AUGUST is the slowest month of the fashion year, so it's a good time to pause and take stock of where we're at and how we got here. BRIDGET FOLEY does the former in her overview of NEW YORK's fashion landscape after RAF's appointment at CALVIN KLEIN, and T MAGAZINE does the latter, waxing existential about desire, connection, anticipation and consumerism. MICHAEL ROCK muses on what functions IRL shopping can serve in a world that no longer necessitates it, and HEIDI JULAVITS introduces the idea of waiting as a luxury experience. Luxury plays across both space and time, and which poles connote it - abundance vs. absence, immediacy vs. delay -- depends on when and who you're talking about. Today, having fewer things and more time to spend pursuing, considering, and purging them marks a specific sort of well-to-do lifestyle. And if we accept time as our most valuable currency, choosing to wait becomes an expression of both prosperity (time to spend) and authenticity (can't hurry love nor a BIRKIN bag nor a special meal). Waiting is one of the only ways to actively experience the elasticity of linear time. It can make us feel like children, when some days felt like weeks, and ancient, as JULAVITS notes, our lives already ending. It's all relative, of course -- just depends on what you're waiting for... You may have read that flossing might not actually be as good for your teeth as every dentist you've ever had promised. Since when is science the only valid reason for doing something, though? Could we consider flossing a beauty ritual, closer to grooming than hygiene? Styling our hair or doing our make-up won't make us any healthier (though we don't typically have chunks of lunch in our bangs, either) but it makes us feel good. Is the ritual its own reward? How obvious is it that I can't imagine going to bed without first punishing my gums?... According to MERRIAM-WEBSTER, the word "luxury" originally meant "lust." Lots to unpack there... FashionREDEF is looking for a new curator to help us tie together the fascinating worlds of fashion, culture, business and technology. Please send resumes tojobs@redefgroup.com.