20 Trends for the 2020s

They’re calling this decade ‘the New ‘20s’. Whatever the label, however you badge it, we have 10 years ahead where the changes in the retail landscape and consumer behaviour that shaped the last decade demand a new attitude, new products and new experiences. 

At WGSN, we’ve been living here in 2020 for some time, mapping emerging macro trends and predicting how they’ll manifest themselves in new consumer behaviour: what we’ll need, want and feel, what we’ll shun and what we’ll embrace. 

Today, the best of our trend forecasters deliver their predictions for the product trends that will dominate the coming years, from fashion and food through to technology and wellness. 

This report is one of my favourites each year, as we meticulously pore through years’ worth of research and then debate, peer review and, finally, validate with emerging data points the predictions designed to fill consumers’ lives with the products they genuinely need and want. In today’s world, when we are more conscious than ever about the sustainability of our planet as well as our businesses, it has never been more important to get this right. 

Let us not produce what will not be purchased. Unsold and unused product accounts for billions and billions-worth of landfill each year.

At WGSN, we’ve been living here in 2020 for some time, mapping emerging macro trends and predicting how they’ll manifest themselves in new consumer behaviour: what we’ll need, want and feel, what we’ll shun and what we’ll embrace.

And so, to the predictions. You can read more of the list in the report here, but my highlights include the practice of ‘niksen’ – the Dutch wellness trend that gives you permission to do absolutely nothing. In a world where people are struggling to disconnect from work and where stress and burnout are now classified as medical conditions, wellness trends that offer calm will understandably gain traction in coming years. 

In addition, expect to hear the word ‘boro’ more and more as the West borrows the Japanese tradition of patch-working; learning to make do and mend, rather than buying new each season. Another word to add to your 2020s lexicon? Adaptogens. These are non-toxic plants that can help the body resist physical, chemical and biological stresses, and are set to be the need-to-know ingredients of the coming decade. Used for centuries in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine, skin and bodycare products rich in adaptogenic ingredients, such as turmeric, CBD, chamomile, lavender and marjoram, will not only fight inflammation but combat stress by reducing blood pressure and cortisol levels. This is psychotherapy and skincare combined – in a jar. 

Finally, if you want a quick fashion fix that you don’t need to wait six years to hit peak-trend, for this year, my fashion team insist it’s the sexigan’s time to shine. Looks like the New ‘20s’ will be as stylish, if a little warmer, than the original decade of decadence.

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On the Beach: A Caribbean Gem

How many of you spent the first week of the year Googling ‘Where to travel in 2020’? If ‘fly and flop’ rather than ‘search and adventure’ is on your list, let me suggest the last hotel of my 2019 travel: The Sandpiper in Barbados . There’s a 90% return rate at peak times, so you don’t just have my word on this one.

Product of the Week: New Year, New Scent 

A 200-year-old perfume house might be an odd recommendation for a new-decade column, but in a world where brands come and go, there’s something wonderful about celebrating one with longevity. Atkinsons 24 Old Bond Street is a personal fragrance favourite and deliciously warming in cold climates.