2026 Forelook
Welcome one and all to 2026, a year in which we are somehow breathing a sigh of relief (2025 is over!) yet bracing for the next wave of unpredictable events (we were all watching Taiwan, not realising that it was actually Greenland being stalked as prey).
I was reflecting on how powerful the psyche of the new year is. Although the Gregorian calendar is a man-made construct, and anyone could come along and whack the “end of the year” on any other solar day, it is unmistakable that the feeling of a new year is a tangible change from the previous. It may not last long, but somehow, we get a mental fresh page in early January.
For me, the feeling of 2025 was a complex one. Almost an out-of-body experience. I can postulate that I was in survival mode for basically the entire year. The first couple of months were in intense preparation for my 5-week mostly-business trip to Japan, China and Hong Kong. After I came back from that, I immediately prepared for and exhibition in The Other Art Fair. Then my father ended up in hospital, I did another exhibition (thankfully a very intense but only 1-day event), and my friend left his relationship and stayed with me for a few weeks. As my father declined, my world shrank. I was nonetheless preparing for another exhibition in Hong Kong. All I knew for four months was medical terminology, caring for my father, commuting to the hospital and back, and meetings about the exhibition.
My father died and three weeks later I was receiving visitors on Opening Night. I had to cope. I attended a destination wedding in October and was relieved to renew the lease on my flat in November. In December I visited Thailand for the first time (disinterested by the idea of trying to have a “normal” Christmas, I had a lovely time sitting in cafes, visiting galleries, and eating delicious food with my brother). The shift from Surviving to Living happened then. Soon, I hope to progress to Thriving.
Let’s look forward from now. What do we think 2026 will bring to the non-geopolitical zeitgeist? Here are my unsolicited thoughts:
Cloud dancer has already been replaced by jewel-tone greens [shrug]
The boucle furniture everyone purchased in 2019 is now dirty and pilling, so, goodbye boucle
Handicraft skills are on the brink of becoming premium - I think detailing is going to absolutely boom and eclipse Japandi-chic by the end of 2026. Think:
Broguing on leather shoes
Iron lace and/or finials
Non-repeat-pattern wallpaper
Bespoke perfumes!
Filigree jewellery
Woodcarving
White cube galleries are in the throes of their death rattle and the era of the Art Museum is here
I suspect this will spark micro-art museums that are less like artwork-shops and vastly more experiential (replacing what used to be neighbourhood shop-galleries)
Art, in its flee from the White Cube box of snobbery, will leak HEAVILY into fashion, architecture, fine dining, hospitality, entertainment, and lifestyle industries such as country clubs, yacht clubs/leisure shipping, and private member’s clubs.
Chain restaurants are in danger if they aren’t associated with a strong nostalgic appeal
Casual family restos (Americans are calling them “mom-and-pop resturants”) are about to find themselves busy if the food is decent
And in our perfumed world?
Nutty gourmands are IN, in a big way
Tonka bean searches on the clock app are stratospheric
Coffee and Cacao, long popular in the Middle East, are about to boom
Pistachio had a big year, and I think the ebb will not happen just yet
My hot take: popcorn fragrances are going to pop (ha! sorry) up by the dozen, with flankers like in the supermarket aisle
Beast-mode will always be the preference for one particular demographic, however, I do think the kiddos who entered the market in 2023 by stealing from testers in department stores using the little pump devices are honing their tastes already and venturing into quite sophisticated niches
Skin scents and their bazillions of flankers (Glossier, Molecule01, et al) are going to have to come up with a new idea once the flankers reach critical mass. Should be interesting.
Dupery is not going anywhere, but, at some point it will reach breaking point. When the dupe brands start competing against each other, it will be a fascinating showdown.
Green fragrances, seen as non-sellers that only true botanical lovers will buy, might, just perhaps, maybe, get their moment towards the end of the year via the brofluencers… I am sad to say that women have thus far not been able to lift the profitability of green fragrances, so we’ll have to lean on the patriarchy for this one.
We’re all sick of cherry. Please. Give us a rest from the syrupy fruits and endless vanillas.
Tell me your thoughts!!!!
