Runway Realised: How Fashion Shapes the Future of Gift with Purchase (GWP)
Turning Modern Fashion and Lifestyle Trends into Impactful GWPs
November 2025 –
Trends in the fashion and lifestyle world don’t just dictate what we wear—they ripple across industries, inspiring the beauty sector, particularly in secondary packaging (SP) and gift with purchase (GWP) creations. A winning SP or GWP product doesn’t just look good; it captures the trend pulse, translating what’s hot in apparel, accessories, and home décor into beauty experiences consumers want and can’t resist.
But the magic goes deeper than aesthetics. GWPs are powerful sales and engagement engines—offering added value that makes primary products more enticing. They spark impulse buys, boost purchase volumes, and create engaging moments of delight that strengthen brand loyalty. A well-thought-out GWP not only nudges the customer to buy once—it encourages them to return. And with the flexibility to design seasonal, themed, or exclusive campaigns, brands can keep their story fresh all year round.
At Meiyume, we don’t just stop at SP and GWP. As a global partner across primary packaging, OEM, ODM, turnkey solutions, and formulation, we bring a full-circle perspective. Our in-house experts turn data-driven insights into actionable strategies, ensuring every packaging or gift aligns with the latest consumer desires—whether that’s a refillable lipstick case inspired by streetwear minimalism, or a GWP tote that channels this season’s runway prints. With our mastery of design, materials, and functionality, we help brands stand out—and stay ahead and relevant—in a crowded market.
1. Alt-optimism: A Bold Fusion of New & Nostalgic
The “Alt-Optimism” trend Alt-Optimism reflects a cultural shift towards finding reassurance and delight in the everyday. It balances the need for comfort, tactility, and emotional wellbeing with a desire for imagination, creativity, and self-expression. In fashion, this has taken shape through cocooning silhouettes, padded textures, and experimental graphics that both protect and inspire. By refreshing heritage motifs with modern techniques and exploring multisensory materials, designers are showing how objects can offer more than aesthetics—they can comfort, surprise, and connect.
In beauty, particularly through GWPs, this optimism is translated into thoughtful objects that echo the runway’s language of creativity and care. Rather than simple add-ons, these gifts are becoming tactile, playful, and highly personal keepsakes that resonate with consumers on an emotional level.
Puffy Effect: Tactile Comfort as Statement
Fashion Cue: On the runway, designers such as Jil Sander presented cocoon silhouettes and padded constructions, using exaggerated forms and sensorial textures to convey protection and ease.
Beauty Translation: Kiehl’s, in collaboration with Meiyume, introduced a puffy cosmetic pouch as a GWP. Echoing the padded outerwear trend, the pouch reimagines a practical accessory into a soft, comforting, and stylish collectible that enhances the gifting experience.
Personalisation: Identity Through Detail
Fashion Cue: Fendi’s bag charms exemplify how personalisation has become a hallmark of modern luxury, giving consumers the freedom to decorate and adapt their accessories to reflect individuality.
Beauty Translation: The Touchland x Crocs partnership brings this ethos into the world of GWPs. Each limited-edition hand sanitiser case came with five Jibbitz™ charms, allowing consumers to personalise their gift in the same way Crocs wearers customise their footwear. This mirrors fashion’s focus on self-expression, transforming a functional item into a playful statement of identity.
Characters: Glimmers of Joy
Fashion Cue: Collaborations such as Stella McCartney x Yoshitomo Nara highlight fashion’s embrace of characters and illustrative graphics to inject whimsy and optimism into collections. These collaborations create emotional resonance, uplifting the everyday with artful storytelling.
Beauty Translation: Tatcha tapped into this spirit with the launch of its Dewy Milk Moisturiser, gifting a collectible character-inspired keychain plush at its House of Dew pop-up. By extending the product story into a tangible companion, Tatcha delivered a “glimmer of joy” that echoed fashion’s playful character collaborations, while strengthening the emotional bond with consumers.
2. Intelligent Simplicity: Efficiency Meets Longevity
The “Intelligent Simplicity” trend is about making design work harder, longer, and smarter. It favours an evolutionary approach rather than constant reinvention, prioritising efficiency, longevity, and responsible use of resources. In fashion, this translates into capsule collections, upcycling practices, material transparency, and the use of smart technology to enhance performance. The focus is clear: functionality takes precedence over aesthetics, ensuring products are not only beautiful but enduring, practical, and future-proof.
Beauty brands are echoing this philosophy in the way they design GWPs. Instead of purely decorative add-ons, the new generation of gifts are practical, reusable, and flexible objects that fit seamlessly into everyday life while embodying sustainability and innovation.
Capsule Design: Streamlined Versatility
Fashion Cue: Brands such as Uniqlo champion the capsule wardrobe, creating modular collections that can be endlessly mixed and matched to suit everyday needs.
Beauty Translation: Meiyume’s Perfectly Imperfect Bag reflects this capsule philosophy in GWP design. With its adjustable strap, the bag seamlessly transforms from a shoulder tote to a cross-body, making it versatile enough for multiple occasions. Its timeless silhouette ensures it transcends trends, aligning with the consumer’s need for long-lasting, multifunctional accessories that integrate effortlessly into their lifestyle.
Practical Innovation: Evolution in Everyday Use
Fashion Cue: The North Face’s modular outerwear demonstrates how fashion can evolve with the wearer. With removable layers and adaptable components, these pieces extend their lifespan and adapt to changing conditions, prioritising function over replacement.
Beauty Translation: Chinese fragrance brand Almost Fever applies the same principle with its Diffuser Phone Grip. Featuring replaceable fragrance chips and the option to refresh with personal perfume, it turns scent into a lasting, portable companion. This shows how GWPs can move beyond novelty to become practical, multifunctional tools.
3. Re/generations: Holistic Wellness & Rituals
The “Re/Generations” trend is rooted in a collective search for guidance, balance, and solutions. It draws from the wisdom of nature, the mysteries of the cosmos, and the marvels of science to inspire products that restore, rejuvenate, and connect across generations. In fashion, this trend is expressed through sustainable biomaterials, inclusive design practices, and outdoor-ready apparel that speaks to healing, resilience, and reconnection with the natural world.
In beauty, it is emerging in GWPs that embrace inclusivity, champion sustainability, and encourage deeper connections with nature, creating products that resonate with purpose as much as with aesthetics.
Inclusivity: Design for Every Experience
Fashion Cue: Victoria’s Secret redefined lingerie design with adaptive intimates featuring front-facing straps, magnetic closures, and inclusive sizing, ensuring comfort and functionality for diverse needs.
Beauty Translation: Meiyume channels the same spirit of inclusivity with its Calm Travel Set, designed to ease the anxiety of long journeys. Featuring a padded pouch, sleep mask, neck warmer, and earplug case, the set blends comfort with practicality, offering travellers relief and reassurance. Much like adaptive fashion, it demonstrates how thoughtful design can remove barriers and support well-being.
Encouraging the Outdoors: Wellness Beyond Walls
Fashion Cue: Lululemon continues to expand into activewear built for both performance and recovery, tapping into the consumer desire to connect with nature through movement and mindfulness.
Beauty Translation: Kiehl’s embraced this same outdoor spirit through its custom outdoor chair GWP, created in partnership with Meiyume. Designed as a practical and durable accessory, the chair encourages consumers to take their routines outside. This gift highlights how GWPs can support connection with nature, extending beauty beyond self-care at home to experiences that nurture balance and well-being in the open air.
What This Means for Brands
As these trends shape the industry, brands must embrace innovation while staying authentic. Meiyume’s insights provide a roadmap for success, empowering brands to create industry-leading products.
As Mentors in the beauty industry, we guide brands in crafting secondary packaging, including boxes, accessories, GWP, and bags. Rooted in our extensive supplier network and deep insights expertise, Meiyume’s role as Mentors ensures invaluable guidance and support throughout the development process, fostering sustainable and innovative designs. By focusing on sustainable materials and leveraging a global understanding of compliance and market demands, we ensure the journey from concept to final product is smooth, efficient, and aligned with a brand’s goals. Meiyume combines agility with expertise, empowering brands to make informed decisions that resonate with consumers and drive sustainability forward.
Connect with Meiyume’s experts today to learn how these trends can elevate your next beauty launch!