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I often think December asks more of us than any other month. It asks us to pause. To consider the year not by its achievements, but by its texture. How did it feel to move through it? What did you discover about yourself? What do you want to leave behind? These questions are gentle, but they are persistent, and they shape how we step into whatever comes next.
We don’t talk about that enough in branding, but it matters. The person building the brand shapes the brand just as much as the market does.
December is easily my favourite month. Not just because it is festive or cosy, but because it finally slows the world down enough for us to actually see what has been happening all year. The lights go up, the cold settles in, and suddenly we are all paying attention again. I love the rituals of it. The pine-scented everything. The gingerbread. The tiny pause before the new year arrives and demands more from us.
And this year, the pause feels especially necessary, because so much has shifted in branding and consumer behaviour that even the industry looks a little overwhelmed by itself. If 2025 proved anything, it is that all the old assumptions about what people want are dissolving. Consumers are choosing with more intention. Spending less impulsively. Expecting more meaning for their money. They have not stopped buying at all. They have just become sharper, more emotionally aware, and honestly, harder to impress. Which I think is a good thing.
Luxury was probably the biggest giveaway. Alo Yoga dropping three thousand dollar handbags felt ridiculous at first, but it actually showed something very real. People are reaching for upgrades that feel somewhat within reach, even if they are objectively outrageous. A three thousand dollar Alo bag is absurd, yes, but still closer than a ten thousand dollar Chanel one. Louis Vuitton’s one hundred and sixty dollar lipstick sits in the same ecosystem.
The high price is not an accident. It is a gateway. A way to taste a world that is becoming increasingly inaccessible. This is the new logic of modern desire. We want the thing just beyond our grasp, not the one comfortably in reach.
Culture, meanwhile, took a gentler turn. The resurgence of girlhood aesthetics, pastel nostalgia and softness signalled more than a trend. It revealed a craving for safety, for brands that feel human and emotionally intelligent.
And then, of course, there is the chaos and brilliance of how people actually shop now. Gen Z has rewritten the marketing funnel and TikTok made desire a group activity. A creator can sell out a product faster than an entire marketing team. None of this behaves like the clean diagrams marketers love, but it is absolutely how people move through the world now. It is emotional, social and constantly regenerating.
This is the reality brand founders are building in. It is a lot. It changes fast. Some days it makes perfect sense and other days it feels like everything is shifting under your feet. Brand Insider has become my way of sitting with you in it, helping make sense of the bits that feel confusing, and giving language to the instincts you already have. The goal has never been to predict the future perfectly. It has always been to help you understand the present clearly.
As the year ends, I just feel grateful you are here. Reading, sharing, thinking, sending messages, coming back. It means more than you know and creating this space has been one of the most grounding parts of my work. I hope your December is calm and warm. I hope you eat something gingery. I hope you take real time off.
Merry Christmas. Enjoy the break. I will see you in the new year.
What’s been in my bag, on my wish list, and in my browser tabs this month.
And if your Christmas list is still looking suspiciously blank, take a scroll through our 2025 Gift Guide. It is packed with the kind of well-designed, quietly brilliant things we always end up gifting (and occasionally keeping for ourselves).
Sign up for our newsletter to receive weekly case studies and insights from Brand Insider.
This brand perfected basics, here's how.
The activewear brand loved by celebs. But what's behind their success?
We’re obsessed with Reformation — and there's two big reasons why.
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How Jess Hunt brought this brand to life through brand activations.
While the brands mentioned are not sponsored or paid advertisements, some of the products highlighted may earn us a commission.
I often think December asks more of us than any other month. It asks us to pause. To consider the year not by its achievements, but by its texture. How did it feel to move through it? What did you discover about yourself? What do you want to leave behind? These questions are gentle, but they are persistent, and they shape how we step into whatever comes next.
We don’t talk about that enough in branding, but it matters. The person building the brand shapes the brand just as much as the market does.
December is easily my favourite month. Not just because it is festive or cosy, but because it finally slows the world down enough for us to actually see what has been happening all year. The lights go up, the cold settles in, and suddenly we are all paying attention again. I love the rituals of it. The pine-scented everything. The gingerbread. The tiny pause before the new year arrives and demands more from us.
And this year, the pause feels especially necessary, because so much has shifted in branding and consumer behaviour that even the industry looks a little overwhelmed by itself. If 2025 proved anything, it is that all the old assumptions about what people want are dissolving. Consumers are choosing with more intention. Spending less impulsively. Expecting more meaning for their money. They have not stopped buying at all. They have just become sharper, more emotionally aware, and honestly, harder to impress. Which I think is a good thing.
Luxury was probably the biggest giveaway. Alo Yoga dropping three thousand dollar handbags felt ridiculous at first, but it actually showed something very real. People are reaching for upgrades that feel somewhat within reach, even if they are objectively outrageous. A three thousand dollar Alo bag is absurd, yes, but still closer than a ten thousand dollar Chanel one. Louis Vuitton’s one hundred and sixty dollar lipstick sits in the same ecosystem.
The high price is not an accident. It is a gateway. A way to taste a world that is becoming increasingly inaccessible. This is the new logic of modern desire. We want the thing just beyond our grasp, not the one comfortably in reach.
Culture, meanwhile, took a gentler turn. The resurgence of girlhood aesthetics, pastel nostalgia and softness signalled more than a trend. It revealed a craving for safety, for brands that feel human and emotionally intelligent.
And then, of course, there is the chaos and brilliance of how people actually shop now. Gen Z has rewritten the marketing funnel and TikTok made desire a group activity. A creator can sell out a product faster than an entire marketing team. None of this behaves like the clean diagrams marketers love, but it is absolutely how people move through the world now. It is emotional, social and constantly regenerating.
This is the reality brand founders are building in. It is a lot. It changes fast. Some days it makes perfect sense and other days it feels like everything is shifting under your feet. Brand Insider has become my way of sitting with you in it, helping make sense of the bits that feel confusing, and giving language to the instincts you already have. The goal has never been to predict the future perfectly. It has always been to help you understand the present clearly.
As the year ends, I just feel grateful you are here. Reading, sharing, thinking, sending messages, coming back. It means more than you know and creating this space has been one of the most grounding parts of my work. I hope your December is calm and warm. I hope you eat something gingery. I hope you take real time off.
Merry Christmas. Enjoy the break. I will see you in the new year.
What’s been in my bag, on my wish list, and in my browser tabs this month.
And if your Christmas list is still looking suspiciously blank, take a scroll through our 2025 Gift Guide. It is packed with the kind of well-designed, quietly brilliant things we always end up gifting (and occasionally keeping for ourselves).
Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest brand news and insights from Brand Insider.
