LSN : News : Thought-starter: Is African spirituality surpassing religion?

The Future Laboratory explores an age of Uprooted Diets

Uprooted Diets by The Future Laboratory and LOVE creative.

London – On 21 November, we held our annual Food and Drink Futures Forum at our Spitalfields office, exploring the challenges and opportunities set to shape the future of food and drink.

In the first half of the Forum, The Future Laboratory co-founders Chris Sanderson and Martin Raymond presented the market shifts and rising trends set to affect the industry, including the allure of low-abv drinking, the over-50s opportunity and the long-awaited revival of carbohydrates. The event culminated with our latest food and drink macrotrend, Uprooted Diets, which LS:N Global subscribers can read here.

A selection of leading industry figures were invited to speak at the event, including Simon Rucker, the CEO of Nine Elms, and Leo Campbell, co-founder of Modern Baker. Neil Bennett, head of strategy at Love Creative, took attendees on a journey, explaining his collaboration with The Future Laboratory to create an immersive activation for the day, which imagined how our diets will look in 2035.

Nécessaire makes beauty products for the neck down

Nécessaire, US

US – The new brand has launched three beauty products to challenge the notion that personal bodycare is an afterthought.

Nécessaire is the creation of Nick Axelrod, an editorial veteran with a background at Into the Gloss, and Randi Christiansen, a former strategy executive at Estée Lauder. The brand aims to cut through the confusion of the beauty industry by providing just three products: Body Wash, Body Lotion and Sex Gel. The products are pH-balanced and have been formulated without sulphates, parabens and synthetic fragrances to ensure the body is treated with the same amount of care as the face.

As sexual wellness products move from top drawers in bedrooms to full display in the bathroom, the brand is championing its personal lubricant as a bodycare item. ‘It’s a redefinition of what belongs in the body category – Nick and I thought that we would combine all these things that humans use on their bodies. Sex is just another thing we do with our bodies,’ explains Christiansen.

We explored this more body-centric approach to skincare last year, in our microtrend Rethinking Bodycare.

Cities join forces to protect citizens’ digital rights

Global – The cities of New York, Amsterdam and Barcelona are the founding members of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, a new initiative pledging to protect citizens’ rights when using the internet.

Working from the idea that human rights must also pervade digital spaces, the coalition will collaborate on a set of shared policies on equal access to the internet, privacy and data protection. Other policies will cover participatory democracy, diversity and inclusion, as well as ethical digital service standards.

‘The City of Amsterdam feels the responsibility to found this global cities movement, and demonstrate that cities lead the way in human-centred innovation,’ explains Touria Meliani, Amsterdam Deputy Mayor. The founding member cities will also work to recruit other cities to the Coalition.

As cities gather more of citizens’ data from online platforms and smart sensors, the debate over digital human rights will intensify. For more on the development of future cities, explore our Branded Cities report.

Hyperstition by Clara Escalera

A plastic surgery clinic with a homely aesthetic

The Raveh Clinic, Tel Aviv, designed by Maayan Zusman Interior Design. Photography by Itay Benit

Tel Aviv – The Raveh Clinic, a new plastic surgery centre based in the Israeli city, has been fitted out to look more like an apartment than a medical office.

Local designer Maayan Zusman, who has worked on a large number of residential projects, and architect Amir Navon renovated the space to be homely and welcoming. ‘We did not want the clinic to be typical, cold and boring,’ said Zusman. ‘We wanted it to feel like a second home for the surgeon and also soft yet elegant for patients.’

Beyond the lounge-like waiting area, two patient rooms feature domestic design details such as sheer curtains and pink sink units. The overall aesthetic reflects an emerging trend among salons and spas, which are moving away from clinical design cues to create spaces where clients feel able to relax, socialise and stay a while.

Stat: Consumers want governments to take the lead on sustainable fashion

New research conducted in Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain shows that consumers want to know more about the social and environmental impacts of the clothes, shoes and accessories they buy. They also expect both brands and governments to be doing more to address these issues.

The majority of those surveyed by Fashion Revolution believe fashion brands should be required by law to adopt more sustainable practices. These include respecting the human rights of everybody involved in making their products (77%), protecting the environment at every stage of production (75%) and paying workers who make their products a fair living wage (72%).

New initiatives, such as recently opened The Fashion for Good museum, are responding to this growing consumer awareness of the fashion industry’s long-term impacts and sustainable solutions.

Thought-starter: Is African spirituality surpassing religion?

Amid high unemployment rates, South Africa’s restless youth population are forging new communities rooted in native dance and African spirituality, says foresight writer Holly Friend.

With a lack of career opportunities leading to discontent and frustration, young South Africans are finding solace through local communities and customs. They are forming new subcultures orientated to local traditions, while those who are growing sceptical of Westernised Christianity are embarking on journeys of spiritual self-discovery.

Amid the country’s recession, young people seeking guidance or escapism are opting for traditional African spirituality as an alternative to organised religion. ‘There’s definitely a level of spirituality, not at a mass level yet, but it’s there,’ Johannesburg-based Jamal Nxedlana tells LS:N Global. ‘It exists for those who feel that religion is not for them.’

Spirituality was explored at the South African debut of Afropunk festival, which is returning to Johannesburg in December 2018. Described as an event to ‘make sense of the world around you’, Afropunk celebrates elements of the African diaspora, and will include performances from spiritual healers such as Albert Ibokwe Khoza.

To learn more, read our latest Emerging Youth market here.