JWT: Top 80 Trends – Which are China-related?
JWT, the largest advertising agency brand in the US, just released a list of the 80 trends to watch in 2008. It is not always clear what the terms they use mean. While the whole list is a must-read, I picked a few of their trends that are most relevant to Stylites and fashion in China:
4. Beijing 2008 - Requires no analysis. Stylites will be on the scene to record the styles of 2008 in Beijing.
9. Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang – Considerably better looking than Yao Ming, Liu’s picture is in every ad already. How does he dress when he’s not competing?
13. Cooperative consumption – JWT might mean (1) groups like Yahoo Freecycle that aim to reduce consumption through trading used products, (2) coordinated and planned purchasing based on the needs of small communities, to economize and reduce ecological impact or, though this is unlikely, (3) less coercive forms of marketing, advertising and sales in which the seller forms more of a partnership with the consumer. In any case, Stylites aims to track all three of these trends in China.
16. Designer Phillip Lim – The fashion designer of Chinese-origin JWT singled out, Lim relies on a gentle palette to create wearable-looking and fun pieces. He just introduced a men’s line which looks fresh but totally approachable, which is a notable accomplishment. Stylites will track perceptions of overseas Chinese designers in the Mainland.
37. Intellectual luxury - This seems to be a derogatory term denoting intellectualism for it’s own sake, though I’m not certain. I prefer to think of intellectualism as a luxury product that the elites everywhere engage in when they have the leisure and wealth needed to do so. In keeping with their country’s traditions, the elites in China are already starting to engage in intellectualism for fun rather than profit. It will be interesting to track the intellectual products they consume and the spread of “intellectualism as fun” to the general population.
39. Japanese designs (Tsumori Chisato, Uniqlo, Muji, etc.) – This hardly seems like a new trend. Nonetheless, the spread of Japanese style beyond the avant-garde to the mainstream is notable in the States, and of course in China. Everyone is wearing overproduction from Japanese brands. Anyway, why did Uniqlo close in Beijing?
41. Lifestyle curators – In China, this will be huge. The nouveau riche will demand it. More on this to come here at stylites.net.
57. Recycling into fashion (Nau, Gary Harvey, etc.) – This is going to intensify. There have already been dresses made from condoms, not to mention sportswear brands that use old bottles. Being so fashion-obsessed, what will the Chinese do with all this cheap apparel that is being created once it turns to rags or goes out of fashion? This is a special focus of stylites.net.
75. Vicarious consumption – Perhaps the most fascinating trend here, this Thornstein Veblen term is highly relevant to the current experience in China. Most older people will only achieve joy through the consumption that their progeny can engage in. They didn’t have the money and now they don’t have the youth to wear the Dior jacket but they can be gratified by seeing their kid in one.
I would like to thank JWT for coming up with this list. Stylites will be looking into many of these trends and others as they relate to fashion in China.
China and style trends for men and women are sure to be exciting. How much of this starts with or is reflected in children’s wear? Or do uniforms take precedence over dressing that only child stylishly? Are the denizens of fashion gearing toward children’s clothing? Are Swedish children’s cottons entering the market or are they too pricey and still Swedish made?
Hi, this is Ann Mack, the director of trendspotting at JWT. Thanks for covering some of our 80 Things to Watch for 2008 list. I love to see them analyzed from a China perspective.
To clarify, here’s our definition of Cooperative Consumption.
Cooperative consumption: Fractional ownership is moving beyond the shared planes of the jet-setting elite. The masses are already sharing everything from art to cars to designer handbags, and as technology for pooling demand and resources becomes increasingly sophisticated, this model will be applied to an even wider range of categories.
Hope this helps!
Ann
@ Khavurta: Thank you for viewing and frequently commenting on Stylites. We can be assured that anything having to do with children’s consumption will be an even bigger market in China than in the West. I’ve been trying to find stylishly dressed youngsters to include here but haven’t had much luck so far – come to think of it, I did a little girl at one point. I think we can safely assume that by now those Swedish cottons to which you refer are produced here or in another third-world country. Generally unless the value is really high and part of that value is the tradition and handmade assembly, production will not remain in a first world country. Also, I suspect Chinese parents will be even less willing to cloth their children in used clothing than they are to wear it themselves.
@Ann: Thank you for reading and commenting on Stylites. I really appreciate your contributing the JWT definition of cooperative consumption. The list that JWT gave me many new thoughts. Many of the great ideas that your people provided will inform the questions that I put to the stylish Beijingers appearing on this website. I just have to adapt the JWT trends into questions, in Chinese, that I can quickly ask to people on the street.
It will be especially exciting to track examples of cooperative consumption here in China. Something amusing that might fall into the category occurs in South Korea where middle class women form “fashion spending” groups where each woman donates, perhaps, a thousand dollars every month such that one woman will get $5000 to spend, and then next month a different woman get the money. Of course they probably all end up buying the same quilted chain handle Chanel bag or LV, but in different colors. I’m not sure exactly what this accomplishes in terms of savings, though it is certainly a trend that the fashion industry would be wise to foster. Thanks to Beverly for telling about this amusing anecdote and I look forward to reading more about it when Dear Reader comes out for the first time this coming February.
[...] JWT: Top 80 Trends – Which are China-related? [...]
Love this, great blog, thanks.