The Pattern

Feb 25, 2026

Seeing it before it's obvious.

Culture Pulse
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Luxury is becoming a secondhand conversation—whether brands like it or not.

Pieces From Gwyneth Paltrow's Closet Are Going to Auction—Including Vintage Versace, Dior, and an Oscars Dress

Paltrow's auction isn't just celebrity wardrobe liquidation—it's the normalisation of high-net-worth resale as cultural endorsement. When the goop founder claims her vintage pieces have 'energy' worth preserving, she's reframing secondhand luxury from necessity into lifestyle choice. This matters because it signals that even mega-wealthy consumers now see circular fashion as aspirational, not settling.

Vogue Fashion & Style
  • 1
    Saks reports top brands shipping despite bankruptcy—the supply chain survives collapse.
    Business of Fashion
  • 2
    Liquid Death + Spotify urn speaker: death culture becomes functional merch.
    Hypebeast
  • 3
    Pat McGrath Labs still shopping for buyers—prestige beauty faces consolidation pressure.
    Business of Fashion
  • 4
    Simone Rocha redefines adidas as 'athletic-ethereal'—sportswear gets philosophical.
    Hypebeast
  • 5
    Apple's touchscreen MacBook arriving late 2026—computing finally catches up to phones.
    Hypebeast

Heritage is becoming currency in two directions simultaneously. Brands are either mining the past (Bob Marley adidas, vintage Versace auctions, rockabilly Robyn for Acne) or inventing new rituals around mortality and transcendence (the urn-speaker, dance festivals, 'wearable tributes'). What connects them: consumers no longer want newness—they want meaning, whether it's inherited or invented.

Solid Perfume Goes Mainstream—The Body Mist Replacement

Glossier and Diptyque are already in market, but fragrance sales rising means solid perfume is becoming the default format, not the alternative. Expect this to disrupt refillable beauty economics and create new luxury rituals around application and portability by Q3 2026.

Brand & Business
  • Gwyneth's auction legitimised secondhand luxury. Watch LVMH and Kering launch official resale platforms within six months.
  • Pat McGrath Labs is on the block again—beauty consolidation is accelerating faster than fashion did.
  • Solid perfume adoption curve just crossed into mainstream. Refillable beauty is no longer optional for brands.