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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FAQs about The Pattern:

How many episodes does The Pattern have?

The podcast currently has 109 episodes available.

The Pattern episodes:

May 14, 2026 No. 79: Discovery is the new distribution. TikTok just proved it.
Culture Pulse: 72
TikTok GO just collapsed discovery and booking into one surface. The funnel didn't break. It got absorbed. Today's Pattern: platforms ate the funnel. Brands are still drawing it.
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5min
May 13, 2026 No. 78: Retail is shrinking on purpose. Scarcity is the new store strategy.
Culture Pulse: 72
Luxury is cutting stores deliberately. Nike drops at one location. IKEA bets on scarcity. Volume built the last era. Rarity is building this one. @thepatternbrief
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5min
May 12, 2026 No. 77: Subscription bundles are quietly becoming the new loyalty programmes.
Culture Pulse: 72
Subscriptions stopped being about saving money. They became cultural infrastructure. Discord just proved it. Today's Pattern: access replaced aspiration.
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5min
May 11, 2026 No. 76: Identity is the new uniform. Institutions are dressing the part.
Culture Pulse: 74
The Pope wore Nikes. The WNBA handed the brief to the city. The most potent brand moves of 2026 cost nothing and required no campaign. @ThePattern
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6min
May 10, 2026 No. 75: Analogue keeps winning because digital keeps disappointing.
Culture Pulse: 71
Irreversibility is the new premium. The Instax cannot be edited. The Bourdain reboot wants rough codes back. Imperfection is winning. @ThePattern
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5min
May 09, 2026 No. 74: Luxury is relocating. The store is now the argument.
Culture Pulse: 72
The store is now the argument. Issey Miyake, Margiela, and Bottega all made the same move this week — and most brands missed it. #ThePatter
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5min
May 08, 2026 No. 73: Western brands are outsourcing cultural fluency to local photographers and dead designers.
Culture Pulse: 72
Global brands are borrowing local and historical credibility because their own identity doesn't travel anymore. Sephora, H&M, Rosewood. Same failure, three different markets. | The Pattern
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6min
May 07, 2026 No. 72: The comments section is now the most powerful shelf in retail.
Culture Pulse: 72
The comments section is now the most powerful shelf in retail. TikTok Shop beauty sales +84% YoY. The mechanism: peer trust, not paid reach. Via @ThePattern
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5min
May 06, 2026 No. 71: Luxury is editing its portfolio. The era of everything is over.
Culture Pulse: 74
LVMH is selling. Nike and Adidas are fighting for one block. IKEA bought a museum. The pattern: scale lost its alibi. Focus is the new moat. @ThePattern
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5min
May 05, 2026 No. 70: Governments are hiring brand architects. Identity is now a state project.
Culture Pulse: 74
The US just hired its first Chief Brand Architect. When governments commission design studios, identity has become statecraft. @ThePattern #design #culture
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5min

FAQs about The Pattern:

How many episodes does The Pattern have?

The podcast currently has 109 episodes available.