Tessa Love is a writer whose work focuses on the undertones of culture and human experience. Her work has been featured in Outside Magazine, The Believer, Longreads, BBC, and more. She is also a cultural researcher and trend analyst specialising in youth behaviours and insights. She has produced reports, articles, white papers, and films that have informed the strategies of some of the world’s biggest brands, and she previously served as the editorial director of Western Europe for the global youth insights and research agency YPulse.

When author Kyle Chayka explored 2010s minimalism in Longing for Less, a very different world existed. Today, a polycrisis-ridden and digitally saturated society finds people yearning for more. Whether you chalk it up to post-pandemic release or a general sense of impending doom, people are now looking for a new maximalism of feelings, dimensions, and possibilities to reinvigorate them and make their lives feel full.

While people are craving memorable, visceral, and immersive experiences, there's no longer a singular definition of what this might look like. Some are embracing maximalist hedonism through clubbing, extreme tourism, and different kinds of sensory overload, while others are tapping into more gentle, inward-looking, and contemplative experiences like listening bars and communal spas. It signals the emergence of the' Introvert Economy' of cosy, home-adjacent spaces and activities or seeking soothing and quasi-spiritual encounters through hobbies like birdwatching and forest bathing.

The desire for deeply captivating and emotionally engaging experiences extends beyond the physical world – social media, VR, AR, and even image-based interactions must now resonate to the same degree, creating truly memorable moments and environments.

In this consumer and cultural universe driven by exploration and immersion, the boundary between experiences and material goods continues to blur. We're less likely to see them as a dichotomy, as people are increasingly interested in experiential qualities of things and consuming commodified 'thing-like experiences'. This discovery-oriented mindset is opening up new avenues for fulfilment, gratification, and transformation.

Experience Hunters

Genevieve Muwana is a business fashion management lecturer at the London College of Fashion. She’s passionate about consumer behaviour and luxury brand management and has over two decades of experience working with luxury, beauty, and fashion.

Global

Travel and Leisure

Luxury

Oaky

Vogue

Vogue Business

Interview with Genevieve Muwana conducted by the author

Statista

Who What Wear

Shots

Wallpaper

Chic Pursuit

Conde Nast Traveler

Ads of the World

Highsnobiety

Retail Wire

Designboom

Celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2023, Rimowa is intertwining its rich heritage with innovative collaborations and experiential narratives, positioning itself as a leading force in the luxury sector. How is this iconic luggage brand helping to create a lifetime of memories for new consumers?

Cultivate

Experiences and Sensations

Rimowa: guiding the next generation of luxury travellers