Devon Powers, author of her 2019 book On Trend: The Business of Forecasting the Future, attended uOttawa to speak last week. Both her book and guest lecture illustrated the impact of trends and the existence of “virality”, concepts which all of us often participate in yet never ask where exactly they emerge from. Powers emphasized how social media has essentially changed the game of trends, with the ability and speed to reach a wide array of audiences all over the world. For many of us, the ins and outs of social media are not a mystery, and we are aware of our integration into online culture. What we may fail to ask, however, is how these trends are created, who controls them, and who profits off of them.
This talk sparked a question regarding influencers and ambassadors, those who both promote and generate new trends which many of us inevitably fall into. We examine trends as innovative, creative, and authentic ideas generated by an elite few members of society; however, our constant attention to the latest trends and what Powers coins as “hype culture”, depicts more of a follow-the-leader approach. Powers book illustrates the idea of “somebody in the know” and our gravitation towards those select individuals. A modern example of trending can be seen in products like the Aritiza SuperPuff jacket and Adidas Ultraboosts, which have become highly influential fashion trends within recent years due to endorsements by the likes of Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber. A question we must ask ourselves in light of these highly popularized products is why exactly do we want this jacket or those shoes? The idea of conscious consumerism is often advocated by environmentalists, who are pushing for us to highly consider our purchasing power and needs over desires amidst the current environmental realities.
With all of the power and influence of trends, and their expansion through social media, it is impossible not to predict an entirely new wave of trends in the future. This new wave is what I consider to be trends not based in materialism, but within the concept of social progress. The world, particularly the world of social media, has banded together to create widespread trends and have utilized “virality” as a form of commanding attention and demanding change. Consumption is something which will not change within our society, but how we consume and what we consume is already changing. Corporations are being forced to either adapt to these changes, or be left behind by current social movements and advocacy for diverse lifestyles. If these movements show anything it is that we, as a society, have more power than we believe we do and play a large role in controlling the trends around us through simply understanding them.
It is important to also emphasize that traditional macro-level trends which have been in existence for decades, such as post-secondary pursuits and traditional careers, are already being redefined by millennials. We have begun to reclaim what jobs and careers are considered “acceptable” within society, turning towards entrepreneurial ventures and multi-job lifestyles which sometimes have nothing to do with an undergraduate degree. This transition can be viewed in light of normalizing victory laps for recent high school graduates, and decreased course loads in light of mental health initiatives. An increased admiration and credit has been given to those who work their way through school, those who spend their summer’s tree planting instead of interning, and those who take a gap year mid-degree to simply catch their breath. It is my future prediction, in the realm of trend forecasting, that those who have begun to question the centuries old norms which shape our modern world are going to become the new people “in the know”. These individuals, like Powers, have begun to question why we place so much faith in the capitalist system of production, consumption and reproduction in the first place. In order to address these existing power imbalances, we must become aware of how trends and viral content impact our daily thoughts, decisions, and purchases. Becoming a conscious consumer does not have to mean an absence from enjoying the trends which excite us, but to simply become aware of how we can impact them, and how transient they truly are.