People are craving comfort. Amid what can feel like a state of constant crisis – a layering of traumatic societal events – it can sometimes seem like we’ve lost a sense of scale and cohesion. In the face of this, the desire to retreat into nostalgia is more seductive than ever.

Furry and foamy, the Crocs ‘Cozzzy’ line is designed to deliver next-level cosiness. Facing uncertainty amid multiple crises, people are deriving pleasure from their immediate surroundings, which is subsequently fuelling the 'comfort economy' in the form of relaxed apparel and homewares.

Cultural memory is getting shorter, with mass digitisation causing people to seek solace in the recent past. But it’s not solely about innocence – ‘nowstalgia’ is fuelled by a desire to reimagine and right perceived wrongs. So, how is a meme mindset impacting Gen Z’s media consumption and style?

Restrictive social distancing measures and an increase in remote working have seen the spaces for sartorial self-expression shift from public to private. In the post-pandemic era, how might people use clothing to define their identities, and what kinds of garments will they come to cherish?

People are giving new meaning to their clothes and finding joy in how they dress. Termed ‘dopamine dressing’, the movement reflects a recalibration of our relationship with the physical world and signposts the growing intersection between how people link mental and physical health.