A pioneer of digital content, The Chic Geek, a.k.a. Marcus Jaye, has grown to become one of the UK’s most respected and influential bloggers on style and fashion. An expert within the men’s style arena, The Chic Geek has previously written for titles including 

, and appeared on TV and BBC radio. His first book, The Chic Geek’s Fashion, Grooming & Style Guide For Men, was published in 2011, and his second, #FashionWankers, was published in 2019.

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

Helene Holzmann is a luxury retail consultant. She has over two decades of experience developing and delivering with some of the world's most respected, influential, and innovative brands across jewellery, watches, luxury mobile phones, and luxury leather goods. A native French speaker, she has delivered outstanding retail results in both the UK and France, including establishing a retail presence in the UK for brands such as Chaumet, Goyard, Delvaux, and Valextra. She has focused on retail consultancy since 2020, helping luxury start-ups with their strategy and private equity funds select luxury brands to invest in.

Françoise Hernaez is Luxury Consulting Director at Kantar Insights France.

France

Shopping

McKinsey & Company

Interview with Helene Holzmann conducted by the author

Interview with Françoise Hernaez conducted by the author

Lampoon

CEIC

Le Monde

The Connexion

Fashion United

Modern Retail

Business of Fashion

Santander Trade

The Marseille-based ‘anti-concept’ store Jogging adopts a community-centric approach by focusing on localisation and themes of fashion, food, and art to offer consumers an elevated retail experience. What does this fresh and audacious strategy say about the future of localised retail?