From ‘glacier aesthetic’ to ‘poetcore’: Pinterest predicts the visual trends of 2026 based on its search data
Next year, we’ll mostly be indulging in maximalist circus decor, working on our poetcore, hunting for the ethereal or eating cabbage in a bid for “individuality and self-preservation”, according to Pinterest.The organisation’s predictions for Australian trends in 2026 have landed, which – according to the platform used by interior decorators, fashion lovers and creatives of all stripes – includes 1980s, aliens, vampires and “forest magic”.Among the Pinterest 2026 trends report’s top 21 themes are “Afrohemian” decor (searches for the term are on the rise by baby boomers and Gen X); “glitchy glam” (asymmetric haircuts and mismatching nails); and “cool blue” (drinks, wedding dresses and makeup with a “glacier aesthetic”).Pinterest compared English-language search data from September 2024 to August 2025 with those of the year before and claims it has an 88% accuracy rate.More than 9 million Australians use Pinterest each month.
Wednesday’s report found searches for 1980s luxury soared by 225%, “Scotland Highlands aesthetic” by 465% and “the poet aesthetic” by 175%.“Poetcore” – a key trend for Gen Z and millennials - takes its inspiration from the bookish: turtlenecks, fountain pens, satchels and ties.Driven by Gen Z and millennials, lace will be in, according to the data, including in doily, bandana and makeup form – as will khaki, field jackets and pleated trousers, aka the “paleontologist aesthetic”.They’ll also be working an intergalactic “aliencore aesthetic”.For Gen Z and millennials, travel will be adrenaline-seeking; for baby boomers, it will be to places that are “mystical” and “ethereal”.
Searches for “Faroe Island aesthetic” almost doubled.Pinterest predicts boomer and Gen X food trends to be cruciferous, with kimchi, dumplings and golumpki soup all raising the cabbage’s status.A younger trend for a “gummy bears aesthetic” goes beyond sweets and into makeup products and rubberised nail art.And “niche perfume collection” is having its moment in the sun, as are “perfume layering combinations”.Pinterest said there was a theme uniting trends as disparate as masquerades and operas, dragonfly wing-patterned nails and animal-inspired outfits, forecasting a move towards individuality and away from imitation.
Melinda Petrunoff, the managing director for Pinterest ANZ, told Guardian Australia that “people are craving comfort, authenticity and grounded optimism in a world that feels increasingly fast and often noisy”.“What’s driving this is a desire for individuality and self-preservation – people are moving towards curating rather than copying, choosing to engage with what truly resonates with them instead of chasing every viral moment,” she said.“We’re moving away from one-size-fits-all aesthetics and endless trend cycles that leave people feeling overwhelmed and disconnected.”
Green biotech firms to open factories at Grangemouth; Oracle shares tumble 15% after results disappoint – as it happened
Two green biotechnology firms have announced they will build new factories at Scotland’s Grangemouth site which will employ up to 460 people, in the first phase of projects to replace hundreds of jobs lost when the PetroIneos refinery closed down.The projects by MiAlgae, a start-up based in Edinburgh which uses whisky waste to make fish-free Omega 3 oils, and Celtic Renewables, which uses whisky and agricultural byproducts to make chemicals, have won £10m in funding from the Scottish and UK governments to build new plants at Grangemouth.MiAlgae’s founder and chief executive Douglas Martin said their Omega 3 plant would start production in the second quarter of 2026, employing 75 people. It uses whisky wash, a byproduct, of whisky production to produce plant-based Omega 3 for pet food and fish farm feed.Martin said their modular plant, which has been given £3m by the UK and Scottish governments, can be rapidly expanded to eventually create up to 310 jobs
US is the best place for drug companies to invest, says boss of London-based GSK
The chief executive of GSK has declared that the US is the best place for pharmaceutical companies to invest.Emma Walmsley said the US led the world in launches of drugs and vaccines and, alongside China, was the best market for business development.She is the latest boss of a leading UK drugmaker to talk up business opportunities on the other side of the Atlantic, after AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot hailed the “vital importance of the US”.The UK government, which has been trying to strengthen the pharmaceutical sector, confirmed on Wednesday that the proportion of revenues from new medicine sales that companies need to pay back to the NHS would fall next year – from 22.5% to under 15%
Disney to invest $1bn in OpenAI, allowing characters in Sora video tool
Walt Disney has announced a $1bn equity investment in OpenAI, enabling the AI startup’s Sora video generation tool to use its characters.Users of Sora will be able to generate short, user-prompted social videos that draw on more than 200 Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters as part of a three-year licensing agreement between OpenAI and the entertainment giant.The agreement – a landmark deal amid intense anxiety in Hollywood over the impact of artificial intelligence on the future of entertainment – will not cover talent likenesses or voices.Bob Iger, Disney’s CEO, hailed a deal which paired his firm’s “iconic stories and characters” with OpenAI’s AI technology. It will place “imagination and creativity directly into the hands of Disney fans in ways we’ve never seen before”, he claimed
EU watchdogs raid Temu’s Dublin HQ in foreign subsidy investigation
Temu’s European headquarters in Dublin have been raided by EU regulators investigating a potential breach of foreign subsidy regulations.The Chinese online retailer, which is already in the European Commission’s spotlight over alleged failures to prevent illegal content being sold on its app and website, was raided last week without warning or any subsequent publicity.“We can confirm that the commission has carried out an unannounced inspection at the premises of a company active in the e-commerce sector in the EU, under the foreign subsidies regulation,” a commission spokesperson said on Thursday.Temu was approached for comment.Its headquarters are on St Stephen’s Green, one of Dublin’s most prestigious addresses
No guarantee tobacco tax cut would lure Australian smokers from illegal trade and raise more revenue, report says
Slashing the tobacco excise might not be enough to lure smokers back to legal cigarettes and could even widen the multibillion-dollar hole blown in the budget by the booming illicit trade, new research shows.The analysis from the e61 Institute comes as Jim Chalmers revealed next week’s midyear fiscal update will reveal an extra $12.7bn in unanticipated spending, including an additional $6.3bn in higher than expected disaster relief payments.The treasurer said “the biggest job … has been making room for unavoidable pressures and payments without a substantial deterioration in the bottom line”
Fed cuts interest rates by a quarter point amid apparent split over US economy
The US Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it was cutting interest rates by a quarter point for the third time this year, as the embattled central bank appeared split over how best to manage the US economy.The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, has emphasized unity within the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the board of Fed leaders that sets interest rates. But the nine-to-three vote to lower rates to a range of 3.5% to 3.75% was divisive among the committee that tends to vote in unanimity
Senior opponents of assisted dying bill urge Lords not to deliberately block it
‘We don’t have enough rooms to isolate’: NHS doctor reveals impact of rise in flu cases
NHS ‘facing worst-case scenario’ as hospital flu cases jump 55% in a week
Starmer says resident doctors would be irresponsible to strike in face of flu crisis
‘This country’s divided’: how a Sunderland charity is changing that – one house, park and shop at a time
Online child sexual abuse surges by 26% in year as police say tech firms must act