Need to Know
30 : 08 : 23

US – To mark the launch of the RL 888 handbag line, Ralph Lauren has revealed its first virtual store, inviting customers to discover the new collection in the immersive gamified landscape.

After four years, the American fashion house is gearing up for a return to the New York Fashion Week schedule in September 2023. Ralph Lauren is whetting the fashion crowd’s appetite with new launches ahead of the show – the RL 888 collection, available from the brand’s first 3D immersive digital store, The 888 House. Set in a landscape inspired by the Californian desert, the virtual shopping experience features a high-resolution surrealistic decor, allowing visitors to wander, discover products and place orders.

While virtual immersive stores have been proliferating in the luxury fashion landscape, for iconic brands like Ralph Lauren, they are a great tool to engage new audiences. Using tech-forward craftsmanship to highlight brand storytelling and exhibit know-how is a strategy we explore further in our upcoming luxury macrotrend.

Global – Global communications firm Ketchum’s recent survey of 2,000 children and those aged 13 and above explores the distinctive food habits of Generation Z. The study reveals that 61% of Gen Z have encountered pressure since childhood to align their eating patterns with their identity and beliefs, causing negative emotions and anxiety. Despite these pressures, 62% of Gen Z respondents consider their eating patterns to be incorrect. Ketchum notes a disconnection between Gen Z’s food beliefs and their behaviour as a result of these unrealistic pressures.

Ketchum Food Consultancy president Melissa Kinch highlights how Gen Z have been raised with food as a vehicle for communicating values, leading to a sense of insecurity and negativity around food. While sustainability, animal welfare and LGBTQ+ rights are important factors for Gen Z in food purchases, practical considerations like taste and affordability often take precedence.

The study also finds that 68% of Gen Z respondents cook differently from their parents, indicating vastly different eating patterns. In addition, 55% report piecing together snacks into a meal on a weekly basis, a trend that has especially taken off as ‘girl dinners’ on TikTok. We explore TikTok’s influence on food and drink trends in the real world in TikTok Tastes.