The Pattern

By Mike Litman

Before it's obvious. Daily culture intelligence from 150+ sources. Fashion, design, technology, brands, music, art, and lifestyle. The patterns others miss, every morning at 8:30am UK time.... more

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How many episodes does The Pattern have?

The podcast currently has 181 episodes available.

The Pattern episodes:

August 04, 2026 No. 161: Brands are buying credibility from institutions they used to ignore.
Culture Pulse: 71
Institutions are the new brand asset. Mackage, Bode, Kiaf SEOUL, The Met, the V&A — credibility is being built in archives and galleries now, not in campaigns. #ThePattern
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5min
August 03, 2026 No. 160: Retail rebuilt itself around data. The store is the last argument.
Culture Pulse: 62
AI runs the back end. The store is the last brand argument. Today's Pattern: physical presence is now the strategic differentiator automation cannot touch.
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5min
August 02, 2026 No. 159: Pop stars stopped making albums. They started building eras instead.
Culture Pulse: 68
Pop stars stopped making albums. They started building eras. The bounded release is losing cultural authority across music, fashion, and collecting simultaneously. @ThePattern
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5min
August 01, 2026 No. 158: Resale is building the store network that retail abandoned.
Culture Pulse: 72
Resale opened another permanent store. eBay bought Depop. The secondary market is now your nearest competitor on the high street. @ThePattern
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5min
July 31, 2026 No. 157: Luxury is meeting customers halfway. That admission is the strategy shift.
Culture Pulse: 72
Luxury's pricing power is gone. The brands winning now are replacing margin with conviction — origin, craft, and cultural authority. Friday's Pattern: before it's obvious.
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July 30, 2026 No. 156: Legacy assets are being repackaged as experiences. Pophouse just showed how.
Culture Pulse: 72
Legacy IP found a new business model. Iron Maiden selling to Pophouse isn't a nostalgia bet, it's an experience infrastructure play. The catalogue was always the floor. #ThePatter
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5min
July 29, 2026 No. 155: Prestige institutions are now culture's fastest credential launchers.
Culture Pulse: 72
The NPG just acquired a Brat-era photo while the era is still happening. Institutional validation is now a mid-chapter move, not a finale. @ThePattern
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July 28, 2026 No. 154: Ordinary moments are the new brand strategy. Banking just proved it.
Culture Pulse: 68
Monzo removed itself from its own ad campaign. Stüssy won by refusing to be Supreme. LVMH stabilised by going narrower. Today's pattern: subtraction beats addition. @ThePattern
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5min
July 27, 2026 No. 153: Cheap wins the AI budget war. Premium loses the narrative.
Culture Pulse: 68
Premium is losing to procurement. Thrift-maxxing, Primark's 29% cuts, Levi's DTC reframe: the same pressure from three directions. The Pattern, 27 July.
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July 26, 2026 No. 152: Open source AI just became the culture war nobody saw coming.
Culture Pulse: 68
OpenAI lobbies against open source while championing it publicly. Dior takes the runway to Dublin. Cyberpunk returns as prestige drama. The pattern: openness is becoming a liability. #ThePatter
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5min

FAQs about The Pattern:

How many episodes does The Pattern have?

The podcast currently has 181 episodes available.