Need to Know
17 : 06 : 19

Paris – The boutique challenges the traditionally dark and masculine nature of men’s retail spaces.

Boys Don’t Cry, located in the Saint Germain neighbourhood of Paris, is an interdisciplinary store that offers a selection of men’s fashion, design, books and art. The apparel collection, which includes brands such as Marni, Off-White and Yeezy, reflects founders Sophie Mechaly and Felix Boehm’s appreciation for ‘a masculine wardrobe that women love equally’.

Designed by architect Payam Askari, the store is built to easily evolve and house varying activations. The aesthetic diverges from the typical men’s retail space, which tends to revolve around dark colours and wooden features. Instead, Askari used pastel pink and metallic colours alongside soft details such as textured sheepskin chairs and a neon art installation that reads ‘pale blue eyes’, referencing The Velvet Underground.

Boys Don’t Cry demonstrates how retail spaces, alongside creative practitioners, can champion a new, softer version of masculinity that appeals to all.

Sydney – The online retailer sells wines created by organic and biodynamic winemakers, and shares the stories behind their products.

With a focus on sustainability, transparency and traceability, Notwasted aims to educate consumers, rather than just sell wines. To help its customers transition from conventional to contemporary wines, the company has created an online hub to highlight the stories and voices of winemakers, local producers and restaurateurs.

According to founder Elliot Scali, this desire to offer consumers more in-depth information on the provenance of their drink is what makes the service different from other wine delivery companies. ‘We want to provide an alternative way for people to make better decisions around wine [and to be] more environmentally conscious and sustainable,’ he explains.

As we explore in Educated Eating, consumers increasingly want to know more about the products they buy, from their provenance to their impact on the planet.

Global – Minecraft Earth allows players to build creations in their physical environment.

The augmented reality (AR) version of the highly successful block-building game invites players to create structures on any flat surface, using 3D holograms, before placing their builds in life-size mode. Players can also collaborate with others to build neighbourhoods together.

The free game is similar to Pokemon Go, as it uses the smartphone as a window into the virtual world. ‘There are these moments in digital entertainment and technology, where you have not just one, but a number of enabling technologies coming online at the same time,’ says Torfi Olafsson, the game’s director. ‘It's this confluence that happens where, when you put them together, products appear that could never have appeared before.’

Read our 2019 macrotrend Programmable Realities for more on the new tools that are extending our experience of the world and facilitating an entirely new way of engaging with products.

The luxury industry should brace for the onset of Generation Z consumers, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group and Altagamma. The report gauges consumer mindset among more than 12,000 respondents in ten leading countries, including the world’s two largest luxury markets – China and the US. The study found that Millennials currently represent about 32% of spending in the personal luxury market but are expected to make up 50% of the total market by 2025.

However, as Generation Z enter the workforce and gain more disposable income, this cohort will make its mark on the luxury sector. ‘Today Gen Z represents only about 4% of the true-luxury market,’ says Sarah Willersdorf, partner at BCG. ‘By 2020 we estimate that they will drive 8% of true-luxury spend. But more than that, they have a powerful influence in the market and have a different set of values and ideals than even Millennials.’

Meet our Anti-luxurians tribe to see how younger consumers are engaging with luxury goods and services in multifaceted ways.