In today's session, Cheryl discussed the following Socio-Economic Trends Post-Recession:
Imperfection, Renewal, Masquerade and BioDesign.
We are yearning for humanity and that equals imperfection, gone are the days of everything being perfect - especially with brands. Take a moment and check out the handmade movement, Etsy.com, for a great representation. Items/products that are disstressed, imperfect, "urban renewal" - repurposing the things that existed before are now replacing the polished perfect items of pre-recessionary America. People want to be different, to be flawed, to be human. Artifact-driven stores, hand written notes, imperfect materials. Think imperfection is only for lower price points? Think again, luxury brands have taken notice of the movement - artisanal vocabulary striving to be unique with perhaps a touch of nostalgia.
Another trend is the renewal trend, helped to make famous by Michael Pollan - using the earth and focusing on wholesome foods instead of organic labels. Also, civic re-purposing - making the cities and nature co-exist with an influx of parks. Keep your eye out for taking organic, natural forms and re-purposing it for indoor living. But what about transportation? Freecycling, hybrid cars make sustainability easy.
Other renewal trends include, small batches, simple ingredients, locavores, transparent ingredients and back to nature/nostalgic experiences are all new ways to explore the grocery store and the foods we eat. Check out Unpackaged in London.
Look around at the masquerade movement - Alice in Wonderland, Avatar, Twilight - its about making fantasy and dreams - putting on a new identity. We wear masks online in virtual worlds, creating fantasy out of the mundane (think status messages on Facebook). But also in the real world, wig sales are up - who would have thought? We are becoming characters of ourselves, different versions of ourselves. Look at the character-driven advertising like Gwen Stefani's Harijuku girls and beyond for examples.
What other trends are you seeing? Let us know!