In this week’s Our Take — GenZ are crushing the fashion industry cis-tem. Coldplay move from Yellow to Green. The Lazy Girl Era is here. And finally – finally! – flying cars have landed. Maybe. Sort of. Don’t hold your breath.
Breaking the Binary Fashion Boundary
A study by High Snobiety has revealed that Gen Z shopping habits are breaking away from gendered conventions like never before. Titled The State of Menswear, the report asked 396 participants about their experiences shopping across gendered categories and what opportunities and barriers they encounter while doing so. It’s a whopper piece of work which you can find here. Here are some of our highlights.
Breaking traditions: 90% of those questioned believed that traditional dress norms were no longer essential and that it was more important to express their personality through clothing than to conform to their gender. While designers and fashion leaders have been challenging conventions for years (Thom Browne’s sh*t-hot suit and skirt combo for men is a fave), what’s remarkable is how normal it has become for young shoppers, and especially males, to cross traditional gender lines in their search for style.
Don’t jump on the brand-wagon: When it comes to fashion industry’s non-traditional take on masculinity and femininity, 70% of respondents revealed that they believe the industry is making great strides. However, 71% state that they feel there are many brands jumping on a trend as opposed to being genuinely invested in fluidity.
Attention to De-tailoring: Brands still have work to do… 57% of males and 65% of females say it is difficult to find information on a product’s size and fit. Is it time for a universal size guide?
So in conclusion… let’s crush the cis-tem!
Coldplay tour walks the environmental walk
With over 5 million tickets sold, and what seems like every country in the world except Ireland on their itinerary, Coldplay’s Music of the Sphere’s tour is bound to have a big environmental impact. How big? Funny you should ask, because the band have released a report that covers it in detail.
Assessed and validated by Professor John E. Fernandez of MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative (we shall refer to him as The Scientist), the report states that the Music of the Spheres tour has to date produced 47% less CO2 emissions than the 2016-17 tour, while 66% of all tour waste has been diverted from landfills. 5 million trees have been planted – one for every concert goer – while an average of 86% of that number have returned the reusable, plant based LED wristbands used to light up some of the world’s most famous stadia.
Whether this is the conscious effort we all hope it is to set a bar in reducing carbon footprint of largescale tour or just A Rush of Blood to the Head, there’s no doubt it’s a template for other major artists to do Something Just Like This. Chris Martin and co are really delivering sustainable Magic while on the Adventure of a Lifetime.
The full report can be found at sustainability.coldplay.com.
Here come the Lazy Girls
In 2010 we had the Girl Boss; a culture where women were asked what they did with their 6 to 9 rather than their 9 to 5. In 2021 we had The Great Resignation where millions of people quit their jobs in the hope of finding greener pastures.
And now we have the Lazy Girl Job. Gen Z are doubling down on their reputation as the ‘anti-work generation’ with their search for low-effort, stress-free, well-paid work.
Only 49% of Gen Zs say that a career is ‘central to their identity’ versus 62% of millennials, and in theory, it doesn’t sound half bad. We have a grudging respect for their redefinition of “lazy” to mean nourishing yourself outside of work with healthy habits and hobbies, and a career path that avoids anything toxic.
Roll on the work healthy, play healthy era.
Flying Cars have landed. Sort of.
Finally! An electric flying car has been approved for test flights in the USA. And it looks like the lead designer was Batman
The Armada Model Zero is a prototype electric car with four wheels, and eight rotors. It can sit “up to” two people. And it has a mesh body, so you’re getting wet. It’s a big drone, basically. In addition it will have a max speed of 40 km/h, and if it eventually makes it to the forecourt, it’ll set you back about $300K.
Is it a massive leap toward a more aerial future? Will we soon be commuting through the sky? Alef Aeronautical CEO, Jim Dukhovny, claimed that this development will bring the world closer to an “environmentally friendly and faster commute, saving individuals and companies hours each week.” This guy has obviously never spent any time in an airport. Our commute is bad enough, without having to wait 30 minutes for take-off clearance, and getting routed around Mullingar on our way to Baggot Street.
We love a Bruce Wayne moment and it is exciting to see another step made towards a flying future but we’ll hang on to our driver’s licenses for now, thanks all the same.