Luxury’s Anti-AI Moment, Bumble’s Make-or-Break Era, and Why Instagram Isn’t Closing the Sale

Welcome to our very first Rich Girl Rundown episode, where Kate and co-host Ada Slivinski break down the latest in business, brand gossip, and billion-dollar bets.

This week, we’re asking:

• Is analog officially the new luxury flex?
• Are Kate’s Bumble shares ever recovering… or is it time to cut losses?
• And are brands still selling through influencers — or is the real action happening in the group chat?

From Porsche’s hand-illustrated holiday campaign to Hermès and Valentino leaning into human craft over AI, we unpack why luxury brands are distancing themselves from “AI slop” and why scarcity, effort, and energy might be the new status symbols.

Then we get into Bumble’s 90%+ stock drop, Whitney Wolfe Herd’s return, dating fatigue, and the cultural shifts impacting modern relationships. Is this a product problem… or a culture problem?

We also break down:

• Why influencer marketing isn’t converting like it used to
• The rise of affiliate partnerships and referral codes
• How Reddit threads, mom groups, Slack chats, and private DMs are quietly driving real revenue
• Why brands need to double down on customer service and social listening

Plus:

• The Shay Mitchell skincare controversy and what it teaches us about brand positioning
• The trad wife era, soft girl energy, and what women might actually be striving for in 2026
• Brands on our radar: Sleep or Die and Wealthsimple’s $750M marketing blitz

Smart. Opinionated. Think dirty martinis at midnight, but make it brand strategy.

Welcome to the Rich Girl Rundown.

________

LINKS:

Join the Branded Assets community on Instagram

Read the Branded Assets Substack

Follow Kate on Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn