The Materialist : Tariro Makoni

Every so often, a guest joins The Materialist who manages to collapse categories: intellect and indulgence, strategy and sparkle, Prada and Gramsci. This week, that guest is Tariro Makoni.

Tariro is a strategist, writer, and the voice behind Trademarked, one of the smartest (and funniest) Substacks on the internet. She writes about fashion, politics, and consumer behavior with such clarity and candor that you’ll never look at a sweater—or a tariff—the same way again.

In our conversation, we dig into:

* The emotional logic of “frivolous” purchases

* Why women drive 85% of consumer spending (and what that means for power)

* The return of smoking as a sign of late-capitalist burnout

* And why what’s happening on the Prada runway is an economic indicator—even if your professor doesn’t think so.

But we also talk jewelry. Not as trend, but as text. Symbols, signals, little indulgences that reveal how we see ourselves—and what we want others to see.

What’s on Tariro’s wrist (and mind):

* A Carolina Bucci Lucky Bracelet — silk and gold, worn until the threads say something new

* A Cartier Juste un Clou — flipped backwards to reclaim its meaning

* A Charm Factory Star Bracelet — substantial, a little magical

* And rings by Vanessa Hernandez — “the light of my life,” as Tariro puts it

Each of these pieces comes with a story. A context. A cultural echo. And that’s what this episode is about: the meaning beneath the sparkle.

🛍 Explore jewelry that tells a story📩 Subscribe to Tariro’s Substack: Trademarked

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