LSN : Daily Signals : Watchmaker Shinola reframes time as a luxury in latest campaign

Watchmaker Shinola reframes time as a luxury in latest campaign

Set The Pace, Shinola, US

Global – London-based creative studio GentleForces has unveiled Set the Pace, the first brand campaign for US watchmaker Shinola. Co-directed by and starring Succession actor Nicholas Braun, the cinematic film shifts the brand’s focus from product-led storytelling to a broader conversation about the value of time.

Rather than following traditional luxury advertising, the campaign positions Shinola’s Runwell watch as a symbol of reclaiming control over time. In the film, Braun appears to be ending a relationship before revealing that his conversation is with time itself.

The work signals a move towards emotionally driven storytelling, using cultural themes rather than product features to build relevance. ‘This campaign wasn’t about making a beautiful watch look beautiful,’ says GentleForces founder Danni Mohammed. ‘It was about capturing what it feels like to actually notice time passing, and choosing to spend it well.’

Read our Future Five 2026: Cost of Living Crisis, which explores how digitally empowered individuals are taking greater control of their finances and reassessing their consumer choices and, as a result, valuing time more than ever before.

Strategic opportunity

Build experiences that leave consumers feeling calmer, more connected or more accomplished, ensuring each interaction has a positive emotional outcome

Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior strategic foresight analyst

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, senior strategic foresight analyst Rose Coffey explores fashion as personal climate infrastructure.

: This month, as heatwaves broke temperature records across Europe, I noticed my relationship with clothing change in real time. I have always cared about how clothes feel and function but suddenly getting dressed became predominantly about managing exposure: staying cool without leaving skin vulnerable, choosing fabrics that would not cling, and working out which parts of my wardrobe could still function in prolonged heat.

Search data shows that others were considering how to dress for extreme heat. Between March and June 2026, searches increased 1,400% for ‘heatwave outfit’, 800% for ‘hot day outfit’ and 500% for ‘hot weather outfit’ (source: Vogue).

: Against this backdrop, Rick Owens presented its SS27 menswear collection in Paris. Models walked the runway in inflatable tracksuits fitted with tiny fans and paired with cooling vests. Created in collaboration with Adidas, the garments were described as a ‘personal air conditioning system’ and used Adidas’ Climacool technology.

Adidas CLIMACOOL+ Innovation

Fan-cooled jackets were originally developed for outdoor labourers in Japan; they have since been worn by staff at Expo 2025 in Osaka as well as Formula 1 drivers and footballers competing in extreme heat. Technologies once associated with occupational safety are moving into fashion.

: As extreme heat intensifies, spring/summer may become less a seasonal proposition and more a design challenge centred on ventilation, thermoregulation, sun protection and bodily safety. The wardrobe of the future may need to respond not only to personal taste or occasion, but to rapidly changing environmental conditions.

: There is also a question of access. Personal cooling systems may initially reach consumers through luxury fashion or specialist sportswear, despite the fact that those most exposed to extreme heat are often outdoor workers, factory employees and people without reliable access to cooled environments.

Here, the opportunity lies in translating specialist cooling technologies into accessible, durable and everyday products, making fashion a practical tool for living safely in a hotter world.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming report on UPF clothing, exploring how fashion is evolving from seasonal expression into everyday protection against intensifying heat and UV exposure.

Quote of the week

‘We cannot make these decisions in boardrooms cooled by air conditioning. People who have experienced the heat will know best how to fix it’

Dr Hakan Karaosman, co-founder, Fashion’s Responsible Supply Chain Hub (source: Vogue)

Stat: New research reveals a global participation gap at the heart of football culture

PACER for Mitre, UK

Global – As the 2026 FIFA World Cup final approaches new research from Carlsberg finds that 73% of adults will watch football this summer, but 31% haven’t played in six months or more.

Among the 10,000 adults surveyed in the UK, US, Germany, India, Denmark and China, the most cited barriers are time (44%), not having a team to play with (39%) and lack of space (16%) – despite 60% saying they miss playing. In response, Carlsberg has installed goal-shaped fly posters in London and Manchester, designed to prompt spontaneous games.

As run clubs, padel courts and fitness communities boom, people’s appetite for communal movement is strong – yet sports marketing remains fixated on spectatorship. As explored in our Teen Girl Movement and Grassroots Game Days reports, the brands that will build deeper loyalty are those investing in getting people playing, not just watching.