Surprise Daft Punk drop; Gucci's AI campaign controversy; 19 year old to direct an A24 film; and more

Welcome Digest [2.25.26]

Feb 25, 2026

Welcome To February 25th

Today’s Important Headlines

Daft Punk drops surprise video 5 years after split

Five years after their breakup, Daft Punk has released a new video for their 2005 single “Human After All,” continuing a steady stream of post-split archival releases and visual projects. The clip, edited by Cédric Hervet, features footage from their 2006 sci-fi film Electroma, which follows two robots on a failed attempt to become human. Online speculation quickly followed, with some fans reading the video’s story as a hint at a possible return, potentially without the helmets or under a new moniker.

Gucci unveils controversial AI-generated campaign

Gucci has launched a new campaign featuring AI-generated imagery, a striking choice for a heritage luxury brand known for high-production craftsmanship. The rollout immediately sparked debate, especially given the backlash McDonald’s faced just last month when it experimented with AI visuals (and ultimately deleted the posts). Critics are questioning what it signals when a fashion house with vast creative resources turns to artificial imagery, while others see it as part of a broader cultural shift toward normalizing AI in high-end branding. Whether Gucci will remove the campaign in response to public pressure remains to be seen.

A 19 year old YouTube creator is directing A24’s new horror film

A24 has released the first trailer for Backrooms, a liminal horror film based on Kane Parsons’ viral YouTube series. Parsons, who began the found-footage project as a teenager, becomes the youngest director in the studio’s history at 19. His original The Backrooms videos have amassed well over 100 million views.

J. Cole is addicted to larping as poor

People are growing tired of J. Cole’s performative “broke” persona after he reportedly had to make an emergency stop when his Honda Civic broke down en route to Los Angeles during the Trunk Sale Tour. Cole has long cultivated a humble, everyman image (see memes about the “J. Cole meal”), but some online are pushing back, with one viral tweet pointing to past sightings of him driving a Lamborghini Urus.

These runners ran 100k inside an art gallery

Nike ACG transformed Spazio Maiocchi, a contemporary Milan art space, into a 150-meter off-road loop for “Exhibition of S.P.E.E.D. (Mostra di Velocità),” a three-day endurance test. Instead of mountains and open terrain, 27 international runners completed up to 100K by doing 666 laps inside the gallery space.

Diesel built its FW26 runway around 50,000 pieces of brand memorabilia

At Milan Fashion Week, Diesel staged its FW26 show inside a sprawling installation built from 50,000 artifacts pulled from the brand’s 48-year history. Creative director Glenn Martens described the set as an “ocean of party regalia,” featuring everything from inflatable animals and toy Santas to costumes from founder Renzo Rosso’s birthday parties. The collection itself leaned into a walk-of-shame narrative, with garments twisted, creased, and dusted in confetti.

Headline curation and words by Mikail Haroon (@mvkail)