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Sydney Sweeney is a marketing machine. Since she became a household name, the actor has partnered with a seemingly endless list of brands that include Miu Miu, Guess, Samsung, Ford, Baskin & Robbins, Kérastase, and Armani Beauty. Some of her endorsements have been, shall we say,unexpected. In 2024 she was announced as the global spokeswoman, or "director of Dude," for HeyDude, a brand best known for its boat shoes.
Now, Sweeney is launching her own brand. Syrn (pronounced "siren") is a lingerie brand for bodies who are traditionally underserved. The initial launch includes a collection of lace-trimmed underwear and comfortable bras in a range of 44 sizes (30B to 42DDD), most of which are under $100. This new venture reveals the naked truth about modern celebrity, where creating art is a stepping stone to releasing a product—and, hopefully, making bank.
Sweeney's penchant for endorsements has not gone unnoticed. "It seems like she's not ashamed or embarrassed by promoting all of these different projects," Priya Rao, the executive editor ofThe Business of Fashion,toldtheNew York Timeslast year. "Historically, celebrities were taught it was tacky to do too much, to be everywhere all at once." Rao is correct that the previous approach to endorsements was "less is more"—fewer deals with bigger brands. But then reality TV and social media came along, creating the "attention economy," where even negative attention can be converted to engagement and profit.
Last summer, we saw this cycle in action when Sweeney'scampaignfor American Eagle sparked weeks of fraught online discourse. The ads were accused of nodding to white supremacist language, which made the podcast-pilled MAGA right (briefly) rally around her. Suddenly,shewas the one being endorsed—byPresident Trump, no less. In the midst of the debacle, American Eagle's stock surged by24 percent.
Kim Kardashian and her siblings created the blueprint for this new era, where stardom is all about being seen as much as possible. Like Sweeney, Kardashian endorsed many brands and products before fronting her own: First, a bizarrelylucrativemobile game, then her own beauty and fragrance brands, and finally the moment she hit the jackpot: Skims, the shapewear brand currently valued at$5billion. It is no coincidence that Kardashian's billion-dollar breakthrough was with a brand that centered her body, which has been constantly fixated upon, vilified, idolized, and objectified. With Syrn, Sweeney seems to be taking control of the internet's absurdobsessionwith her breasts by monetizing it herself, while also—but also attempting to become a serious entrepreneur by filling a need in the market.
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The main difference between these women is that Kardashian used business as a way of demanding legitimacy in an industry where she was originally derided for not having a "talent." But even Sweeney's detractors would be foolish to argue that she's not talented. Why is a gifted actor emulating a reality star?
Two words:money, honey. Back in 2022, as Sweeney's star was rising, she got her first taste of controversy when she spoke about her finances inaHollywood Reporterinterview. She said she worked so much—on HBO dramasEuphoriaandThe White Lotus, and themade-for-airplanerom-comAnyone But You— because she couldn't afford not to. Unlike the nepo babies surrounding her, she didn't come from generational wealth. This prompted online backlash, but it's factually true that Hollywood stardomdoesn't pay like it didin the 2000s and 1990s. (Unless you're willing to do back-to-back Marvel movies—or whatever it is Dwayne Johnson actually does.)
The unspoken truth of celebrity today is that you no longer getrichrich—never have to work again wealthy—by making art. That's probably why Rihanna has spent the last decade working on beauty and fashion brands instead of releasing new music, and why Ryan Reynolds is investing in soccer clubs, F1 teams, tech companies, and gin brands, rather than filming a sequel toThe Proposal. (One day, our prayers will be answered.) Kardashian became a billionaire years before her one-time nemesisTaylor Swift, who is quite possibly the most commercialized musician in the world, and evenBeyoncé, who is approaching 30 years of pop stardom. The new dream is to use your celebrity to found a billion-dollar brand then ride off into the sunset.
Might Syrn become the next celebrity mega-brand? I'm not the intended market, of course, but I can't escape the feeling that it feels a little rushed. The logo, in particular, looks like a detox smoothie brand—a pyramid scheme that would trick your auntie into investing her life savings after spending too much time on Facebook. Still, the brand reportedly has the backing of Jeff Bezos, one of the world's richest people. And at this point, it's obvious that one of Sweeney's core talents is generating attention—that's a very valuable skill.
I'm not calling her out here, by the way. Hollywood is notorious for putting talented women out to pasture, and there seems to be a wider acceptance of celebrities selling out these days. (Perhaps it's a "recession indicator"?). Besides, after a period where Sweeney has hurtled between beingaccusedof endorsing eugenics, a brutalbox office flop, and most recentlyThe Housemaidbecoming an unexpectedcommercial smash, she's learning that Hollywood stardom is unpredictable. But mogul-dom? That might be a smoother ride.
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