TRENDS
Arielle Steele looks back at the biggest trends of 2023 – from entertainment and food to books and fashion – and finds out what’s coming in 2024
The year 2023 has been a challenging one. As Fiona Harkin from strategic foresight agency The Future Laboratory says, ‘This is the first complete year that we’ve been back to full-throttle life post-pandemic, which has absolutely exhausted everyone. We’ve been finding our feet in economic strife, and realising that the only certainty in our futures is uncertainty.’
But in response to the ‘hustle culture’ of pre-pandemic times, many of us are embracing ‘soft living’ and making our mental wellbeing a top priority. We’ve sought moments of lightness and joy, investing our time and money in activities that encourage camaraderie and community. No doubt, the pressures we’re facing now have led us to re-evaluate what really matters. ‘In the midst of uncertainty, we’re prioritising our own values and what we really want,’ Harkin explains.
Trend forecasters say 2024 will see us break further away from many of the ‘shoulds’ and social norms we’ve adhered to for decades. Katie Baron, content director at Stylus (stylus.com), believes we’ll move into an era of ‘post-perfectionism’ – a ‘pushback on unachievable and hard-to-maintain regimes in pursuit of appearing perfect’. Baron predicts that more of us will seek ‘conscious highs’ or ‘purposeful pleasure’, as ‘pleasure shifts from something that is often seen as reckless or immoral, to being exceptionally edifying’.
As the year comes to a close, we asked the experts for their biggest trends and moments from 2023, and their predictions for 2024. This much we know: good things lie ahead.
THE CELEB CRUSH
IN 2023… Jeremy Allen White, aka ‘hot chef’ Carmy in Disney+’s The Bear. There’s something about the strong arms and superior knife skills that is just timelessly attractive. We don’t make the rules.
IN 2024… Jacob Elordi (left), who has already solidified his heartthrob status in Euphoria (despite his awful character), is likely to win us over in his complicated portrayal of Elvis (yes, another one) in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla. The movie is on general release at the start of January, so expect to see some swoon-worthy red-carpet moments during awards season.
THE BOOKS IN 2023…
‘Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, about two friends who make video games, spent weeks at the top of the bestseller charts following its paperback release,’ says Red literary editor Sarra Manning, ‘even outselling Richard Osman at one point.’ And Prince Harry’s Spare broke the Guinness Record for the fastest-selling non-fiction book since records began; the explosive memoir sold 3.2m copies worldwide in its first week.
IN 2024… Manning predic
