A Lack of Sex Doesn’t Sell?

A Slow Shift Away from Sexy. Victoria's Secret posted flat sales despite its new launch of Happy Nation. They did indicate in earnings (as reported by Lauren Thomas) that they are receiving third-party seller interest. That could give VS new distribution channels outside retail and DTC ecom.

Insider Digital Trading. Remember last year, when we wrote a Senses story about the OpenSea exec who was front-running projects, and buying them before they got a homepage feature? Yeah well now he's been charged with wire fraud. The guy only made 19 ETH — or $34,000USD at the current exchange rate.

More Sights & Sounds. DeLorean Motor Company has given a sneak peak at the new electric Delorean, and Marty McFly would be impressed. Novaloop raised $10 million in Series A funding. Elon Musk announced that employees at Tesla will be required to work at least 40 hours a week in the office, adding that those who don’t want to return to the office should “pretend to work somewhere else.” Pridewashing will be in full-effect this month, but here's where you can support actual gay creators, and not big corps cashing in. Also, this article says all of the things about the "Cult of DTC" that so many were afraid to say.

Created Creatures. Check out the wild costumes these Congolese artists are making out of trash and found materials. The costumes are meant to reveal community aspirations as well as shine light on local problems such as poverty, pollution, and overconsumption. Love!

Something New. Lil Nas X and M&M’s announced they are partnering on a new platform meant for celebrating music and building connections. More info on the partnership has yet to be released.

Popular Pizza. Dolly got her Mexican Pizza back at Taco Bell, and apparently it's a menu item that is beloved by the masses. The chain underestimated its popularity, and demand has been so high that within two weeks restaurants have already experienced massive shortages. Once they can secure proper amounts of the ingredients again, they plan to make the dish a menu staple.

It was a Drive by Caking.Mona Lisa had cake thrown at her by a man who had disguised himself as an old woman in a wheelchair. Luckily, the painting remained unharmed, as it was protected by glass. As he was being escorted from the scene, the cake activist implored others there to "Think of the Earth." Honestly, as long as she’s been around, I’m sure Ms. Lisa has survived worse.

Criminal Crackdown. ICE is said to be launching a new initiative to crack down on organized retail crime. This NRF piece on ORC (organized retail crime) tells how they've been lobbying for legislation (the INFORM Act) that would require 3rd party marketplaces to legitimately verify the identity of high-volume sellers to curb retail smash-and-grab crime. And this Loss Prevention Magazine piece defines what ORC is, and how retailers often struggle to combat it.