It was in 2019, a normal year compared with what we see now, that we developed and created our first trend report on ‘The Fashion Future & Mobility’.
One thing we are sure of, between 2019 and 2020, a lot has changed. The year 2020 was actually the year that the world stopped and changed. The future has ceased to be the future, to be the present, and as such, our research needs an update in the face of all the experiences and crazy things (some good, others less good) lived through in 2020.
The trend report ‘The Future of Fashion & Mobility’ was divided into two parts; the initial part focused on the past, and the final part focused on the future. We found that icons that we now consider common and irrelevant were in reality a real revolution in the world of fashion and women’s emancipation. Indeed, it was objects such as the bicycle, the zipper or luggage that made women more independent, modern and autonomous.
We also understand that the evolution of fashion was intrinsically associated with mobility and the function and practicality of travel for women at the time. As such, we have seen countless advances in women’s clothing and changes in the paradigms of women in dresses, from women as housewives to female astronauts ready to conquer and shine on the moon (literally).
Now, in 2021, after the madness and learnings of the year characterised by the uncertainty that was 2020, we know that history cannot be written in the same way as before. In our past research, we identified, along with the trend forecaster Cécile Poignant , four angles related to the future of fashion and mobility that need to be understood: freedom, power, collective and exclusivity.
In the year marked by the global pandemic, these angles today have different connotations and meanings because the future and circumstances have changed. For a few months, the meaning of freedom was replaced by the need to stay at home, isolated and away from those we cherish. The madness and bustle of big cities has been put on hold, and, in those moments, more than ever, socialization has never been more desired. Thus, technology in 2020 did not serve to separate us and give us privacy and moments alone, but rather, it united us and brought digital experiences of human interactions.
We found that ‘The Fashion Future and Mobility Trend Report’ was associated with power. And it continues to be. But what does it mean to have power? Being powerful can be related to how we see ourselves in the future, the dream of conquest, of reaching the moon (figuratively and literally speaking). And technology has this functionality, to give energy to our power and create a world of possibilities with the real power to change the world.
And technology in 2020 was true power. People have more power, more accessibility, more internet and more technology, so they have more energy to make a difference. In 2020, we see a need to improve the world and make it more sustainable, smarter and better prepared for the future.
We see new and modern generations breaking all barriers between technology and the physical world, granting the virtual world as much importance as the real and physical world. Life and the world are changing, and 2020 was just the introductory chapter of the change that lies ahead. And technological power will be a fundamental part of this change.
In 2019, we also observed in our research that the Future of Fashion and Mobility would be more collective and exclusive. They are two opposites, but they make perfect sense together, even in 2020 and beyond.
The world spent almost a year with restrictions and implications and most of the time at home. It was a year in which, globally, we experienced fear and hope, all together. It was a year in which at the collective level, it was never been more important to be together but separate at the same time. It was a year of common efforts, of worldwide struggle against the same enemy.
This resulted in a more informed consumer, more interested and prepared to make changes. And the collective group, and the meaning of “together we are stronger,” has never been more important.
In contrast, but in complete harmony, greater exclusivity is also needed. In this last year, consumers have never had so much availability, so much time to think and evaluate alternatives that commercial offers need to be more personalized, individual, and different from everything else on the market. So the world has changed, but certain things have remained. The consumer needs to feel special, unique, and worthy of attention and respect.
In 2021 we believe that history will have to be written differently and that together, we can make the chapters of 2021 important chapters for humanity and, who knows, we might even end up with a trip to the moon and space (even if just in our imagination)!
#TheFUTUREisNow
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