Mike Litman

The Pattern

News EN ↓ 243 episodes

Before it's obvious. A daily briefing scanning 150+ sources across fashion, design, tech, brands, and music. Finding the patterns others miss, every morning at 8:30am UK time.

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: thepattern.media

Author

Mike Litman

Episodes

No. 193: Power is transferring to engineers. Culture will follow the hardware. 05.09.2026 4:36

Culture Pulse: 74. Engineers are now making cultural decisions. Apple, Roland, Nvidia chips as diplomacy. The Pattern for 5 Sept: power transferred to builders. Taste follows. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-09-05.html

No. 192: Minimalism just became sneaker culture's most expensive flex. 04.09.2026 4:25

Culture Pulse: 74. The CDG x Air Jordan 11 cost $358 for what was taken away. Restraint is now the loudest signal in the room. @ThePatterndaily Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-09-04.html

No. 191: Identity is the new creative brief. Artists are rewriting their own names. 03.09.2026 4:57

Culture Pulse: 72. Miley drops her surname. Burberry commissions not licenses. Wearstler crosses into fashion. Identity is the new creative brief. | The Pattern 03.09.26 Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-09-03.html

No. 190: Craft is how brands signal values now. Scarcity just confirms it. 02.09.2026 4:32

Culture Pulse: 72. Craft is the new brand strategy. mfpen, Goop, and Anecdotes by Artists all launched today with provenance, not association, as the value claim. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-09-02.html

No. 189: Cancelled culture just became the Met's new dress code. 01.09.2026 4:54

Culture Pulse: 74. The Met cancelled Galliano. Vaseline renamed itself after a viral mispronunciation. Institutions no longer hold editorial authority. Audiences do. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-09-01.html

No. 188: Community is the product now. Festivals proved it before brands did. 31.08.2026 4:41

Culture Pulse: 71. Community replaced content as the premium cultural product. Daisy Chain Fields, Grindr's EDGE tier, and Air Jordan 4 London all proved it today. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-31.html

No. 187: AI is making culture faster. Authenticity is now the scarce resource. 30.08.2026 4:39

Culture Pulse: 74. 89 of China's top 100 Douyin animated dramas are AI-made. Human provenance just became the premium signal. The Pattern, 30 Aug. #BeforeItsObvious Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-30.html

No. 186: Resale data is now the best product research tool luxury has. 29.08.2026 5:03

Culture Pulse: 62. Resale markets are outperforming luxury's own product teams as trend intelligence. The RealReal's 2026 report makes it structural. Today's Pattern. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-29.html

No. 185: Creators are becoming storefronts. The retail category just changed forever. 28.08.2026 4:23

Culture Pulse: 72. Creators are storefronts now. YouTube + Amazon just collapsed the purchase funnel to zero. The brands not already inside creator content are structurally behind. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-28.html

No. 184: AI has a branding problem. So does every category it touches. 27.08.2026 4:52

Culture Pulse: 72. AI has a branding crisis. The category definition is still unclaimed. The brand that names what it does for humans first wins everything. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-27.html

No. 183: Pop culture is Gucci's new creative director. Demna just made it official. 26.08.2026 5:03

Culture Pulse: 72. Gucci just proved subcultural credibility is a ceiling, not a floor. Demna's multi-genre hold is luxury's new creative brief. @ThePattern #BeforeItsObvious Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-26.html

No. 182: Netflix becomes a platform. The streaming era just ended. 25.08.2026 4:46

Culture Pulse: 72. Netflix is building cable. Byredo is going mass. Loewe followed a meme to a campaign. The pattern: distribution is now the primary creative decision. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-25.html

No. 181: Gaming grows up. Furniture is how it claims the living room. 24.08.2026 4:49

Culture Pulse: 71. Gaming is annexing the living room. IKEA and Xbox just made it official. Category boundaries are collapsing — The Pattern 24.08.26 Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-24.html

No. 180: Place is the new prestige. Seoul just became the proof. 23.08.2026 4:51

Culture Pulse: 68. Palace just opened its 3rd Seoul store. Cultural authority lives there now, not in London or New York. Brands still calling it 'APAC' are behind. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-23.html

No. 179: Authenticity now costs five dollars. Fugazi just set the price. 22.08.2026 4:51

Culture Pulse: 72. Fugazi sold cancelled Vans shoes for $5. Supreme's CCO left after 22 years. Streetwear's credibility infrastructure is repricing. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-22.html

No. 178: Sport is the new retail calendar. Ralph Lauren just proved it. 21.08.2026 4:49

Culture Pulse: 72. Sport is the new retail calendar. Ralph Lauren's US Open play is a season, not a sponsorship. The campaign-plus-partnership model is over. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-21.html

No. 177: Collectible culture is repricing downwards. IKEA just moved the goalposts. 20.08.2026 4:53

Culture Pulse: 72. IKEA just entered the collectible design market. When the world's biggest furniture brand claims that word, it stops belonging to luxury. The floor moved. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-20.html

No. 176: Physical space is back as the prestige signal. Google just proved it. 19.08.2026 4:34

Culture Pulse: 68. Google in a Chicago landmark. Kith and BMW with two bespoke cars nobody can buy. Bugaboo's first collab in a decade. The pattern: physical presence is the new premium. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-19.html

No. 175: Street culture found its object fetish again. Supreme proved it. 18.08.2026 4:52

Culture Pulse: 74. Supreme just confirmed it: objects beat content. The drop era is back and it never really left. Today's Pattern. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-18.html

No. 174: AI personas are getting hired. The talent industry just changed shape. 17.08.2026 4:51

Culture Pulse: 74. AI personas are joining the creative workforce. Generic talent just got cheaper. Authentic ownership just got more expensive. @ThePattern // Monday August 17 Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-17.html

No. 173: Objects are becoming the new media channel. Brands noticed. 16.08.2026 4:35

Culture Pulse: 71. Objects are the new media channel. Slawn's Rolex drops, Patek's Milan exhibition, Chinese EVs as entertainment venues — distribution just changed hands. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-16.html

No. 172: Identity is the new product category. Brands are catching up. 15.08.2026 4:45

Culture Pulse: 72. Instagram's first rebrand in a decade, KFC opening a wine bar, Wonderskin hitting $200M. Identity is the new product category. Brands are catching up. | The Pattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-15.html

No. 171: Music is becoming the architecture of resale. Fashion is following. 14.08.2026 4:43

Culture Pulse: 72. Music is becoming the architecture of resale. Depop's Spotify move is not a campaign. It's a structural bet on who owns taste formation. #ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-14.html

No. 170: Objects are becoming the new brand prestige signal. 13.08.2026 5:13

Culture Pulse: 72. Objects are the new media spend. LEGO x Nike, V&A Dundee, Saucony's StockX rise: product form is doing the cultural work that campaigns used to buy. @ThePattern Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-13.html

No. 169: Body is the new building. Retail space is becoming skin. 12.08.2026 4:38

Culture Pulse: 74. SKIMS turned skin tone into architecture. White Rabbit went viral for a 60-year-old wrapper. Physicality is making its case. Today's Pattern: the body is back as the primary brand surface. Read the full edition: https://thepattern.media/editions/2026-08-12.html