Need to Know
25 : 11 : 21

Italy – Reframing the notion of food scarcity as a remedy for over-consumption, The Beauty of Scarcity manifesto proposes a new retail model that celebrates frugality and resourcefulness. Written by food designer Francesca Sarti, the text challenges the long-standing belief that abundance is a good thing, championing the de-growth mindsets that we have seen in other industries.

As part of the manifesto, Sarti proposes five conceptual kiosks that advance her theory of 'aesthetic scarcity.' The Poetic Bakery, for example, draws from the Japanese ideologies of sessei (moderation), setsudo (restraint) and wa (harmony) to position rationing as a way to reduce over-consumption. Tapping into the ancient preservation systems of the Pilgrims and Berbers, Sarti's Nomadic Hut takes inspiration from the resourceful design of indigenous groups. The Ascetic Deli, meanwhile, takes design cues from mujin hanbaijos – unmanned shops in the Japanese countryside offering few products and an honesty box for payments.

As supply chain issues continue to put a strain on the global food market, and the link between diets and environmental destruction becomes more pronounced, Uprooted Diets are emerging to address the vulnerabilities of the food system.

Sweden – In a bid to stand out from oversaturated online spaces, the apparel brand is relaunching its print magazine, Acne Paper, after a seven-year hiatus. To continue its existing credibility as a stand-alone magazine rather than a brand catalogue, it will focus on global affairs and political content. Priced at £33.50 ($44.80, €40), the title will be sold in Acne Studios stores and selected magazine retailers globally.

By creating a high-quality publication, the brand shows how slower, lifestyle-led forms of marketing can establish long-term interest with audiences. It also creates engagement with customers beyond new garments or social media shares. ‘In this day and age when everything is pretty much commercialised in one way or another, it’s actually a great liberty and privilege for us to be able to do this product and not have a solid thought through a business case, but actually just do a product that we really, really love,’ explains Mattias Magnusson, CEO of Acne.

Such printed, physical marketing can act as an entry point into a brand universe, while maintaining ongoing relationships with loyal customers.

Dating platform Match has released its annual Singles in America study, which this year finds that men (24%) are feeling more social pressure to find a relationship than women (17%). 'There’s always talk of women’s biological clocks pressurising them to settle down. And while men don’t exactly face this same challenge, they do feel more social pressure to find a relationship these days,' reads the Match report.

Meanwhile, the study also shows that, once they are dating, men tend to feel an emotional connection faster than women. Some 53% of men can feel it by the second date, compared to 38% of women. Interestingly, while men are often seen as more eager to enter the bedroom, 81% say they now find sex less important than they did pre-pandemic.

These figures provide a marked contrast to familiar stereotypes, ushering in an era of New Masculinity when men no longer need to rely on interactive media platforms to forge emotional connections.