LSN : Daily Signals : Strava’s 2025 trends show Gen Z activity fuelled by racing

How artists KAWS’ 32m sculpture taps into the Awe Economy

KAWS:HOLIDAY Sculpture, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abu Dhabi – The latest iteration of artist KAWS’ global public art series has landed on the Mina Zayed Waterfront as part of the emirate’s city-wide The Light Compass exhibition, offering a moment of shared wonder – and a lesson in placemaking.

A monumental 32m-long version of the artist’s iconic Companion figure lying along the edge of the water, cradling a glowing moon close to its chest, the installation is called KAWS:HOLIDAY and is the centrepiece of the light-art exhibition Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, commissioned by the culture and tourism board.

The light-art festival originated from traditional lantern displays, while the moon was often used as navigation for local sailors, making the installation a modern framing of local memory.

In a region where public art often moves between heritage and hypermodern ambition – as we detail in our Desert Dreams analysis – KAWS:HOLIDAY Abu Dhabi proves that scale, light and cultural memory can converge into a moment of communal awe.

Strategic opportunity

Government-funded initiatives are vital in creating successful placemaking, offering those moments of experiential wonder detailed in our report, The Awe Economy, that don’t just highlight skylines but also the imagination of a city in flux

Jo Malone London launches AI-powered Scent Adviser

New York – Fragrance brand Jo Malone London has unveiled the Scent Adviser, an AI-powered digital tool designed to bring the brand’s signature in-store fragrance consultation into an intuitive online experience.

Developed in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies’ AI and Innovation teams, the launch signals a new era in scent discovery where advanced natural language models guide consumers towards more confident fragrance choices.

The Adviser blends Google’s Gemini model and Vertex AI platform with the brand’s proprietary olfactory data, allowing users to simply describe the mood, memory or impression they’re seeking. The system then interprets these personal cues to generate bespoke fragrance recommendations.

Positioned as both playful and precise, the tool reflects Jo Malone London’s wider push into digital personalisation, following recent initiatives such as its Scent Layering tool and TikTok fragrance filter. It also arrives on the heels of The Estée Lauder Companies’ new Fragrance Atelier in Paris, underlining the group’s commitment to fragrance as a strategic growth category.

As beauty brands compete to create richer, more empathetic digital interactions, Jo Malone London’s Scent Adviser highlights a future we detailed in our AI Fragrance Market analysis in which AI acts as a sensory translator, bridging the experiential gap between boutique craft and global e-commerce.

Osmo AI, New York, US

Strategic opportunity

Consider AI tools that replicate the nuance of expert human guidance, turning subjective, sensory categories into personalised, confidence-building digital experiences

Strava’s 2025 trends show Gen Z activity fuelled by racing

Photography by Baptiste Fauchille, Hyrox 2024 World Championships, Nice, France

Global – Recent data from exercise-tracking tool Strava’s 12th annual Year In Sport report reveals a clear generational shift in exercise motivation; Gen Z users are 75% more likely than Gen X to say their primary reason for exercising is participating in a race or event.

Running remains the dominant activity globally, but the spark behind the boom in 2025 wasn’t just casual jogs or weekend walks. Gen Z are fuelling a surge in race participation across all distances, from 5k races to full marathons. For many in this cohort, training is not just about fitness or wellbeing, it’s about committing to a goal, being part of a community and crossing a finishing line that marks personal achievement.

But it’s not just about pounding pavements. The report highlights a broadening of movement: many Gen Z users combine running with weight training, walking and other sports, signalling that variety and overall lifestyle fitness matter as much as athletic performance. This shift suggests that Gen Z approach exercise as a holistic, social and achievement-orientated practice – not a solitary chore or occasional hobby.

Beyond individual workouts, community and connection loom large. Clubs on Strava nearly quadrupled in 2025, enabling more group runs, hikes and events that amplify motivation through shared experience – as we detail in our Micro-victories analysis.

Strategic opportunity

For Gen Z, fitness is increasingly less about health maintenance and more about life performance. Focus on physical challenge, social connection and milestone-driven purpose to reach this cohort, who are rewriting the rules of what exercise culture looks like.