6 Fashion and Beauty Trends Disrupting the Market
2022 marks the eighth year of Wunderman Thompson’s Future 100 report which details the trends to watch over the coming 12 months. There are chapters covering culture, tech & innovation, travel, brands, luxury health and more with each delving deeper into trends covering augmented ads, metabeauty, retail plus more in detail.
As someone with a keen interest in the fashion and beauty worlds and who struggles to keep up with the ever-changing nature of it all, I took the chance to speak to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence’s editor Emily Safian-Demers to hear a little more on how she complied the report and where certain aspects are heading in the future.
LBB> Brands from Ralph Lauren to Nike and Vans have released virtual worlds on Roblox - what is the importance of this and what can we learn from this about gaming virtual worlds and the fashion world?
Emily> These virtual worlds offer a glimpse into the early stages of the metaverse, and are a roadmap for brands looking to take their first steps into the metaverse. It’s not surprising that fashion and apparel brands are some of the first to play in this space—gaming and fashion have a history of cross-pollination, and these activations are the latest iteration of that. As the metaverse takes shape—the first stages of which are taking place in these gaming environments—people are turning to fashion brands for ways to express their identity and individuality.
LBB> There's a whole chapter in this year's report on the 'K-wave effect', I'm so interested to hear from your perspective just how and why Korean culture has made such an impact on the world as a whole?
Emily> What started with K-beauty several years ago has grown into a full embracement of Korean pop culture. Korea’s cultural impact on the global stage is the successful result of a long-term economic initiative by the South Korean government to invest in so-called “soft power,” as a recent BBC Culture piece explained.
LBB> The beauty world has gone through many changes in terms of being sustainable and redefining what 'beauty' actually is. How do you see these trends faring in the future and what could be next?
Emily> Beauty is being redefined, and that’s not going to go away any time soon. This shift has roots in the broader movement of acceptance and liberation sweeping industries from health—including sexual and mental—to fashion. Looking ahead, expect to see a continued trend in empowerment in the beauty industry and beyond, as brands champion inclusivity and drive acceptance of a wide range of identities.
LBB> What can brands and marketers - who are not in the beauty industry - take away from the Inclusive Haircare sector of the report?
Emily> Making products, services, spaces and communications more inclusive is a mass cultural current—haircare is just one small slice of that. The fact that it’s impacting every corner of consumerism, from haircare to tech, highlights just how important it is. Brands and marketers across industries
LBB> Flagship stores used to be a key shopping experience, but now they are becoming virtual. What needs to be done to ensure that virtual flagship stores attract and retain consumers in the right ways?
Emily> Virtual flagships will need to be organic, intuitive, inspiring and browsable. Virtual flagships are starting to take off in part thanks to advances in technology; high-gloss renderings, interactive elements and easy navigation are replicating the in-store experience online, elevating the tedious scroll-and-click ecommerce interface.
LBB> What space does the crypto world have in fashion, beauty and luxury experiences? And how can this be duplicated throughout different sectors?
Emily> As fashion, beauty and luxury move into the virtual realm, crypto offers a digital-first formula for purchase and authentication of virtual assets. As the metaverse emerges and daily life continues to migrate into virtual spaces, crypto could facilitate virtual ownership and experiences across categories.
