99. Pack Your Totes – WGSN’s Top Three Cities to Watch in 2024

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Create Tomorrow podcast, bringing you the latest innovations impacting the future of design and product. IRL retail is very much back with a bang. Discussing the green shoots of physical retail 2024 is Joe McDonnell, Director of Insight, together with our Insight retail experts Laura Saunter, Senior Strategist, and Candice Medeiros, Strategist. Tune in to learn more about the return of the mall rat, why retail stores outperform store closures for the first time in over a decade, and how consumers are demonstrating contradictory spending behaviours – trading down on essentials to treat themselves to big-ticket experiences. Stores aren’t just about buying but socialising and community building, with retailers offering value adds, such as yoga classes, workshops, personalised experiences, and more, creating opportunities for fostering connections. The team discusses the impact of AI in retail and how it might be best used in the future. They also explore the rising popularity and increasing criticism of the ‘buy now, pay later’ model. Plus, discover the exciting innovations likely to drive change in tomorrow’s retail environment.

Milan Design Week is the world’s biggest event dedicated to design and innovation – and WGSN’s team of experts visit every year. In this episode, hear from WGSN forecasters Lisa White, Director of Strategic Forecasting and Creative Direction, Gemma Riberti, Director of Interiors, and Helen Palmer, Head of Materials, Textiles & Knit, as they dive into this year’s fair which takes place as the Salone del Mobile at Rho Fiera Milano, plus Fuorisalone, comprising countless installations and events throughout the city. Our Interiors experts report live from Milan to reflect on their highlights so far which include hyper-tactility, elemental materiality, and products playing with, or inspired by water. Expect to hear about Milan Design Week regulars, such as the Rossana Orlandi Gallery, Moooi, Dimoregallery, Hermès and FormaFantasma, plus what global brands Google and Samsung showcased. The trio discuss the WGSN trends they spied including the prevalence of curtains and soft spaces, the rise of darkness, and the products, talks, or installations that brought them ‘Glimmers’.

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Create Tomorrow podcast, bringing you the latest innovations impacting the future of design and product. In this episode of WGSN’s Create Tomorrow podcast, the WGSN Beauty team reflects on Cosmoprof Bologna – the biggest annual beauty trade show in the world that sets the agenda for all categories of beauty. Special guest host Clare Varga, Director of Beauty at WGSN, hears the highlights from her team’s experts – Head of WGSN Beauty Sienna Piccioni and Beauty Strategist Pia Fisher. From AI-inspired beauty products and innovative scalp analysis tech, to the latest key ingredients and the rise in personalised beauty, discover the innovations and trends that brands and consumers can expect to see in the coming months. Enjoy a beautiful listen!

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Create Tomorrow podcast bringing you the latest innovations impacting the future of design and product. In this episode of WGSN’s Create Tomorrow podcast, we report from this year’s SXSW festival, the annual event in Austin, Texas which brings together tech, film, music, education, and culture – it’s always buzzing with new ideas and concepts. As leaders in trend forecasting, we travel the globe, researching new concepts and trends to inform our work, and SXSW is one of our calendar highlights. Tune in to hear from our experts on the ground. Senior Strategist of Insight Cassandra Napoli quizzes colleagues Liz Tan, Strategist at WGSN Insight, and Carol Aquino, Head of Consumer Tech, about their SXSW discoveries. Hear how SXSW helps inform our work at WGSN and why it’s such an important event to attend.

How can the beauty of light help solve the climate crisis? What does it mean to see the stars at night? And what can we learn from fireflies? These are the questions answered by the enlightening artworks of Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde. Daan is the founder of the social design lab Studio Roosegaarde, most famous for Spark, organic sustainable fireworks inspired in part by his love of fireflies. Studio Roosegaarde’s immersive, large-scale artworks operate at the intersection of art, design, and engineering and are often poetic and mesmerising and always thought-provoking. WGSN’s executive editorial director Bethan Ryder and Director of Strategic Forecasting Lisa White talk to Daan about his passion for light, something that radiates from global projects, which address the climate crisis and ask how we can learn from nature to create a better tomorrow.

We’re constantly scouring the globe for the latest trends, and in this episode of Create Tomorrow we report back from Maison & Objet, the biannual interiors trade fair in Paris. One of the most important global events for the interior design industry.  Director of WGSN Interiors Gemma Riberti shares her fair highlights, from the colours she’s tracked to the unstoppable rise of the outdoor market. Plus exciting new sustainability materials, including a patent-pending innovation that transforms rice husks into precious objects of beauty. We find out why tactile neutrals, rustic ceramics, soft leather detailing and a focus on wood will dominate, and Gemma picks her favourite take-home piece from the fair.

Why is 2024 set for a warm glow? Tune in to hear how WGSN – in collaboration with sibling business Coloro – forecasts the colour of the year 18 months in advance and why this year’s shade is such a warming, gentle and versatile hue.  Exploring the inclusive, nourishing power of Apricot Crush with WGSN’s editorial director Bethan Ryder is Petra Lundgren, longtime colour trend forecaster for global fashion brand H&M, together with Urangoo Samba, head of colour at WGSN. So why are we crushing on an apricot shade, and how does it relate to digital lavender, which proved such a hit last year (Episode 69)? Petra talks about wellness and digital influences on colour selections, the emotive quality of colour and how WGSN helps her set a more sustainable colour agenda at H&M. While Urangoo explains the role AI plays in WGSN’s tracking of colours on the fashion catwalks globally and what the key drivers are that influence consumers’ colour choices. Plus, why the similarity between WGSN’s Apricot Crush and Pantone’s Peachy Fuzz is a positive sign of creative consensus in a polarised world.

Very much near-forecasting, in this episode we preview the year ahead, considering how the key events from politics, sports and entertainment will impact consumers and brands. WGSN’s editorial director Bethan Ryder speaks to Joe McDonnell, director of Insight, as he discusses 2024’s major events in relation to consumer behaviour. Discover how elections affect consumer confidence. Why it's a year of sport and how that will continue to fuel the outdoor boom. Plus, why consumers in a cost-of-living crisis will still invest in fun. We’ll also review the major film releases planned for 2024. So with that in mind sit back, grab your popcorn, and enjoy.

In this episode, editorial director Bethan Ryder is joined by colleagues Raeesa Brey, Cassandra Gagnon, and Natacia Lim to reveal three of WGSN’s cities to watch in 2024. From coastal concrete jungles to hyper-connected tech hubs preserving traditional cultures, here’s our pick of the cities now rising to meet the changing demands of urban living. We forecast our clients' buzziest destinations for creativity and innovation in 2024, but also reflect on how the newness and excitement impact natives of the different cities.

Will the robots take over? How will brands tackle sustainability? And what will become our favourite tipple in 2024? Tune in to get the answers as we discover just some of the trends WGSN is forecasting for the coming year. Join Carla Buzasi, CEO of WGSN and the host of this end-of-the-year episode with her fellow WGSN guests Andrea Bell, VP of Consumer Insights, and Lisa White, Director of Strategic Forecasting and Creative Direction. And if you’re listening to this from the comfort of a heated blanket on your chair... find out how we called it in 2022. Happy 2024 to you all!