HOARDICULTURE 011

A selection of the past weeks’ insightful treasures, amassed from our constant research, that signal social-cultural change.

• Retail therapy just got political: Oxford Economics reveals Zalando’s colossal ripple effect on Europe’s economy.

• The Fed’s latest numbers scream financial inferno: US households are spiralling into record-breaking credit card debt.

• TikTok’s ‘Speeds of Culture’ methodology makes a bold statement: the platform isn’t just influencing culture anymore—it’s creating it. It’s TikTok’s world now; we’re just scrolling through.

• Mina Le’s incisive statement, The Death of Personal Style, signals a dramatic shift: from pursuing individuality through eccentric self-expression and collectively validated trends (not-so-individuality-friendly!), to a more sustainable, bland, and time-freeing approach to personal identity.

• Business of Fashion has officially buried the microtrend. Retailers are urged to ditch the trendflation treadmill and shift from chasing to choosing: “Today, retailers’ main challenge isn’t the race to keep up, but rather figure out what’s worth investing in, and to what extent.”

• Historian Jean-Miguel Pire revives ‘otium’ on Vlan podcast: the ancient Latin call for productive idleness—over doomscrolling.

• RECTO VERSO café goes beyond the traditional no-laptop policy with an anti-content creation call to preserve its intimate vibe—and its patrons’ privacy.

• Aesthetic fatigue gives rise to fitness centres channelling country-club cool and mid-century glam: Don’t Call It a Gym. It’s a Sporting Club.

• La Grande Seine documents the behind-the-scenes magic of Paris 2024’s opening ceremony, a future textbook case in soft power.

• With therapy chatbots and AI boyfriends automating love, connection, and intimacy, the next Sexual Revolution is not so sexual, but conversational.

• The age of mimicry gets an upgrade: with AI clones, one chat is all it takes to deepfake an entire persona.

• Cognitive outsourcing isn’t sci-fi anymore with Omi, the wearable AI device that scans—or even reads—your thoughts.

In Case of Doubt is directed by Elodie Marteau, foresight research & strategy hoarder.