Need to know
17 : 08 : 17

UK – The singer-songwriter, MIA, has collaborated with the Danish menswear designer to create a capsule collection for her forthcoming AIM tour. The collection, which comprises waterproof jackets, tracksuits and t-shirts, is inspired by the designer’s signature streetwear style and features logos and slogans from the artist’s 2016 merchandise project.

As LS:N Global explored in our Band Brands microtrend, merchandise is moving beyond the domain of music fans as major fashion labels increasingly look to niche subcultures when developing new ranges. The collection was launched on 9 August at Andersen’s flagship store in Copenhagen to coincide with the city’s fashion week, and is available to purchase online.

US – The September issue of the women’s beauty magazine features 72-year-old actress Dame Helen Mirren on the cover along with the headline ‘The End of Anti-aging’. According to editor-in-chief Michelle Lee, the move is a call to action for the beauty industry at large to stop ‘reinforcing the message that ageing is a condition we need to battle’.

The rejection of the term follows a recent L’Oréal panel chat in which brand ambassador Mirren told the audience that ‘moisturiser probably does fuck all’.

LS:N Global has been tracking the rise of The Flat Age Society since 2014, where older consumers refuse to be defined by their age and seek out new and exciting experiences.

UK – Safe & Sound, created in partnership with Spotify, puts parents back in the driving seat when their children pass their driving test. As explained in the ad campaign by Saatchi & Saatchi, parents activate the app when their son or daughter borrows their car, synchronising parents’ and child’s Spotify accounts.

Using Google Maps API, the app can detect when the car is being driven over the speed limit, and in the event, blocks the young driver’s Spotify account and activates that of his or her parents. The app also switches the playlist if the driver is using his or her phone and blocks social media posts and incoming calls when the car is travelling at more than nine miles an hour. While technology is usually the preserve of the young, Toyota’s app shifts the power back into the hands of parents. For more, see our Parenting Market report.

Since 2012, LS:N Global has been tracking consumers’ growing dissatisfaction with their always-on, increasingly digital lives driven by advances in technology. In line with this, a new survey by Deloitte shows that daily social media usage in Australia has dropped from 61% in 2016 to 59% in 2017. For more see our macrotrend The New Sublimity.