Joy is The Moat, Circularity First and Going Deeper Offline
The weekly look at three curious points of tension, plus optimistic ‘what if’ ideas for what to do moving forward.
Default to Circularity
We might be far from it being the default, but the Topshop x Central Saint Martins collab is more interesting than it looks. After their relaunch last year nailed the fashionability but missed the mark on circularity (odd for a brand with such a cultural legacy), they’ve now tasked CSM students with reimagining their iconic Jamie and Joni jeans. In the same week, eBay acquired Depop from Etsy increasing their foothold in secondhand fashion and their goal to reach younger audiences.
Moving forward: Not just a nice to have, resale is growing 2.7 times faster than standard sales and predicted to reach $367 billion by 20291. The way to imagine resale is less as an extra category add-on, more as the entire product system, content strategy, events programme and brand culture.
Joy is the Moat
“That’s what I’m fucking talking about!” Looks like Joy is back on the menu, boys. Who doesn’t love a winner?! alongside her story, vibe and just being unapologetically herself, I’d also wager Alysa Liu’s infectious joy is a major contributor to her popularity. Inspired. Brand-wise, I also came across Glasette, betting on Joy as the Lens (and moat): “It’s the filter for every single decision we make” says Founder & Creative Director, Laura Jackson.
Moving forward: As with circularity above, it’s a good, human-centred approach to lead with…AND it’s also a savvy strategy in times of polycrisis and The Great Exhaustion. Not performative, surface-level Joy but systemic, from the ground up. Think: Does this help people find and create more joy?
Lets take this offline
Could this be? Is it…the consequences of moving fast and breaking things? Ensloppification of socials coupled with increasing global interest in social media age-restrictions2 and the screen-addicted cohort are actually the elderly3 i.e. the group least likely to influence culture.
Moving forward: We always have agency to create alternative futures - just remember how literally all of us rejected the Metaverse - during a pandemic - what an inspiration! Consider your answers to the question “why might we want to be online in the years ahead?” And for anyone feeling like alternatives are impossible, check out Yancey Strickler’s Dark Forest Operating System.