The Hottest Trend in Russia? Brooklyn
Sort of seems like they get the idea. There are also lifestyle companies that offer training to would-be artisans, bow-tie companies, a “ukulele and vinyl shop” called Ukuleleshnaya, and a catering company that simply goes by Williamsburg Studio, among countless other examples.
And other than the name “Ukeleleshnaya,” which is just incredibly fun to say out loud, none of this is that surprising. America, and New York in particular, continues to be frighteningly good at generating worldwide consumerist trends, and semi-successful young people continue to enjoy pushing back against monopolies in largely harmless ways (and also, looking cool).
But still, the Russians haven’t totally assimilated. For one thing, business owners Idov interviewed in this article seem to have zero self-consciousness about the fact that they read Goop. We should always be self-conscious about the fact that we read Goop. More notably, a fancy “faux-Chinatown” noodle restaurant in the city found that none of its patrons were interested in the also-fancy cocktail bar downstairs. This is unheard of, even unfathomable to me. I never thought I’d have to tell Russians that they need to drink more in order to be cool, but life — and Russia? and Brooklyn? — is all about the unexpected, so, here we are. Drunk, in Brook-scow.
Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.