Latest news with #Fischer
New York Post
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- New York Post
This is what Gen Z is obsessed with right now: Parke, Labubu and more
The scene is like something out of a turn-of-the-millennium teen movie — swarms of co-eds roaming college campuses, all wearing the same sweatshirt. This time, however, it's not a vintage Gap ad come to life — and modern girls are paying even more for the privilege of looking exactly like their peers. The object of their fashion affection is a $125 pullover from Parke, an out-of-nowhere online clothing company started by a Jersey girl influencer — and Gen Z's gotta have it. Advertisement 'It's almost like a status kind of thing,' Long Islander Gabriella Fischer, 20, told The Post of the spendy sweaters. 13 Parke is a fast-growing online clothing company known for its sweatshirts, which range in price from $125 to $140. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post 13 Long Islander Gabriella Fischer, 20, said it's a 'status thing' to own one. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement Chelsea Kramer founded her clothing label Parke, which is her middle name, in 2022 and started selling the now-inescapable Parke Varsity Mockneck less than two years ago. The sweatshirts are pretty exclusive — if you're not on the website when there's a drop, you're out of luck. Fischer owns four Parke sweatshirts and said most girls in her sorority at Penn State own at least one. 13 A big part of the hype around the sweatshirt is that sense of feeling included, said Fischer, pictured here with friends Samantha Rothseid, Kali Versailles and Ella Szerencsy. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement 'You see people with the new sweatshirt, and everyone would be like, 'Oh my god, you got the new Parke,'' Fischer said. 'But I think once everyone has it and it becomes easy to get, it's not going to be as trendy.' Parke's limited collaborations are the draw — one with activewear brand Set Active was what put the company on Shirel Bendavid's map. 'It was all over my feed, and the aesthetic immediately caught my eye,' she told The Post, adding that she now owns three Parke sweatshirts, one from that collaboration. 13 'It's worth it,' Shirel Bendavid said. Courtesy Shirel Bendavid Advertisement 'Parke sweaters have that 'cool girl' look — effortlessly trendy, comfortable and visually appealing,' she said. 'Plus, being a relatively new brand adds to the excitement and sense of exclusivity.' The price of the sweatshirt definitely makes the girls pause, but for someone who loves fashion and staying on trend, Fischer believes 'this is the item to buy right now.' 'Once I saw more and more people wearing it and seeing it still be on trend after a few months, I was like, OK, it's worth it,' she admitted. 'If you're willing to have spent $130 on a sweatshirt, I would tell you it's worth it.' 13 Parke sweatshirts drop online — and only the fastest can scoop them up. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Bendavid agreed. 'I only buy items I absolutely love and know I'll get a lot of wear out of.' Last year alone, Parke netted $16 million in revenue, Kramer told The Cut — and even she finds the cult status 'actually insane.' 'I think there's that element of virality, where…one person's wearing it and then the next,' Kramer told Glossy Pop in October. 'We could probably sell a garbage bag.' 13 'This is the item to buy right now,' Fischer said. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement However, some have accused the brand of selling cheap duds at high prices. Abby French, known as @sustainablefashionfriend, went into 'private investigator mode' and screenshotted all of Kramer's videos to dig deeper. She believes Kramer buys $15 sweatshirts on Alibaba, puts 'PARKE' on them and sells them for over eight times the price. 'If a brand is telling you that they're transparent, they should at least be a little bit transparent, even if it's in pricing or where it's made,' French, a 29-year-old sustainability consultant, told The Post. 'You should be asking more from a brand that is charging you a lot for something.' 13 Parke netted $16 million in revenue, its founder said. Heather Khalifa for the NY Post Advertisement 'I genuinely feel upset seeing all of these college girls buying this sweatshirt,' Mallory Brooks, @plzdontbuythat on TikTok, who works in textile and apparel design, told The Post. 'You're not buying something that has inherent value… What you're being sold is inclusivity, a sense of belonging.' But Parke isn't the only status symbol Gen Z is vying to spend money on. Here are some other things the young ones are blowing their cash on right now. Soho shopping sanctuary 13 Brandy Melville, often referred to as just 'Brandy,' is the cool spot in Soho for Zoomers to shop and hang. Tamara Beckwith The name on every Gen Z's lips is 'Brandy.' Advertisement Brandy Melville, the one-size-only stores that had their heyday in the early 2010s, is now being rediscovered. Lines formed at NYC stores within the last year, partly due to its TikTok-famous employee, Allegra Pinkowitz, who shares her outfits of the day while waiting for the subway. 13 Edikted is another shopping destination for tweens. Tamara Beckwith That's what's driven most early 20s shoppers to Soho — particularly on the block of Broadway in between Broome and Spring streets, which New York Magazine dubbed 'Tween Row' — as they wait in lines for Edikted, Princess Polly, Garage and PacSun. Advertisement Along with 'basics,' these stores sell resurrected trendy duds like extremely low-rise shorts, studded denim and chiffon tanks. Labubu lunacy 13 The status markers are everywhere — dangling from purses, backpacks and water bottles — but they're hard to come by. REUTERS No, Labubu is not the new internet slang for lobotomy. The creepy dolls with a monster-like smile might be the singular It item of 2025. The round and furry collectibles with pointy ears have been dubbed the 'Birkin bags of bag charms' because they're so exclusive. The $27.99 keychains are exclusively manufactured by Pop Mart and are sold in blind boxes, so the buyer doesn't know which Labubu they're going to get. The exclusivity around the trinket went into overdrive thanks to known Labubu lovers Lisa of Blackpink, Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Hilary Duff. 13 The internet calls them the 'Birkin bags of bag charms' because they're so hard to come by. JESSICA LEE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Pop Mart brick-and-mortar stores, like the one in the World Trade Center, have seen hourlong lines of people trying to get their hands on the beloved figure, as have the store's Robo Shop vending machines. New releases sell out online in seconds, and almost immediately, they go up on reselling sites such as eBay or StockX for triple the price. They're so hard to find that people are now actively seeking out the knockoff version, dubbed Lafufus, which has garnered its own fan base on TikTok. There's also an entire secondary market of clothes and bags for the Labubus, so you can accessorize your accessory. Scented sanitizer 13 The Touchland candy-colored sanitizers are $10 each and come in rectangular glass bottles that fit in the palm of your hand. Touchland Sanitation is now the ultimate symbol of 'cool' with the $10 Touchland candy-colored pocket sanitizers that come in rectangular glass bottles that fit in the palm of the hand. Part of the appeal of the sanitizer mist is the minimalist and colorful aesthetic that looks more like a gadget than a typical hand sanitizer. They've become so popular among teens and tweens that they're akin to Pokémon cards of previous generations, being traded as though they are prized possessions. The craze has gotten to the point where teachers have had to limit them during class. Lip gloss is poppin' 13 Summer Fridays lip balms cost $24 per tube. Not unlike the Lip Smackers craze or the millennial obsession with the EOS egg-shaped lip balms, Gen Z can't get enough of lip balms, oils, butters and glosses. But their go-tos have a bigger price tag than the $3 drug store options. Summer Fridays, Rhode, Ole Henriksen, Rare Beauty and Laneige, just to name a few, have become a staple for girls in their teens and 20s. Dig into any Zoomer's purse and you're sure to find at least one of these 'lippies' lying around.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas rep: Abbott's lack of communication about National Guard deployment is 'frightening'
San Antonio's Democratic state House delegation is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to brief the city on the National Guard deployment. Guard members arrived in the city Tuesday night, ahead of planned protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions. In a letter addressed to the governor, Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer shared his "concern over the lack of coordination with local authorities in the staging of Texas National Guard troops in San Antonio." He explained that city officials and local law enforcement have not been briefed, citing a Wednesday press conference with Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Police Chief William McManus. "The Governor has since confirmed that Texas National Guard troops are being deployed in cities around the state. That communication available purely on social media raises more questions than it answers," Fischer wrote. "If the protests around the state pose a threat significant enough to justify military intervention, then local leaders must be informed of that threat and the state's response." On behalf of the Bexar County Legislative Delegation, Fischer asked for a briefing "on the deployment's scope, legal authority, and operational goals." He referred to the legal challenge of a similar action in Los Angeles, in which federal troops responded to anti-ICE protests despite objections from California's governor as well as local officials. 'Briefings and coordination at every level are critical," Fischer wrote in closing. "Sending soldiers into our cities without explanation invites conflict and puts our communities at risk." Fischer posted his letter to social media, saying, "The lack of communication is frightening." He also listed other state representatives who share his concerns: Ray Lopez, Liz Campos, Josey Garcia, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins and Diego Barnel. Several Texas cities are expected to hold rallies for "No Kings Day of Mobilizations" on Saturday, June 14. The protests are organized by "50501," a grassroots movement enabling independent organization across the country, My San Antonio reports. "No Kings Day" has been intentionally planned for the same day as the Trump administration's military parade in D.C., which also coincides with Trump's birthday. What is 'No Kings' day? What to know about Texas protests on June 14, Trump's birthday News of the National Guard's deployment comes after hundreds of protesters assembled at the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday to show support for those protesting ICE actions in Los Angeles. Similar demonstrations were held in downtown Dallas that same evening, and protests also occurred in San Antonio and Houston over the weekend. Tensions in Los Angeles escalated after an ICE raid on June 6 led to the arrest of several individuals. The operation sparked protests that escalated over the weekend, prompting President Donald Trump to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to the city. On June 9, California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment of the National Guard without prior consultation with Governor Gavin Newsom. The governor criticized the decision in a social media post, calling it "illegal and immoral." In another post that morning, Newsom accused Trump of "illegally" federalizing the Guard and declared, "We're suing him." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas lawmakers criticize Gov. Abbott for National Guard deployment
USA Today
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- USA Today
How Nissan's cupholder guru is changing the way you drink in your car
How Nissan's cupholder guru is changing the way you drink in your car Show Caption Hide Caption Car maintenance tips you need to know These basic car maintenance tips are vital to your car's longevity. ProblemSolved, Reviewed New drink containers keep changing the shape of cupholders. Door-pocket bottle holders must be easy and safe for the driver to use. The next time you don't spill hot coffee in your lap driving to work, spare a moment to thank Chris Fischer. The vehicle development engineer at Nissan's North American tech center in Farmington Hills, Michigan is one of the engineers and designers automakers charge with staying a step ahead of the world's cup, coffee and container manufacturers. He has been Nissan's go-to guy for cupholders since 2015, when complaints about cupholders weighed down the automaker's customer satisfaction scores ― a key benchmark. It's full-time work. 'Refillable bottles were becoming a big deal, and they were a different size' from the 12-ounce cans and Big Gulp cups automakers had focused on, Fischer told me recently while holding up a large CamelBak bottle. He brought a bottle just like it with him to Japan. To this day, it remains in Nissan's box of samples, all painted a neutral color like modeler's clay for easy digital scanning. Struggling automakers: Can troubled automaker Nissan survive the next 5 years? Why the experts say yes 'Americans put a high value on drinking in our vehicles, and we use a wide variety of sizes,' Fischer said. That behavior was behind cupholder mania, which began in the United States with Chrysler minivans in the 1980s. Cupholders became so popular that automakers promoted the number they offered in a vehicle alongside fuel economy and airbags. But the right design is a moving target. Keeping up with consumer behavior 'How do you fit a CamelBak and a 6-ounce aluminum can in the same holder?' Fischer asked. One answer, spring-loaded plastic fingers that adjust to different sizes of bottles, raised a new question: What shape and strength "finger" will hold a 20-ounce insulated Yeti, but not crush an 8-ounce "short" paper cup? 'You also have to be aware of the holder's depth,' he said. It must be high enough to hold tall bottles, and short enough that it doesn't knock the top off a small paper coffee cup. 'Too big or too small is a problem.' Another challenge: Some people bring their ceramic coffee mugs from home into the vehicle. That led to the development Nissan calls a 'dog bone,' an open space connecting two round holders. A mug handle fits there, though I've discovered it's also a great place for loose coins to take up residence. The design evolved from round holders with a connecting channel to the current Pathfinder's hourglass shape with rounded plastic fingers to keep small containers in place. Design continues to adapt As soon as one question is answered, a new type of container poses another: What to do with juice boxes? Minivans and family SUVs now have square receptacles for them for their kid-dominated rear seats. Extra-large water bottles also pose a challenge. The answer: modified door pockets with holders that are easy to reach without distracting the driver from traffic. 'We're always looking at data,' Fischer said. 'We're the voice of the customer.' The 2022 Pathfinder's cupholders had the highest satisfaction scores in its segment, he said. 'We did our job. It seems like a small thing, but we want to sweat the details. The way cupholders work is important to customer satisfaction. It's a reason to buy a car.' Contact Mark Phelan: mmphelan@ Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Waukesha emergency overflow shelter to reopen after months of repair
The Brief The Waukesha Emergency Overflow Shelter is reopened. It had to shut down over the winter after two separate sprinkler heads burst, causing flood damage. The shelter has been renamed "Sentry House" because of its location at Sunset and Sentry Drive. WAUKESHA, Wis. - When temperatures dropped this past winter, so did the ceiling at the Waukesha Emergency Overflow Shelter. It had two separate sprinklers burst just weeks apart. Now, the shelter is preparing to reopen. What we know When the sprinklers burst in December, Kathleen Fischer could not believe it. Two different sprinkler heads burst. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android The second happened in February, during the shelter's peak season. What they're saying "This whole ceiling collapsed and everything was on the floor," Fischer said. "How does this happen twice?" asked FOX6's Bret Lemoine. "It's unusual for it to happen twice. For us, we still don't know," Fischer answered. Dig deeper Drywall had to be ripped out and the floors had to be replaced. Crews had to do it twice. The repairs added up to $100,000 in damage. On Monday, community leaders gathered to formally reopen the space for the first time in months. It has been renamed "Sentry House" because of its location at Sunset and Sentry Drive. The shelter will now be open year-round. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News The shelter will now only take single adult men and women. Families will move to another shelter. That opened up space will bring capacity to nearly 40 people. "It feels really good to know that we're going to get our doors back open again to men and women who need access to shelter," Fischer said. Hebron Housing Services said it helps about 400 people a year with temporary housing. People can stay at the shelter for 90 days and staff assists them with things like work and mental health. What's next Leaders say their insurance company is still investigating what caused both sprinkler bursts. The Source The information in this post was provided by the Waukesha Emergency Overflow Shelter.
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Inside Andrew Fischer's historic on-base streak at Tennessee in 2025
Inside Andrew Fischer's historic on-base streak at Tennessee in 2025 Tennessee's (46-19, 16-14 SEC) 2025 baseball season came to an end Sunday in the NCAA Tournament Fayetteville Super Regional. The Vols have appeared in five consecutive super regionals and six consecutive regionals under eighth-year head coach Tony Vitello. First baseman Andrew Fischer completed his first season at Tennessee after transferring from Ole Miss. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound junior appeared in all 65 games for the Vols in 2025, including 65 starts. Fischer reached base in every contest during the 2025 season. He walked during the first inning of Tennessee's season finale at Arkansas, extending his on-base streak to 68 games. Dating to the last three contests at Ole Miss in 2024, Fischer's on base streak stands at 68 games following the 2025 campaign at Tennessee. His last collegiate game to not reach base was with the Rebels at LSU on May 16, 2024. Fischer also tied Chase Headley's 2005 single-season record for walks (63) in Tennessee's program history. More: Top baseball photos from 2025 NCAA Tournament Knoxville Regional In 2025, he recorded a .341 batting average, 25 home runs, 65 RBIs, 70 runs, 74 hits, 16 doubles, 63 walks, four sacrifice flies, four stolen bases, 165 total bases, .760 slugging percentage, .497 on base percentage, 42 strikeouts and was hit by a pitch eight times in 217 at bats. In 30 SEC regular-season games, Fischer totaled a .340 batting average, .736 slugging percentage, .478 on base percentage, 11 home runs, 23 RBIs, 26 runs, 78 total bases, 36 hits, nine doubles, 27 walks, 23 strikeouts, one sacrifice fly and was hit by two pitches. Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
