A rollneck sweater divided the internet, and J. Crew’s OK with that

Last week, J. Crew launched a new iteration of a core product, the rollneck sweater. Emma Chamberlain, the 25-year-old influencer, podcaster, and founder of Chamberlain Coffee, modeled the sweater with Gen Z-coded styling. The campaign quickly became a cultural flashpoint, dividing comment sections and spawning a cycle of organic content that included speculative hot take posts on crop tops, Gen Z pandering, and the state of J. Crew’s business. The J. Crew sweater might’ve taken over the cultura...