Khaite, Tariffs, and the Commodification of Global Identity

A CASE STUDY: but it's not what you think and that's also the point

What does the commodification of global identity have to do with… a pair of khaite heels… and (!!) tariffs? GLAD U ASKED! ha ha ha

Lots of you have DMed to ask if today’s letter could provide a lens on the tariffs recently launched in the US. To which I’d say: there’s been LOTS of incredible coverage over the past week, and therefore, what you might have been expecting is NOT what we’ll be discussing here.

Because while this ^ journalism is essential, it’s also NOT what this newsletter is about. We’re here to deliver strategy masked as rogue ops in a way only we know how. It’s about connecting seemingly disparate outputs scattered across culture to the underlying systems and frameworks that govern an interwoven underbelly of consumption (a mapping of shifts across power, culture, and status). In its most realized form, this usually connects to building out tangible business strategy (e.g., read my recent piece for Vogue Business as an example of how to tangibly leverage culture within commercial strategy !!).

All to say, rather than talking about the tariffs, or their practical application for you (as a business or a consumer), I’m requesting ur permission 2 enter my macro existentialist form LOL.

Hope it’s granted? because today…. we’re going to discuss nascent shifts in the thematic landscape of consumption, using a newly popular Khaite SKU as a tariffs x consumer-climate case study!!