New Media Does Not Just Observe Culture—It Embeds Itself Within It
Nico Sarti, Vice President, Global Strategy Across Condé Nast Talks Trends, Influencers, and Why Cultural Arbiters Such as Vogue, GQ, Wired—Still Have Power
In today’s ever-evolving fashion zeitgeist, business landscapes shift at lightning speed. Strategy is no longer a static plan — it’s a living, breathing framework. Few understand this better than Nico Sarti, the Global VP of Marketing Strategy, responsible for steering the marketing function across the Condé Nast commercial team. With over 20 years of experience, he has tackled the complexities of developing global campaigns for clients across Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, WIRED, and AD.
We had the privilege of sitting down with him to explore everything — from decoding the undercurrents of global trends to reflecting on the human heart that beats beneath every strategic decision — offering a rare glimpse into the very soul of strategic innovation. Take notes.
The Death of Trends- Is it real or just a shape-shifting mirage?
The ‘death of trends’ is a fine headline, seductive in its finality, but trends don’t die—they learn new tricks. What we’re witnessing isn’t their extinction, but their evaporation into something more elusive, more spectral. There was a time when trends moved with the stately rhythm of the seasons, dictated from the ateliers of Paris and Milan, filtered through the pages of Vogue, before landing—somewhat diluted—on the high street. Now, they flicker and blur, morphing at the speed of a scroll, too fast to pin down, too fragmented to define.
Virality has replaced longevity; ubiquity is no longer the goal but the death knell. In 2025, we are not watching the end of trends, merely their disintegration into a thousand micro-narratives, each tailored to one audience. The algorithm does not create trends, it consumes them.
Is 2025 the year of the Un-Trend?
If a movement is taking shape, it is one of intentionality—a rejection of fashion as a fleeting performance, an embrace of clothing as an extension of self. Enter Stealth Luxury, the new language of quiet affluence—sumptuous fabrics, exquisite tailoring, but no logos, no tell-tale branding. This is not fashion that shouts; it barely even whispers. It simply exists, assured, like a well-aged whisky in a crystal tumbler.
At the other end of the spectrum, hyper-functional dressing will rise—garments engineered for aesthetics and survival. Extreme weather, sustainability as a status symbol, the blending of tech with textiles: this is fashion for a world that feels increasingly uncertain. Clothing will no longer just signify wealth; it will signify preparedness.
Meanwhile, nostalgia continues its endless loop, though now it feels less like a revival and more like an algorithmic fever dream. The Y2K aesthetic lingers, but we will see a return to late-’90s futurism—sharp, precise, cyber-infused. Think Helmut Lang at his most clinical, Prada’s clean-lined minimalism, the unflinching optimism of a time still believing in the promise of technology.
The undercurrents of 2025?
Somewhere in the margins, beneath the churn of fast fashion and the noise of influencer marketing, there are quieter shifts:
AI-Generated Maximalism – Nah! The aesthetic equivalent of a Dali painting on acid. Clothes dreamed up by machines, too surreal to exist, yet somehow made real.
Hyperlocal Craft – A revolt against the homogeneity of mass production. Designers embrace their roots, revive lost techniques, and embed folklore into the fabric.
Post-Digital Rawness – A reaction to the airbrushed perfection of the algorithmic age. Imperfection as a statement. Clothes that look lived-in, undone, human.
Brands and social media: Is this a love affair gone stale?
The relationship between brands and social media is souring, like an affair that once burned bright but now survives on convenience. Platforms are less predictable, reach is paywalled, and audiences are fickle. Brands will seek walled-garden communities, where engagement is more profound and loyalty is more substantial—exclusive spaces, private forums, and content that feels like a privilege rather than a broadcast.
And influencers? Their golden age is waning, and their trust is eroded by overexposure. The future belongs to co-creators, not promoters—figures who shape a brand from within, lending it credibility not through endorsement but through authorship. Brands won’t just use influencers; they will let them build the world around them.
What is the role of media in a fractured fashion landscape?
If media once dictated trends, now it merely ratifies them. The tremendous cultural arbiters—Vogue, GQ, WIRED—still have power, but it is a different kind. Trends now rise from the underground, subcultures, and the unseen corners of the internet, before being recognized, legitimized, and given language. “The new media does not just observe culture—it embeds itself within it.”
And so, the question is not whether trends are dying, but whether we still know how to see them. Perhaps they have become too fractured, too slippery to hold. Or maybe we are looking in the wrong places, searching for patterns in an age that has rejected them altogether.