Brand Strategy

Pantone has named Cloud Dancer as the Colour of the Year for 2026 — a soft off-white that feels less like a trend and more like a cultural reset. It’s a hue that speaks to clarity, calm, and creative breathing room. Here’s what it means for beauty, fashion, branding, and why this colour feels deeply personal to me.

Augustinus Bader built its reputation on £300 creams, cutting-edge science, and a carefully curated luxury aura. Now it’s launched Dua by AB Science with Dua Lipa – a cheaper, separate line powered by a new TFC5 complex and sold on its own website. Is this smart brand architecture or a move that quietly undermines the original Bader promise, confuses loyal clients, and devalues high-priced collabs like Victoria Beckham Beauty?

Luxury has never been about discounts — it’s about discipline. Yet every Black Friday season, “premium” brands flood inboxes with offers that quietly reveal the truth: some labels maintain price integrity, others simply maintain a logo. In this article, I break down how true luxury houses protect their value, why frequent sales damage brand perception, and the rare moments when a controlled pop-up sale can work without cheapening the brand.

As mass-market retail goes all-in on digital, luxury brands are making a conscious pivot back to physical brick-and-mortar stores. Discover the key reasons behind this counterintuitive trend, from risk mitigation to relationship building.

Driven by the disappointment of the L'Oréal collaboration, this conceptual Mugler makeup line offers a vision for future Creative Direction. Explore a high-fashion, "cosmic goddess" collection featuring The Nebulas palettes and the revolutionary Celestial Veil fragrance glow stick—a blueprint to ensure Mugler's DNA translates into bold, successful luxury cosmetics.

I get these questions all the time — from beauty founders over coffee, fashion creatives mid-launch panic, and even friends who still think I “just do logos.” So here it is: a no-fluff Q&A about what brand strategy actually  means, why creative direction isn’t just about pretty pictures, and how you can make your brand feel more like a world people want to live in. 1. What does a brand strategist actually do? It depends on the project. If I’m creating a brand from scratch or