Need to Know
29 : 07 : 21

Liberia, US & Global – Burgeoning luxury brand Telfar is making its first foray into sportswear, following the brand’s appointment as Olympic clothing sponsor for Liberia. Referencing founder Telfar Clemen’s Liberian-American heritage, the collection includes duffel bags, sweatpants and leggings featuring the Liberian flag’s star and Telfar’s brand logo.

By drawing on cultural references in this way, Telfar captures his personal heritage while highlighting the sporting talent from his home country. ‘Sketched while in Africa, the garments tell the story of a journey of recognition...’ reads a statement in a press release. ‘They tell a story of return mirrored in Liberia’s rebuilding of its national team – which finds its athletes in its diaspora; scattered across America by the afterlife of colonialism, war, and ebola.’ First showcased at this year’s Olympic opening ceremony, several pieces from the collection will be sold via a drop model in the coming weeks.

As we explore in Accelerating African Fashion, luxury brands and wider collaborators are engaging with African design talent to produce cross-cultural collections.

US – As the worlds of beauty, spirituality and wellness continue to merge, beauty brand Majenye is introducing a range of crystal-infused products that promote holistic wellbeing. Its launch collection features a range of skincare, haircare, bath and home products that seek to harmonise people’s mental and physical health.

By positioning crystal healing as a core element of its offering, Majenye promotes the idea of high vibration beauty – that is, products that are energising and mood-elevating, as explored in Mood-boosting Beauty. Yetunde Alabi, founder of Majenye says: ‘With a focus on creating small batches of magical goodness, Majenye offers an assortment of non-toxic, crystal-infused and therapeutic products crafted with a minimalist aesthetic to soothe the mind, body and spirit.’

The brand also aligns with the mindsets we explore in the new Synchronised Care macrotrend, with self-care practices taking on deeper meanings and becoming interconnected with wider belief systems.

While most children in the UK have been forced to learn from home as a result of pandemic-induced school closures, an increasing number of parents are actively choosing a permanent switch to home education. According to research by the BBC, this upward trend comes as some parents experience continuing Covid-19 anxiety, while others feel their children perform better thanks to home schooling.

Across the UK, the number of children registering for home education rose by 75% in the first eight months of the current school year. In northwest England, numbers were up by 92% on the previous two-year average. Meanwhile, more than 40,000 pupils were formally taken out of school in the UK between September 2020 and April 2021, compared with an average of 23,000 over the previous two years.

As remote studying becomes more widely adopted and the concept of ‘school’ becomes less of a physical entity, there is potential for new types of educational platforms and brands to augment curriculums, examinations and qualifications.