Up i n th e ai r
Iqra khan 1806876 Fash ion futures ad6603 Nove m be r 2020
i ntroduction
Currently we sit in unprecedented times, living life day by day as the circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic are everchanging. 2020 has seen monumental changes for the globe, the very fabric that made up society as we know it were put under microscopic inspection to protect our health from such a volatile virus. As the future of the marketing and communications industry we must be able to pick up upon the characteristics of this new normal way of living and the way it will shape the future landscape.
Wgsn: Th e wh ite pape r
2022 Future Consumer (WGSN, 2020) looks at how Covid19 has affected the consumer landscape and how it impacts the future. The paper talks about how Covid-19 has been the biggest event to progress social change in many of our lifetimes. As we move into an uncertain future the paper highlights the new consumers, we should be aware of as marketers and communicators. The uncertainty of a global pandemic has meant a lot of consumer needs come from the fear of not knowing what the future will hold. 2020 has been regarded as the dawn of the digital age after the pandemic acted as a catalyst for further digital integration in our daily lives. In the past, fear has been a key emotion in past trends. We only need to go back and look at world war II to understand the impact fear can have on a generation. I do believe that this negative feeling will be used and turned into a more positive change for the future. More people have worked from home this year than ever before as a result of Covid-19. This shows us that it can be done as full-time venture in the future. It is just a case of making minor modifications to make the working from home more seamless for both employers and employees. This fear in turn will be used as the fuel for a better future. We are the beginning of this change. It may be scary but it’s all a very exciting time as well.
Figure one: Desynchronized society
De-synch ron ise d soci ety soci ety De-synch ron ise d
A de-synchronised society? (WGSN, 2020) - the idea that technology and the age of information has enabled most of us to somewhat continue aspects of our lives, despite being in the midst of a global crisis. This new de-synchronised society has put the foundations down for the future consumer, who I believe will be no stranger to working from home. In spite of this, there is work to be done to improve the toll this new way of living has on mental health. Most people are having to currently work overtime to make up for the time lost to the pandemic. Isolation particularly amongst the older generation has been a prominent issue over the past year. In a survey done by science daily 1,964 participants were questioned on loneliness during the pandemic. More than a quarter of participants identified as lonely (Groarke, 2020). The covid-19 pandemic has meant that everything is up in the air, our livelihoods, and our well-being. I am a firm believer that these two attributes of the human experience should remain of imperative importance to us which is why I want to look into this issue deeper.
Future consum e rs consum e rs Future
Figure two: The Future Consumer
According to Forbes (Pearson, 2018) Generation Z currently have $44 billion in spending power. This is a large impact on the retail landscape. With roughly half of the Generation Z population being nonwhite, they are more comfortable than previous generations with exploring new cultures and buying into products and services that help them to become more culturally aware, not just of their own heritage but also of their peers. They are good savers and bargain hunters, many of this generation lived through the 2008 economic recession and remember the global disruption it caused. Hence why many of Generation Z are careful with their purchases. Looking at online reviews, unboxings and social media recommendations they are able to find the best product and the best price. Their buying habits have an effect on trend forecasting for the future as the long -tail effect, an advantage of ecommerce, gives niche products a better chance of selling than if they were stocked on the high-street. These niche products may then influence future trends. Generation Z are noted to be the most empathetic demographic to date. Often referred to by some elders as “snowflakes”. Generation Z are conscious of what they are buying. According to a study done by research company Morning Consult 29% of Generation Z said they more inclined to purchase a product if it had a “vegan” label.
Igeneration or Generation Alpha, born between 2010 and 2025 are also future consumers to watch. The older half of this generation will be approaching their twenties in 2030, meaning that they will be influential to future commercial habits. They will use technology such as smart phones and tablets naturally and completely do not know life without it, unlike their predecessors. According to an article by interesting engineering.com (2018), Generation Alpha learn through doing, they will be unafraid of new technologies and pressing buttons to understand their functions. There will be a higher frequency of homes with voice activated assistance, Generation Alpha will be the first to talk to the likes of Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant as the norm. The increase in experiential learning could potentially alter the retail landscape. With the death of the highstreet imminent, could this be a spark in its resurgence? This will be a generation of quick thinkers possibly the first generation to inhabit the moon and even Mars. The assistance of advanced technology will mean that generation alpha will be the first to go where other generations have not. Instead of watching the moon landing on television like their grandparent’s generation alpha could be frequent visitors.
Figure three: The Future Consumer II
Be fore s*** h it th e fan A pre covi d-19 world
A pre-covi d 19 world
Go go go gri n d culture culture Go go go gri n d
Figure Four: The Go Go Go Grind Culture
Pre-Covid the world didn’t seem to ever sleep. There was this constant pressure particularly amongst millennials and generation Z to have it all and be it all. This non-stop world where no-one ever switched off. If you weren’t at your desk, you were online documenting some part of your life on social media. The idea of “carpe diem” seize the day was contorted with belief that you need to always be hustling hard. Many millennials would have more than one job often known as a side hustle. In an article published by thrive global titled “hustle culture and its effect on our mental health”. It is stated that 80% of Americans consider themselves to be stressed (Yuko, 2016). Even when they leave the workplace, they are bombarded with work emails and questions from colleagues, giving them no real time to switch off. The notion that we should always be progressing, never stagnant is slowly killing off our workforce and this hustle culture cripples our mental health. Has a culture that was beginning to show cracks been potentially saved from catastrophe by a catastrophe, the Covid-19 pandemic?
A pre-covi d 19 world
Th e survey I am aware that this article focused on the American way of living which differs greatly from the British lifestyle. I wanted to better understand the work/life balance of those around me. I created a survey on work/life balance and sent it out via social media. After a few shares later I got a variety of responses from different ages and different occupations. This included doctors, marketers, sales assistant, those in retirement and in teaching. This survey (Khan, 2020) was produced in October 2020, after the first wave of the pandemic. As you can see from Figure Five, there were mixed feelings about work life balance and how people viewed their own balance. One thing that interested me was that most people agreed that we do need to slow down so that people can focus on their well-being in order to become better workers. I was not surprised to find that quality of work/life balance was better than of that stated in the thrive global article. Although the results are not too extreme, they do show that some people would like to see a change in the way they work as it impacts their health.
Figure Five: My Survey on work life balance pre covid
Th e n ew “norm”
The Covid-19 pandemic put a forceful stop on all our lives. Global shutdowns occurred in attempt to cut off the virus and stop the rate of infection. This meant we had to stop working completely or adopt a new work from home routine. Working from home naturally came with a more relaxed atmosphere. Waist up dressing for zoom calls, emailing your boss from the comfort of your own bed. The uncertainty of the situation means that we have been living from news bulletin to news bulletin for the past year. Undoubtedly this has taken a toll on everyone’s well-being. Social distancing has meant that there is an agoraphobic tension in the air as guidelines constantly change (Bate, 2020). The new world is seeming to be a scary and unpredictable place. Figure Six encompasses the bizzare new world we live in. This new way of working is a new phenomenon for everyone. In some ways, this mass feeling of unease has made us as a global community realise that our health comes first. It has made us appreciate the small things we previously took for granted going to work, being able to hug your family and friends and our health. It is important to repeatedly remind ourselves that many of us have never faced a global crisis of this magnitude. It will take time to reshape our lives and trial and error will play a big part in this. As communicators it is important to be up to date with ever changing times and to be aware that world is still switched on online even though it may be switched off in real life.
Figure six: The New Normal
2 m ete rs apart at all ti m es
Th e n ew norm
Easy cloth es, easy easy m m ii n n d? d? cloth es, Easy
Figure seven: Easy Clothes, Easy Mind?
There has been an exponential rise in lounge wear during the lock down period. Waist up dressing means we can be business on the top and comfy on the bottom (Elan, 2020). There was a time when lounge wear was considered to be “lazy� and not acceptable to wear in public. It is interesting to note the change in attitude from society. The office attire that once was ceases to exist as it is swapped out for comfy jogger co-ords and easy to wear garments. The subconscious desire to feel cosy as the rest of the world seems to be in chaos. As it is currently a bit difficult to go out and conduct research on the street, I took to Instagram to see what people are wearing at the moment and to see if comfy clothes are really as popular as I thought. I chose a few of my favourite images. As you can see there is lots of comfy lounge pieces being worn. Often paired with more dressier items for a happy medium. The other thing I noted was the use of more neutral earth tones. None of the outfits I saw incorporated brighter colours. All stuck to the same neutral colour palette. This again could be due to the concept of comfort. These colours are easy to wear because they go with everything. In a way they could also represent the sombre tones of the time. The future of workwear fashion will be much more casual than in the past. Gone are the days of power dressing. The future consumer favours comfort. The work from home age is about what goes on in the screen not what is behind it.
I am aware that the people I follow all come from a creative background, so I looked at range of different people to try and get a more rounded image of work style today, as shown in Figure Eight. I wanted to see how this comfy trend has been adopted my ecommerce retailers as the high-street was out of action during lock down. Asos was the first place I looked at as they house multiple brands. I found a style edit titled “five of the best comfy styles under £30”. The article claims you can style lounge wear anywhere. (Smith, 2020) Definitely a change from the past mindset of lounge wear that it should only be worn in the home. But now a change in lifestyle means you could wear this edit on a “socially distanced date.” Our future consumer still desires style in just in a more comfortable form. More and more brands are doing their own variation of this style of dress. This is why I looked in depth at ASOS as all these brands were under one roof easy to compare. This is something that will remain in the future the easy accessibility that retailers like ASOS and amazon provide. One website/app with a whole catalogue of different brands and products that can be ordered at the click of a button (Naylor, 2018). No need to leave the house.
Figure Eight: My style research @LISSYRODDY
@AMYFUSIC
@REEMKANJ
@BLVCKDOPE
@ITSLIBES
Th e n ew norm
Se lf se lf Se lf
Figure Nine: Self care Self Love
care love care
One thing that came to my mind whilst conducting this research was the fact that a majority of these comfy pieces that have increased in popularity are in fact sportswear items that have been re-marketed as lounge wear pieces. Stretchy yoga leggings and tracksuits are now the hottest trend in fashion. I believe this is a subconscious reaction to this new selfcare mindset we have adopted. Everyone is aware of the mental toll this pandemic has had on us all. As a direct reaction to this people are being less harsh on themselves and are working on taking better care of themselves as shown by my survey. Many have even adopted a new workout routine into their lives (Nuffield, 2020). According to the article published by Nuffield health 76% of brits have taken up a new form of exercise. By adopting sporting clothing, it can change the mindset to your lifestyle and make you feel better on the outside as you are working on fixing the inside. This new self-care self-love movement fits into this de-synchronised society in which people are doing things in their own time for themselves. The world may seem strange right now. Not being able to leave our homes or be able to see our loved ones. However, there is a slow progression for appreciating being in the moment. Before, we were so caught up with life in the fast line, living vicariously through social media that we forgot to stop and smell the roses along the way. As communicators we must embrace this new self-care movement. It has the potential to grow into a huge aspect of our lives post Covid. Generation Z are the upcoming future consumers and according to an article published by Forbes they are more empathetic than their predecessors. A generation that grew up in a post 9/11, financial crash and now Covid world. They know the importance of self-care. Although they are referred to as the digital natives, they value experientail moments more than material possessions (Woo, 2018).
Th e n ew norm
Cross ge n e rational lon li n ess lon li n ess ge n e rational Cross
Backgroun d i mage by ste ph e n gwaltn ey
Figure Ten: Cross Genrational Lonliness
The guidelines set by government over this past year have prevented us all from seeing our friends and family. As imagined, this issue has affected the elderly generation the most. But loneliness is not refined to just one generation. The pandemic has resulted in loneliness being a cross-generational issue. In an article published by the guardian (Iqbal, 2020) a fifth of the nation’s population will need mental health support as a result of covid-19. Of that group, 1.5 million of those will be young people under the age of 18. Shadow health minster Rosea Allin-Khan put forward a proposal to the houses of parliament known as the care for carers initiative. The initiative was to help those who are mentally vulnerable such as those who work on the NHS frontlines. The government rejected the proposal to which she responded with “ people are facing huge uncertainty for prolonged periods of time with no coherent plan from the government as to when they will see the light at the end of the tunnel – that uncertainty breeds anxiety”. Looking to the future, there has been a 35% increase in children who are now eligible for psychiatric assessment. Children are only offered this if they are likely to suffer with behavioural and mental health issues. Ultimately these behaviour issues will affect a handful of these children in their adult life. There is a dialogue opening up about mental health, as most people feel the same in these times. The commonality of feelings has made a for a safer space to talk about sensitive topics. As communicators a space has opened up to keep this dialogue going and to create a real social change in attitudes towards mental health. This can already be seen on social media, particularly Instagram. The scale of this issue particularly amongst the younger generations suggests that as communicators we must do our bit to shed a light onto this issue and do our bit to get people comfertable talking about mental health issues, despite the goverments “ je ne sais quoi” attitude.
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Figure Eleven: Lockdown Uniform
Th is too shall pass A post covi d-19 world
Figure twelve: This too shall pass
Post covi d-19 world
A world outsi de th e on li n e bubble bubble on li n e outsi de th e A world
Figure Thirteen: Alone Together
As the WGSN white paper states the pandemic has been a catalyst for integration between the real and online worlds. Whilst the increase in time spent online has been a hot topic of conversation. A question still remains about how things will be in the real world. As we can all agree that things won’t return exactly the same to life pre-Covid. There is a general belief that we will no longer take small everyday blessing for granted once this has passed. As suggested by the Coca Cola advertisement (Rodgers, 2020) that displays a gratitude for the little things we’ve missed whilst being in lockdown. The advertising campaign tiled “opened like never before” launched in July 2020, features a spoken word poet George Mpanga as he walks through London reciting his poem, a vow to be more open to the world around us. This notion that we will change our reception to the world and become a more optimistic society is something as a future communicator I wish to focus on. I believe there will be a great sense of joy in the air as families are allowed to reunite. People will appreciate the time they have with each other face to face as they have been stripped of it for so long. It will be more precious as a result and many will want to live in the moment rather than document it on social media. Generation Z is our future consumer, a group who cares more about spending money on experiences to create long-lasting memories, rather than material objects according to Forbes. Therefore, as a communicator we need to recognize a gap in the market for a space that caters for this. I believe that this I a huge opportunity for the retail industry to resurrect the dying Highstreet. This is a great opportunity to remodel the traditional bricks and mortar store into an experiential day out. Places to try and test product, social spaces for family and friends to meet, innovative merchandising that draw new consumers in and restore the Highstreet to its former glory. A good example of an existing retail space like this is story (Unknown, n.d.) located in New York city. It is a concept store founded by Rachel Shechtman; the store specialises in serial pop up stores that create an interactive in-store narrative through their creative merchandising techniques. The stores change their merchandising every few weeks to tell a new story, and consequently keeping consumers hooked. With every new story comes a new set of products from small businesses as well as things for customers to do such as classes and tasting sessions. I believe the Highstreet should be taking a leaf of Shechtman’s book as this could be a saving grace for the Highstreet. It is something we should seriously consider as future communicators.
Th e mode rn day office
Figure Fourteen: Modern day Offce
Love ly vi ew!
Figure Fifteen: stuck in the bubble
Post covi d-19 world
A world I nsi de th e on li n e bubble bubble on li n e th e I nsi de A world
Figure sixten: The Online Bubble
The online world is not a new enigma, the working from home revolution is as the WGSN White paper states, a catalyst into way domestic life will function in the future. Waist up dressing and digital integration are the perfect mixture for 2-dimensional dressing and digital fashion to take centre stage. If anything good is to come out of such a bleak time, it is the way online relations have flourished during the pandemic. The online bubble is like a thriving city, hustle and bustle at every turn. The fabricant is a Dutch brand that specialises in digital clothes, they describe themselves on their website as “operating the intersection between fashion and technology fabricating digital couture and fashion experiences, always digital never physical�. I believe the fabricant is a response to the over-consumption of clothing perpetuated by the fast fashion industry. I am truly fascinated by the concept of digital fashion, I think it is ingenious and will revolutionise the way we consume fashion, whilst still giving people the variety they have grown used to having. It seems the more and more we delve into the future of fashion and what the world will be like for us as communicators, we are morphing more and more into a SIMS video game like existence. Although this is not a new thing, I believe that online personas will have a greater standing in social society. In an article published by inc.com, Brandon talks about the software Second Life. In this a user can create an avatar and literally have a second life online (Brandon, 2015). Although this concept may sound strange it is essentially where we are at now. We have our social media persona that the world sees then we have the IRL version of ourselves. We have created that second life version of ourselves the world wants us to see. As communicators in a post Covid world, we must hone in on this dichotomy as brands like the Fabricant have already done by bringing digital fashion to the forefront.
Up i n th e ai r Back down to earth earth down to Back ai r Up i n th e
The pandemic has made us realise what is really important in life as well as propelling digital integration within society. As communicators the future of our practice will see an advanced understanding of this monumental social change. An optimistic approach to the future will be to see the potential to rebuild society based on these new value and lessons we have learnt during this time. Being aware that our consumer Generation Z are an empathetic group who value honesty and experience we can shape the fashion landscape to perfectly mirror these values.
References Bate, M. (2020, September 05). Retrieved from The Independant: h�ps://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/coronavirussocial-anxiety-fear-strangers-how-help-pandemic-a9694201.html Brandon, J. (2015, October ). Retrieved from inc: h�ps://www.inc.com/john-brandon/the-future-of-work-companies-willhire-both-you-and-you.html Elan, P. (2020, July 20). Retrieved from The Guardian: h�ps://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/20/the-zoomshirt-how-the-pandemic-changed-work-dress-codes Groarke, J. (2020, September). Retrieved from Science Daily : h�ps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2020/09/200924141620.htm Iqbal, N. (2020, October 17). Retrieved from The Guardian : h�ps://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/oct/17/uksleepwalking-to-mental-health-crisis-as-pandemic-takes-its-toll Khan, I. (2020, October). Retrieved from Survey Monkey: h�ps://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/99BDY3Z Naylor, E. (2018, May). Retrieved from CMG-Change: h�ps://cmg-change.com/how-amazon-and-asos-are-winning-themobile-retail-ba�le/ Nuffield. (2020, May). Retrieved from Nuffield Health: h�ps://www.nuffieldhealth.com/ar�cle/over-half-of-brits-havetaken-up-a-new-form-of-exercise-during-lockdown-with-many-vowing-to-con�nue-with-their-new-regimes Rodgers, C. (2020, July). Retrieved from Marke�ng Week: h�ps://www.marke�ngweek.com/coca-cola-new-campaignpost-lockdown/ Smith, K. (2020, October 09). Retrieved from ASOS: h�ps://www.asos.com/women/fashion-feed/2020_10_09-fri/5-ofthe-best-comfy-styles-under-25-pounds/ Unknown. (n.d.). Retrieved from SEGD: h�ps://segd.org/story-new-york-store-thats-always-changing WGSN. (2020, May). Retrieved from WGSN: h�ps://www.wgsn.com/en/ar�cle/wgsn-releases-new-insights-futureconsumer-2022/ Woo, A. (2018, July). Retrieved from Forbes : h�ps://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/07/23/�me-towake-up-to-the-next-consumer-powerhouse-gen-z/#78058f253f4c Yuko, E. (2016, May). Retrieved from Thrive Global: h�ps://thriveglobal.com/stories/hustle-culture-constant-workalways-on-mental-health-�ps/ (2018, December ). Retrieved from h�ps://interes�ngengineering.com/genera�on-alpha-the-children-of-themillennial
Image credits Figure One: Desynchronised Society Figure Two: The Future Consumer by Alan Zenriech, 1985 Figure Three: The Future Medium.com/allusions
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Figure Four: The Go Go Go Grind Culture Noise ii by Yoshi Sodeoka
Figure Five: My Survey on work life balance pre covid, Own Image Figure Six: The new normal, own image (background used by stock vault.com) Figure Seven: Easy Clothes, Easy Mind by Ellie Joslin, Instagram.com/Missjoslin Figure Eight: My style research, Instagram.com/lissyroddy, Amyfuscia, reemkanj, itslibes and blvckdope Figure Nine: Self Care Self Love Image by twenty75 Figure Ten: Cross Generational Loneliness by Stephen Gwaltney Figure Eleven: Lockdown uniform, Own Image Figure Twelve: This too shall pass, Own Image Figure Thirteen: Alone Together by Jake Wagner Figure Fourteen: Modern day Office, Own Image Figure Fifteen: Stuck in the bubble, Own Image Figure Sixteen: The Online Bubble by Shawn Paul, Xaio min for a magazine
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