2 03 5 Marie Van Puyenbroeck
B1Ei Amsterdam Fashion Institute 03 . 03 . 2017
T A B L E 0 F C 0 N T E N T
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Selfdom
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Disconnected Reconnection
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Second Youth
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Conclusion
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Trend research. For me, it’s soaking up life around you to the fullest combined with inner thoughts and revealed connections. It’s grasping what’s in the air, the intangible and eventually turn it into something tangible. For being a brand manager, it comes down to capture the zeitgeist and the one that is about to come too. Surfing upon these looming trendwaves, you can make your people believe that they think they know what they need and hence you can provide them with answers for it.
My first stop for this trend research was the Integrated Systems Europe fair at RAI. A completely unknown field to me. Overwhelmed by the never ending amount of booths, halls, screens and people I tried to narrow down my viewpoint and take the time to understand the presented concepts that seemed appealing to me on first impression. Afterwards, I headed over to the Amsterdam City Center guided by my 500 Hidden Secrets of Amsterdam booklet, ready to spot trends, captured in the moment. Whether or not it was the killing cold outside keeping people in or a Thursday through the week, on early thought my first findings weren’t very impressive. So the following weeks I kept my eyes wide open, observing people constantly e.g. on my tram rides to school, checking out the stores while passing through different areas instead of bowing over only to watch my phone screen. But nothing really striking new got to me. In order to find inspiration or starting points, I bought myself some books and magazines in The American Book Center and Athenaeum at Spui. My eager to know the future made me buy magazines like The Forecast, Scenario, Sofa and books like Design and National Identity, a 100-Year-Life or the The inevitable according to Kevin Kelly. Going to Brussels as a second city was a pleasant experience (like always), though a not so smart decision for me going on a Monday since I wanted to visit a museum. But after that stroll through B-town, I felt like some vague ideas and inspiration from the magazines were pushing me in some directions. To add my new findings to my stack of research at the end of that day, gave me more security of succeeding in the job. Finally, I scrolled through my saved online articles to add to the stack, together I laid out all my findings. I used many post-its to indicate what is about what and eventually, to choose and connect the most interesting findings and draw it back to thee trends namely: Selfdom, Disconnected Reconnection, The Second Youth.
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Intr0ducti0n Trend
(trend)
I. a general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are behaving Synonyms: tendency, movement, drift, swing, shift, course, current, run, direction, inclination, leaning;
It’s a difficult process to point out changes and developments that are not very certain in life or in the future. Researching trends triggers your brain to think disruptively which is always a challenge. What was interesting was to try to make connections between or even follow ups for different findings. Though, inspired by thé Carrie Bradshaw’s method for writing columns in Sex and the City, I am convinced that it is not always possible to spot what’s going on in society within a short amount of time. Going for trend research made me extremely focused and eager to spot those trends. I believe with such a state of mind, it made me sometimes lose sight. I do think that just going out, hanging with friends or spending quality time with your family, going to all sort of events is a very good way to find out things, to find out what the zeitgeist is. Having that attitude, with the idea of finding trends in the back of your head, I am convinced that as soon as something comes up, you wilI notice. The light bulb will lighten up telling you that in the ongoing conversation something useful is hanging in the air at that moment. To conclude, I liked trend research, just not really the short amount of time. On the other hand, there is no time to waist, especially not in this current pace of life. So some restrictions in the process are good too. Trend research makes you understand certain developments and happenings. It develops your own behaviour and makes you anticipated. While being one step ahead, you can use that in order to contribute to this world’s needs and innovations.
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Trends
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Selfdom
The realm of the self. The self is more and more the centrepiece in current society. And it has more to do than just the fact that 3 million photos are tagged with #selfie, (without even mentioning the amount of selfies under alternative hashtags). The selfdom-focus is talking about preserving solitude in an era of hyperconnectivity so that one can be comfortable and full alone. Besides this focus, the process of becoming is a related topic too. There is this need to love oneself, empower oneself. Why is that? We are given to ourselves and we will have to live with ourselves until the end, so you better feel good about it. This idea is very closely linked to identity too. Though that’s a path taking off to another direction than I’m heading to. Selfdom deals with controlling your own life instead of just living life and life living you. This trend is especially living among women; e.g. marriage and motherhood mark women’s responsibility for others. Perhaps self love then should mark responsibility to oneself: responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking and naming for you. It means that you do not treat your body as a commodity, it means resisting forces in society which say that women should be nice, play safe, have low professional expectations, drown in love and forget about work, live through others and stay in the places assigned to us, it means the courage to be different.
SELF is a brand of natural cosmetic products to protect and to take care of your skin, like so many. But the story they tell and what sets them apart, is one of enjoying being yourself. With their products SELF wants to stimulate the process of becoming in a good way. Feeling good in your skin makes you feel good in your skin and hence about yourself .Those products are just perfect for those special #metime moments.
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More and more people - mostly women all over the world are making a public commitment to being the best version of yourself, treating yourself with care and compassion. The article touches on the subject of growing into a woman. But what does that actually mean? So 3 self-married women explain and share how they do things for yourself, not waiting around for someone else to make it happen: self-actualisation. This article explains that sologamy doesn’t preclude meeting someone, but in fact it lends itself to finding healthy nourishing relationships.
Mr-Ego, a trendy urban clothing store for those people who can’t stand commercial shopping streets, located in Brussels. So the store addresses those individuals who don’t like following the mainstream and even go against it. Mr-Ego is for those who want to stand out but most of all for those who are proud to be different in their identity.
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You come alone, you sit alone, you eat alone. Osolitude is a concept event of Beursschouwburg in Brussels. The programme focusses on different aspects of loneliness. Osolitude questions what loneliness means in a world of hyperconnectivity on the one hand and looks for answers to what it is that makes us so lonely in these times on the other hand.
Eenmaal Amsterdam was a one-person restaurant offering only tables for 1 where you can enjoy lunch or dinner. MVGCA, an Amsterdam based office for design, concepts & strategy, wanted to demonstrate by eating in solitude and creating moments of disconnection in our hyper connected society can be very attractive and joyful. There is nothing wrong with eating alone. On the contrary, MVGCA made it cool and trendy because as a result of Eenmaal in other European cities same concept pop-up restaurants were established.
As a contrast of this selfdom, I noticed the opposite trending topics too. It is striking how much the younger generations are suffering from mental health issues: burn outs are peaking at the ages between 25 and 35 (while it used to be around 45), same counts for loneliness. Self-repression is current and never were there so many visits by younger people to the psychologist and therapists. This relates to the hyper connectivity and digital evolution these generations grew up in and are growing up in. Since statistics prove this, these issues are brought under attention and are talked about some way or another (eg article in i-D on how memes taught millennials to talk about mental health). The rise of the attention make those people realise they are not the only one dealing with those issues concerning the self: self-awareness, self-worth, self-development, self-empowerment, insecurities, identity, self-doubt. Social media is often used to cover that up but at the same time is one of the reasons for people dealing with those mental health issues. For example, some think that the more likes on our selfies the better we feel but on the contrary actually. So if these issues are rising awareness by being talked about more openly, that means ways of dealing with it are sought after. Hence the selfdom. To get back in control of oneself and defining one’s own baseline happiness. Being aware of oneself process of becoming and finding a way for yourself. Because self love increases meaningful connection between oneself, people and communities.
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Disconnected Reconnection Continuing the surfing on the trendwave of hyper connectivity, disconnected reconnection is a thing. We all experience the changes happening of the virtual world overtaking real life. True, they are all very exciting innovations. Though the human race is not shaped and built to be able to deal with this changes from the start. As we all now more and more realise and experience the huge impact of the internet, the iPhones, the tablets and the constant connection through social media channels, we feel the urge to find a way to deal with it. Addiction to the smartphone is something many people suffer from without noticing. A balance is needed for our wellbeing. With all these changes in the digital era are happening, of course a backlash isn’t following much later. In order to deal with hyper connectivity and the immense amount of impulses coming in by on a day, people are trying to cope, to find a balance. We go back, back to reality, tangibles, the essence, do what our bodies and mind needs: real life, living offline and so disconnect to reconnect with oneself and their real life, real time, friends and family. The pursuit of quietness is a movement among us in modern times in hectic and crowded urban areas. The pleasures of a simple life are rediscovered. The more we migrate to a technical world, the more sublime nature is to behold.
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Here people can come together to the workshops every Wednesday and Saturday. For free anyone can join whenever yu feel like. They spend time together making maquettes of games of fantasy worlds. Once finished, they play the game together, working out strategies.
When I asked the salesman, working on a game himself in the shop, he said people come here because this is a way people meet, reconnect with each other and themselves. They join forces in their creativity and imagination. The whole proces stimulates creativity and phantasy. This offline gaming world provides a relaxing and entertaining experience.
Among friends, game nights officially became friends dates to spend quality time together. Snacks and spirits often go along with it. Board games pop up in many cafĂŠs too, but in the cosy, chaotic or brown ones with their vintage or kicked of interior, like cafĂŠ Brecht in Amsterdam.
The art of vinyl being rediscoverd. Forget the streaming, quality comes before the quantity here. Buying and listening to vinyl is hot again.
Travelling during rush hours back and forth to Brussels, I noticed many people reading books or the paper (or sleeping) instead of being on theiwr phones as so often is claimed.
the book Cabinporn provides inspiration for quiet places somewhere. It shares stories of people who built their own cabin in the middle of nowhere in order to experience splendid nature an the simple life which can lead to a more spiritually and creatively fulfilling life. By now their Instagram has reached up to 209k followers, and therefore created a community aspiring to the idea of going to such cabins enjoying offline life.
Plants are everywhere because the greenery provide us with the reassurance we yearn for amid a tumultuous social and political environment. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate and revitalize. Plants everywhere symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature.
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Health care is emerging, for years already, thanks to technical innovations in the sector. Life expectancy is rising too. And the Babyboomers are soon retiring. This leads to an extreme expanding in the group of the older generation. According to the World Health Organisation, the number of people aged 60 or older will outnumber children under 5 by 2020. We tended to isolate this group from society. They have to pay huge amount of money on health care. But do we really have to let them sit there waiting to pass away? If we are growing older, that means that there is more life to live. With all the endless possibilities, innovations and developments in this era, why shouldn’t we live life to the fullest? Isolating the elderly costs the government, the under parts of the pyramid in society and the elderly themselves loads of money. It’s time to turn that around. Let’s reveal and use the opportunities this community has to offer. When turning older, obviously the focus will go to a healthy lifestyle, to reach that second youth. how? If they stay fit, stimulated by the government, come out more often, this would only benefit society and the economy and mostly themselves. They will live a healthier and happier life physically and mentally by coming out and meeting people. If they live a longer active life, they can stay in the workforce longer and therefore contribute to the society and the country. The economy will benefit from this. This large group won’t be seen as a burden any longer. Cities, brands, society are turning this group into possibilities. This will turn into a enormous new kind of market with the newest ideas for this group. Staying this young mentally and physically will expand to all aspects of lifestyle. Fashion will benefit from this and vice versa. These things are keeping them young, and isn’t that something we all desire? Isn’t that the ultimate goal? forever young?
03 Second
My grandmother turned 80 last year. She has been going to the gymcenter Gendai (in Genk, Belgium) for 27 years. Her hands can still touch the ground while bending over with straight legs.
Youth 11.
Example: article in The Forecast “The city of Toyama invites seniors to live and interact in their centres. They discover far-reaching benefits.� Instead of giving in to a demographic inevitability, Toyama is confronting the dual challenges of ageing and depopulation head on. For example, they are working on a new public transport system designed to keep the elderly active and bring people of all ages into the centre. They also built a centre, a preventative health centre for seniors; fitness classes in the pool or hot spa area, senior friendly weights room, doctor on hand, steam room, sauna. It has it all. This centre is about physical fitness but also has a huge impact on mental health too: by coming here people get out and meet friends. If they are stuck at home, their ability to walk decreases and they’re more likely to fall. Another concept they tried out and appears to working out great is multigenerational housing: these different age groups can learn from each other and help one and another.
Baddie Winkle is characterised by wearing eccentric clothes, promoting the legalization of medical marijuana, and her innuendo. She became an Internet sensation at the age of eighty-five. She doesn’t like old woman clothes. Why would she? “Fuck being age appropriate”
& Other Stories features Daphne elf in their campaign with Vans in 2015 In the same year, Celine featured Joan Didion in their campaign.
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The Selfdom focusses on preserving solitude in an era of hyperconnectivity so that one can be comfortable and full alone, and subsequently experiencing the process of becoming. Connected to this hyper connectivity is also the Disconnected Reconnection trend. In a digital era where technology is controlling life more and more, people need balance. They search a way to revitalise and root back with the basic needs. While those two concern the younger generations, a Second Youth is born. The growing group of elderly provide new market challenges en opportunities. Let’s join forces. What would happen if the youth and Second Youth come together and join creativity and experiences in making their own clothes again. Just like the good old days. A little escape of the virtual world and hyperconnectivity. This would not only help the youth in the process of becoming, it would also disconnect them, entertain them and afterwards reconnect them to keep up with the unstoppable pace of this era. Making fashion themselves, with their own hands, stimulates the focus on the self. It is a step to discover who you are and what you stand for and hence translate that in their own creations. Besides, learning from the Second Youth could prevent them from the fast fashion, learn about it, experience the hard and long work needed to create your own clothing and live a more sustainable life. On the other hand the youth can teach the Second Youth all about the latest technical innovations and developments and maybe use those in their comegettogether or designs. Brands wil communicate stories about the self. The effect of a healthy seldom results in great relationships with others. People finding each other in the real world, disconnected thus not only through social media. The Second Youth generations provide a whole new market to discover, new tribes will grow (or can be created) and new concepts can be thought of in relation of their healthy lifestyle, meeting people, events. They will do the things that the younger do (or will the youth do what the elderly used to do?); total new sort of events or events experiencing their childhood in a new way.
Conclusion
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If I let the mind run wild, would it be possible to create a fashion or clothing that grows with you through the ages? It joins you in the process of becoming, straight to the Second Youth. And once entered the Second Youth, after many years of digital impulses overload, you want to grab back to those items to disconnect in order to reconnect. With extraordinary fabrics, changeable colours and adaptable sizes since they grow with you? As the mother-daughter matching was a thing or the couple matching goals, will there be something like grandmothers matching their granddaughters and grandfathers their grandsons? Or the other way around?
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Dawson,. H, 2016, With This Ring, I Me Wed. Lyra Magazine, 5 December, p. 23-26 Lewin, E., 2017, Marrying yourself isn’t a joke, for some, it’s actually quite sacred. From: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/sex-and-relationships/marryingyourself-isnt-a-joke-for-some-its-actually-quite-sacred-20170209-gu98ei.html (retrieved 24 February 2017). Self. From: https://www.naturalself.eu/en/ Mr. Ego, Brussels (own image). (Taken on 20 February 2017). Dinner for One, Beursschouwburg, Brussels (own image). (Taken on 20 February 2017). Eenmaal. 2014, Eenmaal (image). From: http://nextshark.com/restaurant-in-amsterdam-forces-customers-to-eat-alone/ (retrieved 24 February 2017). Van Damme, F., 2017, Waarom eenzaamheid zo piekt bij twintigers. From: http://www.demorgen.be/wetenschap/waarom-eenzaamheid-piekt-bij-twintigers-be2a05d6/ (retrieved 18 February 2017). Syfret, W., 2017, How memes taught millennials to talk about mental health. From: https://i-d.vice.com/en_au/article/how-memes-taught-millennials-to-talk-about-mentalhealth?utm_source=idfbaus&utm_campaign=global (retrieved 16 February 2017). Beursschouwburg. From: http://www.beursschouwburg.be/nl/event/149113/ new/#!149113 (retrieved 26 February 2017). Natural Self, From: https://www.facebook.com/pg/NaturalSelf.eu/about/?ref=page_internal (retrieved 26 February 2017). Bruggeman, F., 2016, Burn-out bij jongeren: “Twintig procent van de mensen tussen 25 en 35 staat moe op”. From: http://deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/wetenschap/1.2830858# (retrieved 16 February 2017). Ayahuasca, 2017, Repression of the self as the origin of disease. From http://www.albertojosevarela.com/en/lp/amsterdam-conference/ (retrieved 16 February 2017).
Source list Game Workshop, Brussels (own image). (Taken on 20 February 2017). Brecht Café, Amsterdam (own image). (Taken on 9 February 2017). Doctor Vinyl, Brussels (own image). (Taken on 20 February 2017). NMBS, Leuven – Brussel Centraal, Brussels (own image). (Taken on 20 February 2017). Caffénation, Amsterdam (own image). (Taken on 9 February 2017). Collected by Beaver, B., 2016, Cabin Porn. Penguin Books, UK. n., a., 2017, The New Generation of Photographers Choosing Analog over Digital, From: http://www.sleek-mag.com/2017/02/03/new-generation-analog-photography/ (retrieved 6 February 2017). Instagram Cabinporn. From: https://www.instagram.com/cabinporn/ (retrieved on 20 February 2017. Gendai, 2016, Marth 80 (image). From: https://www.facebook.com/www.gendai.be/ posts/689343944565673 (retrieved 26 February 2017). Wilson, F., 2016, Ageing Gracefully. The Forecaster, issue 5, pp. 45 – 51 Winkle, B., 2016, Baddie Winkle Instagram Account (image). From: https://www.instagram. com/baddiewinkle/ (retrieved 26 February 2017). Staff, W., 2016, The story of “Baddie Winkle,” 87-year-old Instagram star and subversive fashion icon. From: http://nytlive.nytimes.com/womenintheworld/2015/09/04/the-storyof-baddie-winkle-87-year-old-instagram-star-and-subversive-fashion-icon/ (retrieved 26 February 2017). A.u., 2015, Vans & Other Stories Modelling Campaign (image). From: http://www.daphneselfe.com/other-stories/ (retrieved 21 February 2017). Tueller, J., 2015, Joan Didion for Céline (image). From: http://www.vogue.com/article/ joan-didion-celine-ad-campaign (retrieved 21 February 2017).
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