Antwerp – What about
diversity and sustainability in 2020? During the Fashion Talks Flanders DC
organised last Thursday in Antwerp, futurologist Lucie Greene made some
predictions about trends and consumer behaviour for the coming year.
FashionUnited noted six trends:
British-born Lucie Greene moved from New York to LA last year and set up
her own trend agency, Light Years. The influence in terms of innovation has
shifted to the west of the U.S. in recent years, Greene said in an
interview with advertising agency Contagious at the time. New lifestyle
trends, direct-to-consumer brands and product categories have come over
from L.A. And of course there’s also the convergence between technology,
gaming and streaming in LA.
Cultural relevant strategy
Greene looks at impactful cultural changes and how they will evolve as
well as the emotions and goals of the consumer: how does the life of the
consumers change, how will it affect them, how will they live and,
ultimately, what do they want to buy. “I’m helping brands understand the
implications of impactful change and what strategies they need to develop
to be culturally relevant and attractive in a rapidly changing world,” says
Greene. She then links some of those changes to eye-catching new brands and
brand strategies.
New game changers and models
We see an increase in new product categories being launched, such as
Tracee Ellis Ross hair care products, specifically for curly and frizzy
hair. Large chains are also jumping on this trend and are adding premium
private labels to their product range. According to Greene, a mix of
technology and influencing is emerging, just look at the September show of
Rihanna’s Fenty, streamed via Amazon Prime. In addition, there are new
brands that pretend to be a non-profit label. They are unpacking the
content – sustainability, natural ingredients – and are being sold at a low
price to those who join their club.
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Radical inclusiveness
Diversity in all its forms will break into mainstream culture by 2020.
Greene gives us an example: Universal Standard that sells clothing from
American size 4 to 40 (EU 34 to 70). Henning of Lauren Chan, on the other
hand, makes formal clothing for work situations that flatters every type of
body. Sainsbury’s came up with an atypical pregnancy and breastfeeding line
and Tommy Hilfiger, with Tommy Adaptive, focuses on consumers with a
disability. Campaigns are also increasingly seeing models of real skin
conditions such as psoriasis, acne, cellulite or stretch marks.
Opmars of Gen Z
Fear also stimulates trends – the climate protest is driven by fear –
and thus becomes – cynically enough – something that can be capitalized on.
“Gen Z grew up with uncertainty, thinks progressively and is very
entrepreneurial but with a social purpose. They see themselves as a brand,
partly through social media and influencing. They think creatively, make
something and sell it immediately, via social media. Retailers who want to
appeal to Gen Z must realise that they are dealing with conscious
consumers,” says Greene. “They love vintage and unexpected categories such
as anti-consumption brand Everybody.world or genderfree-shop Phluid. A
trend that will become very important in 2020 is the impact of gaming.
Greene: “For Gen Z, gaming is a form of social media. They meet on games,
and date through apps. They make contact via Tinder and then meet each
other on Fortnite. The world of gaming is interwoven with the visual
culture. We already had virtual influencers like Lil Miquela, but now there
is a complete intersection of gaming and beauty of fashion. For example,
the Dazed Beauty platform brings unexpected, futuristic beauty reports with
inspiration from cyberspace.
Sustainability 2.0
Greene also points to the so-called ‘goal revolution’ – a redefinition
of why people are here, what makes them happy and what they spend their
money on. Wellness is what millennials want today: from air purifiers to
organic cotton and everything that makes us healthier and improves our
lives. Sustainability is no longer a trend but the basis from which new
brands can start,” Greene explains. “Brands that aim to change consumer
behaviour include By Humankind, a beauty label with reusable packaging, or
For Days, where you can take out a zero waste T-shirt subscription.
Another trend that comes under this is the vegan lifestyle, which is
sustainable and good for your health. In addition, innovation in the field
of sustainability is called the new luxury, such as new textiles as an
alternative to animal materials, with Stella McCartney as the pioneer, of
course. Social collabs are also being created, such as Guerlain x Unesco or
Timberland’s reforestation project”, she further illustrates.
Communities
The fifth trend mentioned by Greene responds to the general wave of
isolation: “Social media can tend to make consumers unhappy or lonely. So
brands are building new communities where activities and workshops are
organised so that they can find that sense of belonging. Examples are the
social bakery Luminary Bakery in East London, the collaboration of Vans
with avant-garde gallery KK Outlet in Covent Garden and the pottery classes
of Still Life Ceramics in L.A.”.
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Technological revolution
“More and more is also becoming possible due to the rapid technological
evolution”, says the trendwatcher. “Lil Miquela now has more than 1.5
million followers and has deals with major brands such as Supreme and
Diesel who sees her as a powerful marketing tool. Other examples include
experience-focused e-commerce, such as Obsess, the shopping platform that
leases out virtual, experience-focused stores to brands, as well as the
investment in interactive mirrors from the sportswear brand Lululemon. In
addition, technology is a source of inspiration for new products: game
branding or virtual collections such as Jeremy Scott’s collection for The
Sims. Augmented reality filters are used to advertise products such as the
Adidas Deerupt filter on Snapchat or Candy Crush filter on Instagram to
increase brand awareness. It’s the 21st-century version of the billboard,”
concludes Greene.
This article was originally published on FashionUnited.nl before
being translated and edited to English
Main photo: Universal Standard campaign NYC metro