News 23.10.2023

Need to Know

Palace Skateboards serves tea in Wedgwood china, Taylor Swift’s tour to break records in cinemas, and why low confidence and periods stop English girls from enjoying PE.

Palace and Wedgwood create eccentric skateboards and tea sets

Palace and Wedgwood, UK

UK – Iconic British skatewear brand Palace has partnered with heritage china and porcelain producer Wedgwood to create a whimsical collection launched in October 2023. The offbeat Palace Wedgwood line comprises skateboard designs and an elegant tea set.

This unorthodox partnership features a marriage of skate culture and classic English china. The collection includes a teapot, cup, saucer and plate adorned with a playful strawberry graphic pattern inspired by Wedgwood’s iconic wild strawberry and vine design. An exclusive set of skateboards will feature on the skate brand’s signature strawberry print and Wedgwood’s distinctive blue hue.

Photographed by Alasdair McLellan, the campaign takes inspiration from the renowned BBC tv series Antiques Roadshow, featuring Palace skateboarders alongside ceramics expert Lars Tharp. The collection is available in Palace stores, online and exclusively at Wedgwood, Harrods, from 20 October 2023.

Wedgwood, known for its luxury homeware collections, embraces Palace’s unconventional approach as it strives to re-invent itself as a hub for artistic expression and innovation. In Topline Tableware, we previously highlighted how younger generations are dusting off tabletop heirlooms, from crystals to silver cutlery, and driving a revival of traditional arts de la table – with a modern twist.

Strategic opportunity

Re-interpret your brand’s heritage or traditions to resonate with younger generations, who are keen to blend classic and contemporary elements. How could you explore partnerships with seemingly unrelated brands or industries to create fresh and exciting products?

Bleu Nour adopts a multi-sensory approach to fragrance

Bleu Nour, France Bleu Nour, France
Bleu Nour, France Bleu Nour, France

France – A new fragrance design studio, Bleu Nour, is revolutionising the perfume industry by turning colours into scents. Born and raised in Paris with a deep connection to Middle Eastern and North African culture, founder Nour Ibrahim has the rare condition of synaesthesia, which means she experiences an olfactory response when seeing colours.

Understanding the potential of multi-sensory experiences, Bleu Nour is inspired by synaesthesia and aims to build a common fragrance vocabulary using a visual approach. This innovative technique began with The Synesthetic Lab, a project developed during Nour’s time studying at Central Saint Martins. The project tackled the sensory challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly anosmia, or loss of smell, by creating a kit that connects odours with colours, thereby enhancing scent memory.

Bleu Nour aims to democratise the fragrance world by enabling everyone to experience scent in unique ways, a subject we explored in our Synaesthesia Scents microtrend report. Bleu Nour has already introduced captivating genderless fragrances Grounded and Neon Violette, and offers candles like Cendre et Or to elevate your space in a bid to make scent a multi-sensory experience accessible to all.

Strategic opportunity

Consider developing synaesthetic products that appeal to multiple senses simultaneously, creating unique, memorable customer experiences

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film aims for record-breaking box office debut

US – Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie is set to make history as the top-grossing concert film in American box office history. AMC Theaters announced an estimated opening weekend revenue of £78.2m ($95m, €89.7m) to £79.9m ($97m, €91.6m). Advanced ticket sales alone ranked the film among the highest-grossing concert films ever, surpassing Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never. In terms of domestic revenue, the Eras Tour film is the highest-grossing concert movie, outperforming Bieber’s record. Michael Jackson’s This Is It comes second domestically, while the international release retains the all-time top spot.

The film has received critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone calling it unlike anything previously seen on screen. An opening weekend revenue of £79.9m ($97m, €91.6m) would place it among the year’s top 10 openings. Swift challenged industry norms by self-distributing the film, selling tickets for £16.38 ($19.89, €18.80), and £10.81 ($13.13, €12.41) for children (referring to Swift’s fifth studio album title and her lucky number). Owing to the high demand worldwide, the movie was released a day early.

We analysed how consumers are revenge spending on concerts and concert-adjacent experiences in The Great Concert Comeback.

Taylor Swift The Eras Tour, US

Strategic opportunity

Consider how immersive experiences that go beyond the music, combining light, sound, visuals and tech, such as a Taylor Swift or Beyoncé’s concerts, can be repurposed into cinematic productions that extend the experience and drive new revenue streams

Stat: Low confidence and periods stop girls from enjoying PE

The Nike United Pack and Nike Tiempo Legend 10, Global
The Nike United Pack and Nike Tiempo Legend 10, Global

UK – The 2023 edition of the Youth Sport Trust Girls Active survey suggests the gap between the proportion of boys and girls who enjoy physical education (PE) is widening. Results show that, of the almost 25,000 children surveyed in England, only 64% of 7–18-year-old girls said they liked PE compared to 86% of boys the same age. The figure in a 2016 survey, which also included responses from Northern Ireland and Wales, was 74%.

Nearly two-thirds of all girls (64%), however, said they want to be more active in school, but barriers such as low confidence and periods stop them from taking part.

‘It’s not surprising, but it is disappointing to see that so many girls still lack confidence to really enjoy PE and physical activity at school. I can really empathise with their worries about being watched and judged by others,’ said Olympic pole vault bronze medallist Holly Bradshaw, who worked with the Youth Sport Trust on the Girls Active programme.

The survey follows the government promise of more than £600m ($728.4m, €688.2m) in funding to improve equal access to sports in schools, following an open letter from the England women’s national football team.

In Care Collectives, we previously analysed how exercise clubs and classes are turning care into the next pillar of wellbeing to answer women’s demands for judgement-free and safe spaces where they can be more active.

Strategic opportunity

Fitness and wellness brands should consider how to develop alternative physical education programmes that are tailored to girls’ interests and needs – building brand loyalty and addressing barriers such as low confidence simultaneously

Previous News Articles
Ocado’s Shopping List Stories campaign finds emotional value in the weekly shop

News

Ocado’s Shopping List Stories campaign finds emotional value in the weekly shop

Ocado is reframing grocery shopping as an emotional experience with Shopping List Stories, a new campaign by Uncommon Creative Studio.
Food And Drink : Supermarket : Branding And Advertising
Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

News

Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, ...
Foresight Friday : Ff : Lionesses
Stat: Netflix confirms anime watching is no longer niche

News

Stat: Netflix confirms anime watching is no longer niche

More than half of Netflix’s 300m global subscribers now watch anime, according to proprietary figures shared by the streamer.
Pop Culture & Media : Youth : Technology
The Faroe Islands bring back the joy of getting lost

News

The Faroe Islands bring back the joy of getting lost

As algorithm-driven travel fuels overtourism, a new initiative is challenging travellers to let go of planning and control.
Travel : Tourism : The Faroe Islands
Thai perfume brand Journal turns fragrance samples into NFC collectables

News

Thai perfume brand Journal turns fragrance samples into NFC collectables

Fragrance brand Journal is rewriting the rules of scent sampling with a wearable fragrance tester that doubles as a social connector.
Beauty : Fragrance : Technology
Stat: Survey finds hardening stances on office attendance are impacting UK staff wellbeing

News

Stat: Survey finds hardening stances on office attendance are impacting UK staff wellbeing

Hardening return-to-office mandates are fuelling anxiety among UK workers, with 38% reporting that media coverage of stricter attendance policies i...
Office : Workplace : Stat
Innovation Debrief 2025–2026 report goes live

News

Innovation Debrief 2025–2026 report goes live

Discover the top 50 innovations acknowledging, driving and anticipating change in our new Innovation Debrief 2025–2026 report. 
Innovation Debrief 2024-2025 : Future Trends 2026 : Cultural Foresight
Joe Wicks’ Activate turns movement into play for kids

News

Joe Wicks’ Activate turns movement into play for kids

Fitness trainer Joe Wicks is swapping live-action workouts for animation with Activate – a lively new series of five-minute fitness bursts designed...
Fitness : Health And Wellbeing : Gen Alpha
IKEA creates open-air library along the Seine in Paris

News

IKEA creates open-air library along the Seine in Paris

IKEA has unveiled the Billyothèque, a pop-up outdoor library transforming a stretch of Paris’s Seine riverbank into a space for slow, serendipitous...
Ikea : Reading Room : Reading Experience
Stat: US teens turn to AI companions for life advice

News

Stat: US teens turn to AI companions for life advice

A new study by Common Sense Media reveals that 72% of US teens aged 13–17 have tried AI companions, with over half now using them regularly.
Technology : AI : Stat
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN