LSN : News : The Interview: Heat’s mystery boxes rethink luxury fashion for Gen Z

The Trend: Safety Fits

Dames, US

Social unrest makes consumers feel increasingly unprotected and vulnerable. In the UK, a devastating 97% of women aged 18–24 have been sexually harassed, according to UN Women UK. That’s why women are taking the issue into their own hands. TikTok is brimming with self-defence masterclasses (#selfdefense has received over 23bn views), DIY gear and weaponised keychains like tasers hidden in lipsticks.

Merging functional gear with activism, emerging designers also want to turn clothes into modern-day armour. Enter Safety Fits. New York-based label Dames, for instance, merges street style and protection, bolstering women’s safety with built-in self-defence features. Another example is Cap_able, an Italian start-up merging technology, textiles and fashion to create garments able to bypass artificial intelligence to protect the wearer from facial recognition.

The sartorial safety push may be rooted in fashion, but this shift has broader meaning and implications. This ‘look cute, feel tough’ philosophy proves that fashion brands can turn utility into something covetable. Upgrading not-so-sexy self-defence gear into a stylish collection that protects wearers challenges expectations and raises vital debates about gender-related violence and abuse.

The Big Idea: Luxury and fashion brands have entered the home

Fashion brands have their eyes on consumers’ homes. In our Home States Futures: Residential Retail macrotrend, we explored how hybrid working becoming the new normal has turned the home into a dynamic commercial hub bubbling with retail innovations. The global lifestyle industry – comprising home design and hospitality – is expected to outpace pre-pandemic levels, expanding at a CAGR of 7% between 2023 and 2026 (source: Euromonitor).

Shoppers plan to continue investing in their home settings. Over half (54%) of wealthy consumers have purchased a fashion- or beauty-branded home product, and the remainder are open to buying such items for the first time (source: The Business of Fashion). Fashion brands got the memo, racing to answer this booming demand and developing dedicated homeware lines.

One example is the expansion of Marni’s homeware division, Marni Market, during Milan Design Week 2023. New additions include tableware and wallpaper, developing Marni’s presence in the lifestyle segment and, ultimately, in people’s personal spaces. Elsewhere, French fashion designer Simon Porte Jacquemus introduced Objets, his first foray into furniture design. The drop included outdoor furniture, but also more accessible leather home accessories, photo prints and vintage books.

Such lines can act as a natural extension of brands, establishing deep-rooted relationships with their audience by supplying a more permanent mirror for self-expression than apparel.

Missoni, Italy

The Campaign: Lululemon’s dupe swap event

The Align Leggings Dupe Swap by Lululemon, US

The rise of interest in dupes, short for duplicates, among Gen Z consumers has peaked in 2023. Athletic apparel company Lululemon has been one of the first brands to launch an anti-dupe campaign showing customers why pale imitations aren’t worth it.

To retain its clients and prevent them from going for alternatives highly inspired by the brand’s best-selling Align Leggings, Lululemon invited customers to bring in their knock-off trousers to trade in for the original. ‘We’re so confident of our quality not being matched that we thought it would be a really fun exercise to play into the cultural context of dupes,’ Nikki Neuburger, chief brand officer of Lululemon, told WWD. ‘We want people to bring in their pair and try on ours, and we’re confident they will try on the Align pants and love them and leave their dupe behind.’

In Elastic Brands, we previously highlighted how businesses must show how seamlessly they can adapt to all situations, including finding creative ways to tackle competitors and earn customers’ trust at the same time.

The Interview: Heat’s mystery boxes rethink luxury fashion for Gen Z

Heat, US

Futures 100 Innovators nominees Joe Wilkinson and Mario Maher spoke to LS:N Global about their Gen Z-approved retail concept. Heat has become a go-to mystery box supplier, curating luxury fashion selections otherwise destined for discount retailers, sold at a fixed price with little indication of what to expect inside.

Beginning with streetwear, Heat now also offers homeware, contemporary and superbrand box selections. Priced between £299 ($359, €336) and £650 ($780, €730), Heat guarantees that contents are worth two to three times more – representing an opportunity for Gen Z to buy covetable luxury at a discounted price.

In the interview, the co-founders explained how Heat was born out of a hope to create a new way to shop, centred on bringing excitement to the entire process – from the drop to the unboxing and product discovery – while championing circularity and encouraging peer-to-peer exchanges.

The Space: Diesel’s pop-up store dedicated to best-selling 1DR handbag

1DR Land by Diesel, Italy

Fashion brands are increasingly using pop-up experiences as opportunities to refine and showcase the essence of their brand. Italian label Diesel has opened a shop in Milan dedicated to its iconic 1DR bag. Located next to the brand’s flagship store, the shop takes its visual inspiration from the distinctive silver Oval D hardware featured on Diesel’s 1D bag. The space is a 52-square-metre cube with walls, floor and ceiling adorned in crushed silver fabric, enveloping guests in a 3D metallic silver world.

The shop showcases an expanded range of 1DR bags, an accessory first introduced by creative director Glenn Martens in spring 2022. This includes a palette of signature metallic colours and multiple shapes, many of which are made using lower-impact materials. In addition, a limited edition of 30 unique 1DR bags will be exclusively available in the store. Diesel’s 1DR store will remain open for a year and the company plans to open similar spaces worldwide.

We’ve previously observed how retail pop-ups are evolving, becoming less transactional and more immersive. They exist as places for consumers to develop deeper relationships and a greater understanding of a brand’s value and culture.

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