Monthly Briefing

Lighter Collective 02/01/26 Lighter Collective 02/01/26

2026: A Forecast

Another brand new year begins. Another foray into the unknown. More so than other months, January is fertile ground for dwelling on what the future holds.

Another brand new year begins. Another foray into the unknown. More so than other months, January is fertile ground for dwelling on what the future holds.

As a creative studio focused on brand strategy, we’re naturally drawn to headlines that ask, “What’s trending in 2026?”. But we soon become suspicious of their very definitive answers. That model worked, so long as there were clear top-down orders from an elite set who made all our decisions for us. It doesn’t anymore.

In today’s hyper-digital world, where social platforms have decentralised this process of decision-making, we know that anyone with a smartphone (so, basically everyone) is a potential tastemaker. A viral TikTok, a cleverly crafted meme, even a subreddit thread can ignite a global movement overnight. Anything can happen, and it’s both exhilarating and exhausting.

If there’s one thing the 2020s has taught us, it’s to expect the unexpected.

But we’re also internet-literate enough to know that “potential” is the operative word here. In this murky realm of algorithms, shadow bans, bots and strategic PR boosts, the churn is often cartoonishly blatant, as it spits out recycled mutations of what it condescends to know about us. It’s hard to tell what’s organic from what’s been carefully calculated and paid for.

What’s in a trend anyway? Is it all just a helpless bid for control? Faced with the spectre of impending doom—AI, war, inflation, polarisation, our planet in polycrisis—do we cling to micro distractions as a coping mechanism for how overwhelming the big picture is? Like, we might not be able to stop fascism, so let’s solve gut health and skincare?

It’s easy to delude ourselves into thinking we’re above trends, but at its core, a trend is simply a collective human moment. So what if it originated in a strategy meeting? Somewhere, somehow, it struck a chord. It means, we’ve all agreed––impossible as it is these days––on SOMETHING.

At its lightest, this may be a great summer bop that’s now forever linked with a special time and place. At its best, it could be a once marginalised phenomenon finally getting its ray of sun. Good, bad, ridiculous or ugly––trends say something about who we are as a society. Even if that something is not always comfortable to look at in the mirror.

Our rule of thumb? We’re here to listen to the wind, but only champion what we truly believe in—confident that when the time is right, it will enter the collective mainstream and trend, for whatever that’s worth. As we forge into the unknown this year, our plan is to make one intentional choice after the other, and allow ourselves to go where that takes us.

JANUARY FAVES

Here are three fitting works we’re bringing into 2026. Consume them, as you please, and always at your discretion.

READ Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI by Karen Hao, an eye-opening account of arguably the most fateful tech arms race in history that is reshaping the planet in real time, straight from the cockpit of the company that’s driving the frenzy.

LISTEN The Devil You Know by Sarah Marshall, an eight-part podcast series about the Satanic Panic of the 1980s and 90s. Satan and his followers were accused of brainwashing children, sacrificing babies, and infiltrating North American society on a massive scale—yet these alleged Satanists were nowhere to be found. Marshall deconstructs this dangerous groupthink in a way that’s highly entertaining, as well as informative.

WATCH Our Oceans on Netflix, a documentary series that explores the wonder of Earth's oceans. It features incredible cinematography, and is presented by none other than Barack Obama. Released in November of 2024, it remains as evergreen (or blue) and vital as ever.

And lastly, here’s some GOOD NEWS to start the month on a positive note: The Breakthrough That Could Solve Ocean Plastic

Go lightly x

Lightly, Lightly...

An iconic spoken word poem warned us of the trappings of those early-Internet days of the 1990s. But here we are at the dawn of yet another new year—still optimising for every metric in the book.

In 1997, when Radiohead dropped their third studio album OK Computer, we were still kids. We discovered them in our angsty teens, through the Internet—a shiny new toy we'd magically hook up to via a noisy DSL modem in our shared bedroom. Their music filtered through LimeWire like a soundtrack for adulthood... both electrifying and ominous.

Looking back now, they seem downright psychic, having sensed the side effects of a totally wired world: the mindless amusement, the echo-chamber conformity, the pressure to keep up.

Fitter happier. More productive. Comfortable. Not drinking too much. Regular exercise at the gym (3 days a week)… sound familiar?

Thom Yorke, the band’s lead singer, has said this iconic spoken word poem was inspired by all the ways that people were supposed to live in the 1990s. Yet here we still are at the crack of 2026––optimising for every metric in the book. Strapping on our smart watches. Keeping track of steps, heart rate, REM, what Trump said in the morning, why so-and-so is holidaying in Europe (again??) and we’re not, movie watch-list before the Oscars, what Trump said in the evening, the f**k is 6-7? And do we really need to care?

It all just feels heavy.

There is so much noise in the world right now. At times, it seems as though our greatest challenge is to create enough space to form our own thoughts. To break away from this endless trap of production and consumption, and tune into the things most important to us.

How to drown out the noise, then, without burying our heads in the sand? (lest we get left behind as the future marches on)...

“Lightly, lightly—it's the best advice ever given me... so throw away your baggage and go forward. There are quicksands all about you, sucking at your feet, trying to suck you down into fear and self-pity and despair. That’s why you must walk so lightly.”

~ Aldous Huxley on approaching life with lightness

In an overwhelming world where everything exists everywhere all at once, the bright side is that everything exists everywhere all at once. And for the first time in history, you get to choose what works for you. Not the patriarchy, nor institutionalised religion; not some rando on Instagram or a flimsy politician. The time has come to delineate for ourselves.

It’s something we talk about actively at the studio. Because with power comes responsibility—to fellow travellers in this transient existence, and to ourselves. To choose to be moral in the face of anarchy may seem pointless, but it could be the only thing that will keep us sane in an increasingly nihilistic world.

So our goal for 2026 is to home in on our own personal religion—to customise an approach to life and work that makes us feel lighter, happier, and more productive. We invite you to try it too. What’s your philosophy, your moral code, your unique hierarchy of needs?

Whether it’s finding purpose within a career, or a cause, strengthening ties with friends and family, or paying more attention to your physical and mental health, the equation will look different for each of us. That’s the whole point. Once you’re tuned into your signals, it’s easy(er) to filter out the noise.

Because whatever the downsides of our modern world may be, in the year 2026, the upside is you don’t need to conform.