Who is buying the Palantir chore coat?

It started with the Palantir chore coat. Then it was the Anthropic "thinking cap." Now, OpenAI has its own regular merch drops through its apparel arm, Supply Co.

Over the last year, big tech and AI companies have started to get into the fashion game, releasing streetwear-inspired drops, hiring people into roles like "head of vibes" and opening pop-up shops to show off their merch.

The reaction has been split. Many in the fashion community have lambasted these releases, calling them inauthentic and using fashion as a means of reputation laundering. Many of the companies involved, particularly Palantir, have been widely criticized for reasons including their environmental impact, unethical data acquisition models or contributions to mass surveillance.

Highsnobiety style writer Chris Erik Thomas joined the Glossy Podcast this week to discuss why these companies are entering the fashion game and why the reaction from streetwear communities has been so negative.