity, structure, and momentum to a fast-moving creative and cultural driven environment. You’ll work closely with myself and our Head of Operations and Growth to drive process, manage resources, and ensure the agency is running like clockwork, whilst delivering on our commitment of creating hype, demand and legacy for our clients. You might be perfect if you: 👉🏾 Love fixing things, streamlining systems, and unlocking people’s potential 👉🏾 Can confidently manage finance, HR, resourcing, and internal workflows 👉🏾 Have experience leading operations in creative or marketing agencies 👉🏾 Thrive in a high-growth, high-energy environment 👉🏾 Know how to balance rigour with agility Details: + Contract: 3–6 months + Start: ASAP + Location: London / Hybrid (3 days in the office) If you or someone brilliant you know might be a fit, let’s chat. DMs very open. 👏🏾 📸 Team picture from our Easter weekend shenanigans. 😅

Banging marketing highlights you need to know from this month: 💅🏾 👉🏾 Glossier, Inc. teamed up with internet sensation Quenlin Blackwell for their latest campaign, with Quen wearing Espresso Balm Dotcom. What a chaotic but hilarious pairing. Obsessed with what they brewed. 👉🏾 E.L.F. BEAUTY’s Glow ‘N Go Diner really served at Stagecoach this year. They were doing personalised glam touch-ups and handing out free goodies. 👉🏾 Puresport set up an electrolyte petrol station at the London Marathon, where runners could refuel at Mile 24. They can take home the marketing medal. 😂 👉🏾 adidas UK held an exclusive activation for the ‘Adizero Pro Evo 2’ launch, where runners went head to head in a secret underground location to win a pair of the iconic shoes. 👉🏾 Crumbl teamed up with the Kardashians for a surprise collab - 6 new desserts, each inspired by a different family member. Gutted I didn’t get my hands on a box. 👉🏾 Kai Cenat unboxed one of Au Vodka’s PR packages, a personalised bottle of Juicy Peach, live on stream to 3.5 million viewers, for free. Vodka through the mail?! If you know, you know. 😂 👉🏾 Grind | Certified B Corp x Clueless landed, and it was everything. A limited-edition collab to mark 30 years of the cult classic, with coffee, Cher, and that fluffy pink pen. Fully obsessed. 👉🏾 Zendaya and On were back again. Their latest campaign, Zone Dreamers, is styled as a trailer for the “greatest movie never made” - an extraterrestrial adventure celebrating confidence, community, and the power of movement. Bit random, but we’re into it. 👉🏾 GARNIER CLUB hit the road with their first-ever Micellar Museum, celebrating the history of their #1 best-selling Micellar Water. First stop? Santa Monica Pier. Wish I could’ve been there for the immersive beauty experience. 👉🏾Dr. Martens plc x Bratz, the collab you didn’t know you needed, landed this April. Whether you're a longtime Bratz fan or just love a statement shoe, this one was made to turn heads. Bratz switching it up and catering to the adults who grew up with the brand is peak strategy. 🤌🏾 👉🏾 Blank Street celebrated spring with a pop-up picnic kiosk in London. The first 100 people on each day could ‘Press for Picnic’ to get a limited-edition city picnic kit to enjoy in the sun. What a vibe. 👉🏾 Foot Locker teamed up with LSU basketball star Flau’jae Johnson in a Gen Z marketing push. This was part of their ongoing effort to connect with younger consumers and centre themselves in sneaker culture. Well played. 👉🏾 And of course, everything Coachella. Rhode teamed up with 818 for an epic photo booth, while Pinterest returned for the 2nd year, working with NVE Experience Agency, to create a space where fans could explore, try on, and remix trends that will dominate this year's festival season. And so much more. Your move, May. (Also, how is it that we’re almost halfway through 2025?!)

There are certain emails that hit your inbox and make you scream. Mine? Spotify asking me to host ‘’Spotify Sparks London 2025’’. This flagship content event brings together CEOs, CMOs, advertisers, creators, and media for a day of innovations, creative, cultural insights, and platform exploration and it was an absolute joy to host it yesterday at Protein Studios. Throughout the day, I welcomed senior Spotify stakeholders to the stage to talk innovation, marketing, measuring campaign impact, and new content verticals. Guests also heard from incredible voices at Monzo, Channel 4, and Expedia. I wrapped up my hosting duties by moderating ‘’Culture’s Biggest Stage’’ - a lively panel exploring podcastculture, entertainment, and influence. My guests, the brilliant James and Clair Buckley of The Buckleys podcast, and the iconic Marina Hyde of The Rest is Entertainment. (Yes, interviewing Jay from The Inbetweeners was exactly as fun as you’d expect 😂.) And to close it all out, after a quick stage reset, I had the pleasure of introducing the phenomenal Rachel Chinouriri for a live set to end the day on a high. I probably should’ve waited for the pro event pics… but here we are 😅. A day to remember. Thank you so much, Spotify

6 months ago, I started posting content on TikTok and YouTube . Last week, I found out I’d taken the #1 spot in the ‘’Top 20 Advertising and PR Influencers in the UK 2025’’ (thank you Favikon !) And it didn’t stop there - I’m now ranking #1 globally across multiple categories in the advertising, marketing, and culture space. (I can’t lie, I did scream a little. Then immediately called my mum. No chill whatsoever 😅.) When I started posting last year, it wasn’t about ‘building a personal brand’ - that narrative still makes me feel a bit icky. It really was an about, how can I drive top-of-funnel awareness for The Fitting Room and be in more places without physically being in more places? Since mid-January, I’ve been lucky enough to work with some incredible global platforms delivering campaigns across B2B - including the OGs LinkedIn. And we’ve had some incredible opportunities coming into TFR👏🏾 And later this week… I’m hosting ‘’Spotify Sparks’’, an exclusive event for Spotify’s C-Suite leaders, creators, and press. Absolutely gassed! I’m not going to say “just post it”, because it took me 2.5 years to work up to doing this. But I will say: share what you love. You never know who’s watching, who’s listening, or what doors you might open, just by showing up.