Nicholas Lising-White is a behavioural analyst at Canvas8. With a degree in human geography from UCL, he is interested in the impact of differing cultural conditions on human behaviour. Outside of work, he can be found meandering between cafes on his bike, testing his culinary skills, and intermittently pottering around a rugby pitch.

People are taking a patchwork approach to self-expression to feel like they have control over how their identity is generated. Yet as individual expression becomes more mutable and mistrust in social systems abounds, there’s one place above all that people are seeking integrity and guidance: brands.

Reality Split

As the new post-pandemic normal settles in and people adapt to a context of uncertainty, constant adversities, and pessimism, we are moving away from a moment in which consumers expected brands to rise up to society's challenges and into one when they’re demanding genuine allyship from businesses.

Shared Values

Gen Z (born 1997-2010)

United States

Fashion and Style

Clothing, footwear, and accessories

'Grandpa Core' marks yet another sartorial social media trend. However, the internet's new penchant for knitwear and tweed has highlighted the hypocrisy of an industry relying on social media's rapid trend cycle to sell a style originally curated over a lifetime of careful purchases.