culture

Wisdom Signalling: Why High-Fidelity Culture and Obsession are the New Power

In 2024 and into 2025, bag charms entered the zeitgeist and fast became a handbag staple. In 2025, people took things up a notch, fastening Labubus

As superfandom balloons in 2026, there’s opportunity for these moments to help build up the year’s big moments of cultural spectacle.

As uncertain times persist, technology accelerates and parasocial relationships deepen, superfandom will continue to soar in 2026.

“Merch is having a moment, and it’s bigger, broader and more culturally potent than ever,”

Though nobody’s asking to go and chase Pokémon around the city in 2026, there are lessons to be learned about the value of big, flashy moments for cultivating communal experiences. “Fashion can learn from 2016’s embrace of spectacle as a uniting force,” Cummins says.

When I feel well, all I want to do is enjoy life, which often ends up online. When I feel good, I want to share about that good-feeling and reinforce my sensation of aliveness with the dopamine hits of other people witnessing it and affirming it alongside me. When I feel bad, my natural instinct is to put the phone away. For the most part, I happen... See more