MACRO TRENDS SPRING/SUMMER 2016

Playful and emotional themes carry intellectual weight in a new cultural climate: frilly decoration can be subversive, and intuition influences design that embraces ‘soft power’ and a creative mix of the senses. This is driven by a more comprehensive approach to identity and the modern rebranding of feminism, making for an all-inclusive world view no longer constrained by gender, sexuality or ethnicity.

S/S 16 MACRO TRENDS

SOFTPOP

SOFT POP

A new form of feminism is having an impact on masculinity as men aim to recapture their gentle sides. This highlights the importance of ‘trans’ thinking by focusing on soft power for all. Gender-free assertiveness sees rules and definitions cast aside in favour of an intelligent, open-minded world.

VISUALIZINGEQUALITY

Sweet decoration and frilly design go beyond the obvious and ironic, taking on an intellectual significance. The subtle introduction of fetish-style materials is rebellious and funny, as well as promoting the rejection of stereotypes via visual activism.

DARINGDECORATION

SOFT POP

Cuteness has a practical use for education, translating teenage iconography such as the emoji into ‘soft teaching’ tools that make sensitivity available to all. Immersive gaming and emotional computing are pivotal here, encouraging learning that reinforces positive, all-inclusive messages.

PLAYFULLEARNING

SOFT POP

Blurring applies to colour and race as well as sexuality and culture, with sharp definitions becoming more obsolete when interpreting how people look and feel. We can no longer define identity in simple terms, and instead see it as a rich kaleidoscope of personal data and feelings.

KALEIDOSCOPEHUMANS

SOFT POP

SOFT POP

Visualising emotion and embedding touch into technology add sentiment into design, thereby inspiring products for all of the senses. The use of comfort as a functional requirement is essential to this, creating objects that are sensitive and fun.

EMOTIONALMACHINES

SOFT POP

The links between sensation and feeling carry over into a subversive form of minimalism, combining texture with reductive shapes and bleached-out colour. There is a sense of romantic fuzziness, emphasised by the de-saturated shades, that ties in with the importance of pairing playfulness with tenderness.

TACTILENEUTRALITY

There is an increased open-mindedness towards gender, race and sexual ambiguity

Soft power, which is open to instinct, emotion and all other human senses, is gaining ground in all areas, including technology

Softness and comfort are central considerations throughout the design world

Decoration and playfulness become serious concepts for making design more approachable

In contrast to this, decoration can take on cartoon aspects that are simplified, contemporary and fun

KEYTAKEAWAYS

SOFTPOP

RESEARCH & REFERENCE

ILLUMINATI GIRL GANG

SARAH CAIN

MISS ATHI-PATRA RUGA

SÃO PAULO ART BIENNIAL 2014

ADDICTED PRODUCTS

Alternative-literature author Gabby Bess founded Illuminati Girl Gang magazine as a means of female expression, supporting a new generation of feminist writers, photographers, illustrators and other creatives.illuminatigirlgang.com

Mixed-media artist Sarah Cain pursues her feminist stance through shows including the comically named Burning Bush, a solo exhibition at New York City’s Galerie Lelong exploring mysticism, purity and love.galerielelong.com

Providing a context for femininity in architecture – typically a male-dominated profession – is the goal of MISS, a platform introducing a design dialogue on gender roles via events and publishing. miss-mag.com

Cultural identity is central to this South African artist’s work, in which he uses performance, video and costume to conjure up a dreamlike Utopia where humans are hybrids and divisions are unimportant.athipatraruga.blogspot.co.uk/

The São Paulo Art Biennial 2014, taking place in September, has been nicknamed the ‘trans-biennial’, as this year’s main themes are based on transgression, transcendence and trans-sexuality.biennialfoundation.org

This graduation project by Simone Rebaudengo and design and research team Haque focuses on the emotional wellbeing of household toasters, enabling them to communicate online with their owners when they feel underused.addictedproducts.com

RESEARCH & REFERENCESOFTPOP

EMOJI DICK HALO

WE EXIST CACTUNES

THE AVERAGE AMERICAN GENDER SWAP

As part of a crowd-sourced and -funded project utilising Amazon’s on-demand workforce, Herman Melville’s novel about a legendary whale hunt has been translated in its entirety using emoji icons. emojidick.com

This media-art installation, featuring a wall of LED rings, is an interactive space where developers can create tangible light, colour and audio content using their regular coding platforms.tangibleinteraction.com

The latest music video for Canadian band Arcade Fire blurs the boundaries between male and female roles as its main character embarks on a journey of gender exploration and discovery. youtube.com

Created to show plants as hypersensitive objects that are capable of communicating, Cactunes was exhibited at the Milan Furniture Fair 2014 and featured cacti that hummed when touched. disegnodaily.com

With the population of the US becoming increasingly multiracial, traditional notions of black and white are becoming obsolete. Photographer Martin Schoeller’s digitally altered portraits show how average Americans could look in 2050.nationalgeographic.com

Gender Swap allows its subjects to experience physically what it’s like to be a member of the opposite sex. To do so it uses Machine to be Another, a system of ‘embodiment experience’ wherein people can feel like they inhabit a different body.themachinetobeanother.org

SOFTPOP

CULTURAL CONTEXT

GIRLS OLLY

STROMAE CONCHITA WURST

BEYONCé’S VISUAL ALBUM BUBBLEBERRIES

HBO’s Girls, written and directed by Lena Dunham, depicts a realistic view of the lives of four young women in New York City.hbo.com

Olly is a small computer device that gently releases bursts of scent into the air to inform of the receipt of emails and messages, plus other important notifications. ollyfactory.com

Belgian pop musician Stromae creates catchy tracks with subliminal messages. The singer subverts gender stereotypes in his latest music video, Tous Les Mêmes, by becoming ‘half-female’.stromae.net

The 2014 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Conchita Wurst (the alter ego of Austria-born Tom Neuwirth), has become a symbol of tolerance, equality and artistic freedom after performing at the event with a beard and wearing a dress.eurovision.tv

Beyoncé’s self-titled ‘visual album’ features promotional videos for every track. Through its lyrics and visuals, she touches upon themes such as female empowerment and the notion of beauty in popular culture. beyonce.com

Waitrose is now selling the bubblegum-flavoured ‘bubbleberry’ – a pale, rounder version of the strawberry that was popular in 19th century before falling out of favour and largely being forgotten.waitrose.presscentre.com

SEASONALEVOLUTION

MACRO TRENDS

BACKGROUND

Each season, the macro trends provide a progression of the previous season’s themes. We have seen the change from Focus to Everyday Utopias as emotion and connectivity inspire a contemplative plan for enriching everyday life. This season, the emphasis on touch and sentiment continues with Soft Pop as a future based on equality, playfulness and feeling emerges.

SOFT POP

EVERYDAY UTOPIAS

FOCUS

S/S 16

A/W 15/16

S/S 15

An inclusive approach to identity makes for a worldview no longer constrained by gender, sexuality or ethnicity. Frilly decoration can be subversive in this new cultural climate as playful products embrace a creative mix of the senses.

As designers exalt the ordinary objects and elements of modern life, we find pockets of paradise in the everyday: from pauses in the humdrum routine of work to more mindful experiences in our daily lives.

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In Focus, the material world comes into sharp focus as a reaction to virtual living. Technology becomes a means of connecting to our surroundings, with objects encouraging contemplation, emotional response and connecting us to a specific environment.

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