While the world is obsessing over GPT-5, I’m still undecided — maybe because I haven’t noticed a meaningful step change like with some earlier models. My all-time favourite was o3 critical reasoning: if prompted well it could imitate human creativity, but that was also the risk — very convincing argumentation could hide serious misinformation if you didn’t read it critically. I’m a little disappointed it’s not available anymore.

Interesting thought of the week I heard on TikTok: the creation of large consumer brands like Nike is almost impossible these days. Social media has primed people for constant novelty, and a new brand’s arc goes from small influencers to bigger ones—then people move on to the next thing. It’s an interesting take: maybe we see more potential in consumer brands than there actually is. On the other hand, maybe that’s okay—the real genius may be a factory that launches viral niche brands one after another, rather than betting on any single one becoming big.

Caught my eye

Luxury designer Christian Louboutin has expanded his hospitality venture, Vermelho Melides, by opening two new private villas in Portugal’s beautiful Alentejo countryside.

Trends — what’s bubbling underneath the headlines

• Music is officially an alternative asset class

  Just over a month ago, Bain Capital and Warner Music launched a $1.2B joint venture to build a portfolio of “iconic, culturally relevant music” with long-term value. Now, Searchlight Capital is putting $400M into Chord Music Partners — owner of catalogues from ZZ Top, Ellie Goulding, Lorde, The Weeknd, and John Legend. The bet is clear: streaming has turned timeless songs into perpetual cash machines, and private equity wants in. At this rate, it may not be long before music legends are less associated with the label they signed to, and more with the investment fund that owns their library.

• Speaking of alternative investments

  According to resale platform Reklaim, more luxury consumers are buying secondhand Hermès Birkins and Kellys not just for the status, but as a way to diversify their assets. It’s a fascinating shift: the accessory that once symbolised spending power is now being reframed as a store of value

• The mall that became a brand

  While many retail locations and malls are feeling the slowdown, Nanjing’s Deji Plaza in China is a living example of what experiential retail (the thing everyone keeps talking about) actually looks like. The mall alone generated 24.5B RMB ($3.4B) in sales in 2024. Museum-level art exhibitions and the most glamorous restrooms in the world — designed for social media virality — have pulled the mall into online conversations. In a market where brand stores often feel interchangeable, it’s interesting to see that differentiation can come from the environment itself, and that the mall can become a brand with its own audience. Struggling European retailers could learn a lot from it.

Business moves, big numbers & “wait, what?”

• A rare jewel changes hands. Gemfields—a London-listed miner responsible for roughly 25% of the world’s emeralds and 50% of its rubies—has sold Fabergé to U.S. investor SMG Capital for $50 million. That’s a markdown from the $142 million Gemfields paid back in 2013 to acquire the jeweller. Back then, the acquisition aimed to lend marketing leverage to Gemfields’ gemstone business. Today, however, Fabergé brought in just $13.4 million in sales in 2024—little compared to Gemfields’ ruby and emerald revenue of $117 million and $79 million, respectively. For investors and brand strategists, it’s a case study in what happens when a brand with 180 years of cultural equity meets new capital — and whether rarity can be scaled without losing its magic.

• Celebrity stylist Law Roach is reportedly lining up investors to buy Emanuel Ungaro, the Paris house currently owned by tech investor Asim Abdullah (acquired from Ferragamo in 2005 for ~$84M). After years of revolving creative leads and a license-first strategy, the brand is a minnow: 2023 revenue ~€1.23M (vs. €1.50M in 2022). Any buyer is purchasing heritage and IP, not a P&L. If Law Roach closes the deal, it will be a rare example of a talent-and-creativity-driven turnaround, not another round of corporate restructuring.

• Florence-based LuisaViaRoma has filed for court protection in Italy after a sharp sales drop — –13% in Q1 2025, then >–30% in April–May — and >1,250 creditors pressing for payment. The turnaround plan: shut at least two stores, retreat from weaker markets (notably the US), collapse to one warehouse, lean into higher-margin private labels (Annagreta, The Core), and pivot to a capital-light marketplace. It looks like inventory-heavy, full-buy e-commerce is out; online marketplace + cost discipline is in.

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