Nike is poised to post its steepest revenue drop in five years. App downloads have plummeted 35%, and in-store traffic is down 11%—already impacting key retail partners like JD Sports and Foot Locker, both grappling with markdown pressure and slowing sell-through.
But let’s not write Nike off just yet.
With Eliott Hill stepping in as CEO, the brand appears to be reactivating elements of its golden-era cultural strategy. Still, cultural resonance can’t be rebuilt overnight. Steering a brand of this scale takes time—expect a 12–18 month runway before meaningful momentum returns.
The bigger hurdle? The cultural and competitive landscape has evolved. It's more fragmented, more dynamic, and far less forgiving. Challenger brands like Montirex and Salomon are moving faster, striking harder, and winning credibility at street level.
Nike will recover—but its monopoly era is behind it.
Young people are actively seeking out music from regions marked by conflict, change, oppression, and adversity—drawn to raw, authentic narratives of social mobility and lived experience. It’s not just about their own realities but about finding connection through shared struggles across borders.
With platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok, music has never been more accessible. In fact, 67% of Gen Z listen to music for most of their day, with the artists they follow deeply shaping their worldview.
As digital spaces continue to evolve, music remains a powerful tool for cultural connection—a platform where new narratives emerge, communities form, and perspectives shift. Brands that immerse themselves in this cultural current will be the ones to forge genuine connections with youth culture.
The classic monochrome Nike Air Max 90 gets a bold new chapter with Nike’s latest collaboration with Slawn. One of the most exciting British-Nigerian artists of the moment, Slawn injects his raw, spray-painted aesthetic into an undeniable streetwear icon—bringing fresh creative energy to a silhouette that has defined generations.
But this isn’t just another drop. It feels like Nike is dusting off its cultural playbook, making calculated moves to reclaim its place at the heart of the culture. With recent collaborations tapping into unfiltered artistic expression, it’s clear the brand is reasserting its creative dominance.
Growing up, black-and-white 90s were a staple for me—seeing them reimagined through Slawn’s rebellious, hand-crafted lens feels like an instant classic.
Once upon a time, pop culture revolved around a handful of global megastars. Today, music is more fragmented, decentralized, and hyper-niche than ever.
🚀 Micro-scenes are shaping the mainstream—Afrobeats, UK drill, slowcore, and alt-rap are thriving on their own terms, bypassing industry gatekeepers.
🎧 Gen Z & Gen Alpha aren’t waiting for the next Drake or Rihanna—they’re curating their own cultural icons across TikTok, SoundCloud, and underground collectives.
🌍 Regional sounds are transcending borders—from Amapiano in South Africa and K-Grime in Korea to Middle Eastern trap and Berlin techno, niche genres are breaking through organically, without traditional label co-signs.
We’re in an era where influence is fluid, and the idea of a singular “pop star” feels increasingly outdated. Instead, music movements are being defined by communities, not corporations.
Social media promised to broaden perspectives, yet it’s doing the opposite. Young people are increasingly caught in algorithmic echo chambers, consuming content that aligns with their interests but rarely challenges their perspectives.
📌 Personalised feeds limit real discovery
📌 Engagement is prioritised over exploration
📌 Dopamine-driven scrolling keeps users locked in
For brands, chasing the algorithm only reinforces the cycle. The real challenge? Igniting curiosity, breaking the loop, and shaping culture—not just reflecting it.
The goal should be to push culture forward, not just repackage what’s already trending.
For Millennials, aspiration was largely defined by job autonomy and homeownership, aligning with the more traditional Career Success Model—a modern take on the American Dream. While many young people today are moving away from this, embracing a Holistic Success Model that prioritizes quality of life, flexibility, and well-being, a significant, less privileged segment of society continues to strive for traditional socioeconomic mobility.
This shift redefines success—not just in terms of career, financial security, and property ownership, but also through self-expression, shared experiences, and cultural belonging. For some, financial stability remains the ultimate goal; for others, particularly those with more privilege, fulfillment is rooted in creativity, community, and personal freedom—and for many, it’s a balance of both.
As a brand, understanding the evolving aspirations of your audience is critical—not all young people share the same trajectory. Recognizing these nuances is essential to staying relevant, resonant, and culturally attuned.
Pumped to be teaming up with Chicken Shop to sharpen their audience focus, cultural positioning, and connection strategy. With an unbeatable product and serious cultural momentum, we’re excited to help shape their next chapter as they scale.
Big moves ahead—stay tuned. 👀
I had the pleasure of speaking with Natalie Hughes at The Telegraph about how Gen Z is redefining the athleisure and performance-wear market. From the rise of flared leggings to their willingness to invest £70+ in the perfect pair, it’s clear that leggings have transcended activewear—they’re cultural staples that merge function, fashion, and status.
A big thank you to The Telegraph for the feature and for spotlighting this evolving category. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gBDjUQw6
Streetwear brands have long evolved beyond just selling products—they operate as ideological forces, shaping how consumers engage with the world of goods. Today, they exist within a global ideoscape, exerting influence far beyond fashion.
The most iconic contemporary youth brands act as cultural mediators, embedding deep symbolic meaning into their products. Think Supreme, Corteiz, or A Bathing Ape—these brands don’t simply adapt to local markets; they become global cultural signifiers, shaping how consumers and creators alike navigate fashion, music, and community.
It may seem radical, but brands have increasingly stepped into roles once occupied by religion and politics. Streetwear, in particular, fosters a sense of belonging, shared values, and even rituals. Consider the weekly Supreme drop, the unwritten codes of Nike SNKRS, or the status symbol of landing an exclusive Travis Scott Jordan collab. These aren’t just products; they’re identity markers, status symbols, and badges of belonging within a global movement.
The most powerful streetwear brands don’t just reflect culture—they shape it. They create prescriptive models for how we speak, think, and behave, constructing utopian ideals that reconcile contradictions:
🔴 Luxury & accessibility (Dior x Jordan)
🔵 Rebellion & mainstream appeal (Corteiz RTW)
🟢 Nostalgia & futurism (Palace x Gucci)
Their ability to seamlessly fuse these paradoxes into compelling narratives makes them transcultural—cutting across borders and defining a generation.
The rise of streetwear as a dominant global force isn’t just about fashion—it’s about ideology, belonging, and the way brands now shape cultural meaning at a level once reserved for institutions of power.
Brands today are more than mere symbols of identity and image. A third dimension—✨ brand culture—emerges at the crossroads of managerial intent and consumer interpretation, deeply influenced by the social contexts in which a brand is adopted. Consider Stone Island’s adoption on the terraces as a prime example of this cultural interplay.
🌍 In a symbolic world where meaning is derived from a brand’s surroundings, culture becomes the bedrock of value. It’s not just about a brand’s outward identity but the stories, associations, and ideological resonance that elevate its significance.
💎 European luxury brands thrive on heritage, exclusivity, and craftsmanship, deeply rooted in cultural legacies—think Louis Vuitton. By contrast, many U.S. brands derive their allure from image, marketing ingenuity, and narrative appeal—think Off-White or Palm Angels. Two systems of luxury, equally compelling yet distinct.
🛐 Today, brands have stepped into cultural roles once held by religion and politics, becoming ideological landmarks in a post-divine world. Look to the phenomenon of The Church of Corteiz, with its near-religious following and ritualistic product “worship,” as a testament to the profound cultural impact a brand can wield.
💭 For a brand to truly resonate, it must transcend logos and visuals. The key question is: What culture does your brand nurture, and what symbolic space does it occupy?
