If you feel a sudden urge to dig out a velvet choker or a pair of tight skinny jeans, you’re not alone. The internet has officially decided that 2016 was the last good year, and social feeds are currently full of grainy Snapchat filters that make the era look like a dream. And it was actually a year that changed fashion in many ways.

2016 was the year TikTok was founded, which completely changed how trends grow and spread. At the same time, fast fashion reached a breaking point. Brands started moving away from seasonal collections and began releasing new products every single week, leading to a 52-week calendar. This meant designers and brands stopped trying to make high-quality clothes that lasted. Instead, they focused on making cheap items that were meant to be worn once and thrown away.

It was also the year that craftsmanship stopped being the goal and logos took over. This was specifically when Demna presented the DHL t-shirt, turning a basic work uniform into a high-priced status symbol. It marked the moment where branding and hype became more important than how a piece of clothing was actually designed or made.

I think we can take the fun, experimental energy of 2016 but combine it with the better, more thoughtful standards we have today. It’s an exciting time because we’re moving past the era of just "buying more" and getting back to the joy of building a personal style that lasts.

Caught my eye

In some corner of the internet, I found the website of this LA photographer with incredible diptychs (not to be confused with a candle!), combining people and nature.

Trends — what’s bubbling underneath the headlines

• NikeSKIMS’ - Can the Tabi go mass?

  Kim Kardashian is officially the new Kanye West with the NikeSKIMS Rift Mesh shoe launch. Dropping January 26 for $150, the shoe reimagines Nike’s polarizing ’96 split-toe (tabi) silhouette as a sleek, “ballet-inspired” flat. The brand is betting on a “social wellness” pivot to revive Nike’s lagging women’s segment. But also asking mainstream consumers to romanticize a split toe might be the hardest sell Nike’s made in years.

• "Fashiontainment"

  Gap is officially moving past the "brand refresh" phase into a direct play for intellectual property. By appointing Paramount executive Pam Kaufman as Chief Entertainment Officer, Richard Dickson is signaling that Gap no longer wants to just sponsor culture—it wants to own it. "Fashiontainment" isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a strategy to scale Gap’s presence across the $2.3T global entertainment market by co-creating content in music, film, and gaming. Instead of paying for a logo placement, Gap is positioning itself as an IP participant, meaning they’ll share in the ownership and revenue of the stories they help tell. I’ll be watching to see if this L.A. overhead actually generates value or if it’s just another expensive experiment in a crowded attention economy.

• The Fashionization of everything

  Whoop appointed Samuel Ross as its first Global Creative Director under a multi-year partnership titled Project Terrain. The goal is to reposition the wearable from a performance tracker into a design-led object.

  This mirrors a broader shift across non-fashion brands, where aesthetics are increasingly treated as a strategic asset. Starbucks, for example, recently brought in Neiv Toledano from e.l.f. Beauty to lead fashion and beauty — a move designed to prevent cultural stagnation. For Whoop, the logic is similar: utility alone no longer sustains a premium. By bringing in Ross — whose work spans Nike and LVMH — and by having his studio invest alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Whoop is signaling that this is a long-term brand bet. The open question is whether this shift expands the audience, or whether the best way to make your Whoop cool remains the Gstaad Guy Poubel charms.

Business moves, big numbers & “wait, what?”

• The $2.7B House of Cards. The other shoe has finally dropped for Saks Global. Just thirteen months after the $2.7B merger meant to "save" the American department store, the entity behind Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman filed for Chapter 11 on Tuesday. The group missed a $100M interest payment in late December and is now trying to manage a $3.4B debt pile. The creditor list reads like a Who’s Who of European luxury, with Chanel ($136M), Kering ($60M), and LVMH ($26M) sitting on the hook for tens of millions in unpaid inventory. Even Amazon, which provided $475M in preferred equity for the initial deal, has officially labeled its investment "worthless" and is now fighting the restructuring plan in court. Bottom line: if you can’t offer an experience that justifies the Uber ride, you’re not a luxury destination—you’re just a very expensive warehouse.

• The Topshop re-entry. Topshop is attempting a digital resurrection across 23 EU countries, finally launching a standalone webshop to reclaim its "London-cool" DNA. I think it’s a great moment while the entire world is reliving 2016. I am personally excited to see the physical stores, however, Topshop has to prove it’s still a trendsetter and not just a nostalgic relic for Millennials.

Wish I were there - pop-ups,  collabs, etc.

Pencil in, book the ticket, or just follow on social media — choose your option and let’s discuss afterwards!

• 21.01.-22.01.26 | Paris - Saint Laurent Beauty immersive pop-up

• 16.01.26-22.01.26 | Paris - Saint Laurent exhibition

• Ongoing | Dosan - Louis Vuitton pop-up hotel

• Ongoing | Courchevel - Lacoste Padel courts

Next steps

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