Software is entering a phase where it's mirroring the fashion industrial complex.
We've all seen the whirlwind rise of brands like Shein in fast fashion. This ‘used today, forgotten tomorrow' philosophy is simping into our application arena. Disposable content and apps are becoming the new normal, pitting themselves against emerging opinionated luxury goods. Think less Shein, more LVMH.
This shift became apparent to me when considering the acquisition of Los Feliz Engineering (Family Wallet) by Avara. A conglomerate emerges, now housing bespoke brands, some more akin to luxury goods like the Family Wallet.
In my free time, I dabble with Generative UI, which I believe is guiding us toward software that's akin to fast-fashion-likes. Simple, purposeful, and oh-so-useful for exactly one occasion. For me my generative UI experiments are foreshadowing a future dominated by single-use case apps. In a post Figma designed UI world everything is a button on the lockscreen to AI world. Abstraction everywhere.
Look at Web3, we are at the edge to simplify the digital landscape into a one-click ecosystem. Uniswap Hooks, Lens Open Actions and Metamask Snaps, are the consumer crypto apps.
However, every coin has two sides. Remember that iconic cerulean sweater scene from The Devil Wears Prada? Similarly, software trends trickle down from luxury, opinionated software houses to everyday, fast fashion-like apps. It's a ripple effect, shaping the industry. Therefore there must be software as statement pieces. In a world where individuality reigns and AI is noise, statement software pieces are the new black.
In the software world, we're seeing a trend where overly designed landing pages, much like the haute couture runways, are not just digital storefronts but platforms for showcasing visionary ideas. Maybe this is the advent of the haute-couture software house. These elaborate pages, like those of Linear, sell an identity not a product, while setting the stage for their more practical products. They parallel the fashion industry's split into everyday wear, luxury goods, and fast fashion.
As builders, it's crucial to decide our identity: are we about if you know you know streetwear, exclusive bespoke luxury, or mass-market appeal? Also software will be as wild and niche as any “core” existing on TikTok.
Software has become fashion. Generative UI is spearheading the movement toward single-use, fashionable, ready-to-wear but mass-produced apps. Landing pages are the new runways. The smartest players? Those who realize that, in software as in fashion, it's not about being everything to everyone. The Bottom Line: Make a Statement through Software.
I'll end with one of my favorite quotes, which sums it all up:
“Authenticity-powered status and mastery of the psychological slight-of-hand possible with limited-edition consumerism. When individuals buy something for distinction, and it turns out everyone else has it, they typically abandon it and find something more distinct. But if 10 million people all own a unique product from a brand, they are unlikely to be disappointed with the fact that 10 million people also own the same brand because the other 9.9 million people don’t own the exact same thing. So you can have masses all own the same thing but not think they own the same thing.”
https://www.thefashionlaw.com/a-few-words-on-the-recurring-relevance-of-supreme/
