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Every brand says “community.” Topicals actually means it.
Does anyone rememeber Amina Muaddi?
What Skims and Rhode know about selling out, that most brands don’t.
This is the quietest brand in fashion—and here’s why it works.
PLT’s beige era is here — but is it believable?
How to build a brand world (and sell sunscreen while you're at it).
September always feels like the real new year. Inboxes get heavier, the pace of everything picks back up. I always think of it as the point where you have to ask yourself: how do I actually want to close out the year? For brands, the pressure is real – campaigns everywhere, Q4 creeping up, plans getting locked in whether you’re ready or not.
By this time I’ve usually abandoned the chaos of summer and slipped back into structure: long evenings at my desk, chai lattes on rotation (a new obsession I’ll probably burn out on soon), and comfort shows in the background. The Vampire Diaries will forever be my September reset button (firmly team Stelena, sorry Damon lovers), with the occasional Gossip Girl rerun when I want background noise that feels familiar. It’s a ritual now, this combination of comfort and focus, and it mirrors the season in branding too...
August was a month of pulling threads. We talked about girlhood nostalgia and why it won’t let go of Gen Z, and about the fatigue setting in with It-girl brands, no matter how glossy they look on Instagram. I started the How To Brand series, which turned out to be such a fun experiment. Tomato Girl and Recession Core were first up, proof that even throwaway TikTok aesthetics can open up bigger conversations about what people are craving. And we wrote about why summer is the season you can get away with breaking the playbook entirely. That all made sense when the sun was out. But now that September’s here, I feel the shift into something else, almost like drawing a line under all the noise.
September 1st also always flips a switch for me personally, especially Aafter all the eating and travelling of summer. I’m back on my 10k steps, actually meal prepping and eating properly, which feels like a small miracle. And of course the autumn wardrobe reset — Zara trips for cosy jumpers, convincing myself yet another trench coat is needed. I even find myself wanting new stationery despite living entirely in Notion. September sells you the fantasy of starting fresh, and maybe that’s exactly why it’s such a powerful season for brands too. The trick is making that reset feel genuine, not forced.
Rare Beauty’s billboards for their new perfume, for one. I recently saw this and it instantly took me back to the scratch-and-sniff magazines I used to love when I was younger. Now they're back and on billboards, massive and fun, and I love that a memory that silly and personal has been scaled up into an actual street-stopping moment.
And then Heaven Mayhem’s Selfridges takeover – I went to see it in person and it looked absolutely gorgeous, completely at home in a space that usually swallows brands whole. Even SKIMS with that face wrap: you either hate it or you love it or for some people, you really love to hate it. I wasn’t going to engage, and then suddenly I’d wasted twenty minutes scrolling arguments about a piece of fabric. All so different, but together they reminded me of the same thing:
That’s the energy I want to take into this month. We’re putting together the ultimate branding calendar, because Q4 doesn’t wait. We’ll be talking about how to actually prep for Black Friday and holiday season, and diving into more case studies. September isn’t just about sharpening pencils and resetting routines — it’s about momentum, and knowing exactly how you want to carry it forward.
What’s been in my bag, on my wish list, and in my browser tabs this month.
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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.
The surprising evolution of this everyday store.
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.
September always feels like the real new year. Inboxes get heavier, the pace of everything picks back up. I always think of it as the point where you have to ask yourself: how do I actually want to close out the year? For brands, the pressure is real – campaigns everywhere, Q4 creeping up, plans getting locked in whether you’re ready or not.
By this time I’ve usually abandoned the chaos of summer and slipped back into structure: long evenings at my desk, chai lattes on rotation (a new obsession I’ll probably burn out on soon), and comfort shows in the background. The Vampire Diaries will forever be my September reset button (firmly team Stelena, sorry Damon lovers), with the occasional Gossip Girl rerun when I want background noise that feels familiar. It’s a ritual now, this combination of comfort and focus, and it mirrors the season in branding too...
August was a month of pulling threads. We talked about girlhood nostalgia and why it won’t let go of Gen Z, and about the fatigue setting in with It-girl brands, no matter how glossy they look on Instagram. I started the How To Brand series, which turned out to be such a fun experiment. Tomato Girl and Recession Core were first up, proof that even throwaway TikTok aesthetics can open up bigger conversations about what people are craving. And we wrote about why summer is the season you can get away with breaking the playbook entirely. That all made sense when the sun was out. But now that September’s here, I feel the shift into something else, almost like drawing a line under all the noise.
September 1st also always flips a switch for me personally, especially Aafter all the eating and travelling of summer. I’m back on my 10k steps, actually meal prepping and eating properly, which feels like a small miracle. And of course the autumn wardrobe reset — Zara trips for cosy jumpers, convincing myself yet another trench coat is needed. I even find myself wanting new stationery despite living entirely in Notion. September sells you the fantasy of starting fresh, and maybe that’s exactly why it’s such a powerful season for brands too. The trick is making that reset feel genuine, not forced.
Rare Beauty’s billboards for their new perfume, for one. I recently saw this and it instantly took me back to the scratch-and-sniff magazines I used to love when I was younger. Now they're back and on billboards, massive and fun, and I love that a memory that silly and personal has been scaled up into an actual street-stopping moment.
And then Heaven Mayhem’s Selfridges takeover – I went to see it in person and it looked absolutely gorgeous, completely at home in a space that usually swallows brands whole. Even SKIMS with that face wrap: you either hate it or you love it or for some people, you really love to hate it. I wasn’t going to engage, and then suddenly I’d wasted twenty minutes scrolling arguments about a piece of fabric. All so different, but together they reminded me of the same thing:
That’s the energy I want to take into this month. We’re putting together the ultimate branding calendar, because Q4 doesn’t wait. We’ll be talking about how to actually prep for Black Friday and holiday season, and diving into more case studies. September isn’t just about sharpening pencils and resetting routines — it’s about momentum, and knowing exactly how you want to carry it forward.
What’s been in my bag, on my wish list, and in my browser tabs this month.
Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest brand news and insights from Brand Insider.
