Everyone on the internet is saying "2026 is the new 2016" like it's just another aesthetic trend cycle. Hand-drawn typography is back. Messy collages are everywhere. Clean girl aesthetic is out. (I’m for it, for it, and for it.)
Needlepoint searches are up 200%. “Analog bags” are trending. But if you think this is just millennial core nostalgia, you might be missing the entire point.
This isn't about wanting to relive the past.
It's about something far more urgent: we're desperately trying to distinguish ourselves from AI slop while simultaneously searching for the last moment we felt carefree.
2016 Was The Last Year Before We Had To Be Constantly Tapped In
Let me say this bluntly: 2016 was the last year we could scroll through our feeds without constant political rage-bait.
It was the last year before "staying informed" became a moral imperative that left us all chronically exhausted. It was the last year before every brand had to have a "stance" on everything.
That hipness twee aesthetic, the hand-lettered quotes, the artisan coffee shop vibes, the unapologetic sincerity… none of that was just a “look”.
It represented a cultural moment when we could still believe in small, beautiful things without someone immediately calling it cringe or performative.
We weren't naive then. We were hopeful. And that's what we're mourning.
But Here's What's Different Now
When Sylvester Maccau shoots our girl Elle Fanning like this…
These surrealistic, hand-drawn, made by actual human sets say something.
Or when brands suddenly embrace imperfect, crafted aesthetics, it's not just about recycling trends. It's strategic differentiation in the age of infinite AI-generated content.
The Financial Times reported that social media usage peaked in 2022 and has been quietly declining since (everywhere except North America, btw). 28% of Gen Z is actively seeking screen-free hobbies and day-to-day living solutions. They’re learning knitting. They’re buying dumb phones.
This is the analog awakening, and it's not about rejecting technology; it's about rejecting the feeling that technology gives us. The surveillance. The algorithmic manipulation. The sense that nothing is real anymore.
What This Means For Cult Brands
Cult brands have always understood one fundamental truth: people don't join brands, they join movements that make people feel a part of something real. And right now, "real" is the scarcest resource in the market.
Your customers (and you!) have been absolutely battered by cringe culture. They've been trained to perform constantly, to curate their lives into content, to optimize every moment for engagement. We’re all exhausted by it.
The brands that will win in 2026 aren't the ones with the slickest AI-generated assets and avatars or the most perfectly optimized content calendars. They're the ones that will give people permission to be sincere again. To care about things. To believe that better is possible.
The Cult Brand Strategy For 2026
Embrace Imperfection as Proof of Humanity
That hand-drawn element isn't just an aesthetic choice; it's an authentication marker. It signals: a human made this. Someone cared enough to craft this. This isn't content farm slop.Create Analog Touchpoints
Physical mail. IRL events that don’t reward online performance. Tactile products. Things that can't be screenshot and reposted. Experiences that require you to put your phone away. These become sacred in a world of infinite scroll.Give Your Community Permission to Hope
Apathy and irony are dead ends. Your brand's job isn't to be the coolest or the most detached; it's to articulate a vision of what's possible. Recent political movements have proven we’re collectively onto and over the fear and rage narratives. Brands can learn from this.Build for the Post-Social Era
Social media is becoming television—passive consumption rather than connection. Your cult brand needs to exist beyond the feed. Email lists. Private communities. Spaces where people can actually connect without performing for the algorithm.
But Don’t Do This Okay?
Here's where nostalgia gets dangerous: 2016 wasn't all good. It grew in the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis. We can't go back. And we shouldn't want to.
The task for cult brands isn't to recreate 2016, it's to capture what we felt in 2016 while building something sustainable for 2026. That means sincerity without naivety. Craftsmanship without exclusivity. Hope without delusion.
And Maybe Try This…
When everyone else is racing toward AI efficiency, automation, and scale, cult brands have permission to do the opposite. To be slower. More intentional. More human.
Your customers aren't looking for another perfectly optimized brand experience. They're looking for proof of life. That connection is still possible. That sincerity isn't cringe. That caring about things won't make them a target for mockery.
The millennial who stops writing in their diary because someone might find it? The Gen Z kid searching for needlepoint tutorials? The person deleting social media apps? They're not rejecting modernity, they're searching for a way to be human in it.
And the brand that can create that space? That's a lifeline.
Here's what I know after years of studying cult brands: the window for sincerity is open right now, but it won't stay open forever. Cynicism and AI slop will eventually colonize this space too.
The brands that move now, that commit to craft, to humanity, to creating genuine spaces for connection, those are the ones that will build loyalty that transcends algorithms.
2026 is the new 2016, but only if we learn from what came after. Only if we build something better. Only if we remember that cult brands aren't built on nostalgia—they're built on giving people permission to believe in something real again.
This is the conversation cult brands need to be having. Not about trend cycles or aesthetic comebacks, but about what it means to build real connection in an increasingly artificial world.
SMART GIRL REMINDERS:
🎤 Cult Brand Blueprint 2026 – LIVE Workshop
🗓 January 21st at 10 AM PT / 12 PM PT
👀 Only 100 seats available live (our last workshop had 1,000 registrations!)
📍 Get on the Waitlist + RSVP Here
If you’re ready to stop duct-taping your brand together and finally architect the identity, narrative, and ecosystem your work deserves—this is where we start.
This is the system I use with my private clients, and it’s the framework that’s built legacy brands across categories. If you want in—let’s go! Only 100 get in the room.
💼 Smart Strategic CEO – Private Brand Advisory: 2 Openings for February
This is the high-touch, 1:1 container where I step in as your Fractional Chief Brand Officer and help you move from "growing" to "growing with clarity and power."
We’ll co-build:
– Your evolved brand identity
– A strategy that connects dots across offers, content, and vision
– Systems that support scale without overwhelm
– Messaging that finally reflects your actual level
This is for you if you're already doing well—but you're ready for your brand to feel as big as your vision.
OOO Club: Cult Brand Challenge
A 3-day experience!
📅 Starts Wednesday the 14th
📅 Ends Friday the 16th
⏱️ 3 days only
This challengeis a focused, high-impact consolidation of the Cult Brand work, designed to help you move fast without losing depth.
Pop in now to check out the Business Library.
If you’re not already a member, join for free for 7 days to participate! You can join here.
Did someone forward this to you? Subscribe for a weekly dose of No Gatekeeping Strategies, Cult Brand Thinking, and Smart Ideas.
Want more Unschool in your ears? Listen to the Unschool Podcast here.
