All posts tagged 2014

Words by Mpdclick’s Future Trends Researcher

British brand Burberry has announced that it will open its first store in Romania, adding to its ever growing list of stores across Eastern Europe.

The 250 meter square Bucharest-based store, will be operated in franchising by a local company and situated on a small side street, off the main high street Calea Victoriei where brands such as Gucci, Armani and Rolex are located. This is a surprising move from Burberry who has previously opted for maximum visibility with its other Eastern European stores. Whether the brand purposely opted for this secretive location to optimise its exclusiveness or if it was a matter of testing the waters with this relatively undiscovered luxury market, what is clear, is that Burberry, like many luxury brands, are seeing the potential of Eastern Europe’s growing luxury market.

Mpdclick will continue to monitor developments in the luxury sector and Eastern Europe in the context of being a key influence for future trends. 

Image Source: Serbia-in

Words by Mpdclick’s Trends Researcher…

The premium market will enjoy the strongest growth in the clothing sector over the next 3 years, helped by the influence of Kate Middleton.

According to research (Verdict) by 2014 the premium segment is expected to be worth an estimated £8.6bn, a 29% increase from today’s value of £6.7bn. This rise in the market will also be contributed by a general consumer mindset of ‘investment’ buying. As discussed in depth in previous editions of MpdInsight as well as the Trend Journal, since the recession, consumers are reevaluating their spending habits, choosing to spend more on less with durability and sustainability being at the top of the buying agenda.

Click here to take a look into our archive of MpdInsight magazines, full of consumer and market insight as well as a wealth of design inspiration.

Click here to read a previous Journal entry relative to this subject.

Image source: Issa London (a/w 11/12)

Digital reputation and privacy could literally became the stuff of legend. When we think of WikiLeaks and the film The Social Network we can start to see the story unfold; there will be many more in 2011 and beyond, including numerous movies in the pipeline about the controversy surrounding Wikileaks and its founder Julian Assange. From biographies of the creator to a production linked with Steven Spielberg – as his Hollywood studio secured the screen rights to WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy, the book by Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding, – the subject of transparency will continue to be explored in the next few years.

One of the problems with the ‘free’ culture for the consumer is the product. Companies digitalize, analyze and then buy and sell your personal and behavioral information online, making you the commodity.  As this becomes clearer, users will demand control of their own digital reputation and privacy economy. 

Image source: imdb.com

Words by Trend Journal Editor…

In celebration of car giant Ford’s 50th anniversary, the iconic American muscle car, the Ford Mustang will see a revamp with significant design changes for 2014.

This new design is likely to spark renewed interest in American production while generating a boost in national pride for ‘brand America’ as talked about in a previous Trend Journal blog.

Click here for further information.

Image source: carnews.com

Is there any end to Brazil’s talent? Impressive economic growth, the World Cup in 2014, the Olympics in 2016; Brazil has it all and is widely recognized right now as the world’s epicenter of great graffiti. Where most of the world has a wildly fluctuating love/hate relationship with graffiti, in Brazil it is much more accepted and acknowledged as art.  

Recently the 1st International Biennial of Graffiti Fine Art took place at the MuBE, the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture. The Biennial featured the work of 66 of the most talented and influential artists in Brazil and the world.

Held inside the gallery space of the MuBE, designed by Iconic Brazilian architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha, the Biennial showcased large scale panels, murals, 3-D installations and other visual exploration representing a huge scope of trends in global urban art. Artists were invited representing the US, UK, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Chile, Japan, South Africa, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

The exhibition, brainchild of veteran Brasilian aerosol-fiend Fabio Ribeiro, aka Binho, gathers together some of Brazil’s most exciting urban talent for a month-long exploration of the increasingly thin line between Fine Art and Street Art. Alongside a series of discussions and screenings of classic graffiti films like ‘Wild Style’ and ‘Invasão’, the Biennale brings the work of graffiti artists like Os Gemeos and Zezão in from the cold and places it where many feel it truly belongs: the walls inside galleries like MuBE.

Source: jungledrumsonline.com

Image source: bbc.co.uk

Words by Mpdclick’s Cinema Trend Researcher…

The world’s oceans have forever mystified and wowed us with its power and remarkable inhabitants. The continuous discovery of new creatures great and small shows that the mystery of marine life is never-ending. Over the vast span of his career, director James Cameron has always conveyed a great interest in the ocean and all its glory with ‘The Abyss’ (1989) and a few documentary shorts: ‘Ghosts of the Abyss’ (2003), ‘Aliens of the Deep’ (2005) and ‘Volcanoes of the Deep Sea’ (2003), which were all results of several deep sea expeditions made for both research and personal interest. This inspiration was further spotted in his 2009 epic 3D film ‘Avatar’ and now the oceanic influences will be taken even further in ‘Avatar 2’ (due for release 2014) as Cameron prepares to take moviegoers into the depths of Pandora’s oceans.

In 2003, James Cameron embarked on his second expedition to the wreck of the Titanic (described below), which has been quoted as the “site of his greatest inspiration”, some six years after he wrote and directed the eponymous film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

“With a team of the world’s foremost historic and marine experts and friend Bill Paxton, he embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the final grave where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago. Using state-of-the-art technology developed expressly for this expedition, Cameron and his crew are able to explore virtually all of the wreckage, inside and out, as never before. With the most advanced 3D photography, moviegoers will experience the ship as if they are part of the crew, right inside the dive subs. In this unprecedented motion picture event, made especially for IMAX 3D Theatres and specially outfitted 35mm 3D theaters across the country, Cameron and his team bring audiences to sights not seen since the sinking 90 years ago and explore why the landmark vessel more than any shipwreck continues to intrigue and fascinate the public.”  – IMDB

A couple years later in 2005, he teamed up with NASA scientists to produce a documentary on their exploration of the Mid-Ocean Ridge, which is a submerged chain of mountains that band the Earth and are home to some of the planet’s most unique life forms. One can’t help but wonder if this particular expedition may have prompted some of his inspiration for the hybrid creatures of Pandora, such as the Hammerhead Titanothere (a combination of a rhinoceros and a hammerhead shark).

In ‘Avatar’ (2009) some of the fantastical creatures and plant life of Pandora appeared to take their movement & colour inspiration from marine life such as jellyfish (the seeds from the Tree of Souls, pictured below) and Christmas tree worms (the Helicoridians).  Even some of the lighting effects and the concept for the Tree of Souls were inspired by the bioluminescence of Cameron’s night dives. The Neural Network of Pandora (pictured main), although is inspired by the neural network of the brain, bears an incredible resemblance to the effect of light shining through water.

Recently, Cameron announced plans to have a two-man multi-million dollar submersible built to take him to Challenger Deep at the base of the Mariana Trench; the deepest most treacherous spot in the world’s oceans, some seven miles beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.  This trip has only ever been accomplished by two other explorers – Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh – to date and from their own words “it was a pretty hairy experience”. This new expedition will be a part of the pre-production process for ‘Avatar 2’. 

The significance of this expedition does not simply mean the possibility of another awe-inspiring movie from the legendary director, but also the prospect of a wealth of marine research not yet gathered due to the treacherous depths.  It also fuels an Mpdclick theory of a greater interest in the world’s oceans.  As global warming progresses, ice caps melt and sea levels continue to rise causing concerns for coastal areas. Experts are hard at work in attempts to find a solution to how humankind and our world as we know it can survive the power of the sea. 

For more information about initiatives surrounding rising sea levels, a project-soon-to-be-exhibition called ‘Rising Currents’ is an interesting starting point. 

“The ‘Rising Currents’ project was inspired by a study conducted by the 2007 Latrobe Prize team. The study, On the Water: Palisades Bay, explores the New York/New Jersey Upper Bay region’s need for “soft” ecological solutions to reduce water damage from flooding and storm surge, rather than “hard” systems such as concrete dams.”  – archrecord.construction.com. Read more about the project here.

Image source: Swissmadevfx.com