Lives of Tomorrow WGSN

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly podcast about macro societal shifts, exploring what they mean for all of us and how they will affect our Lives of Tomorrow.
What makes you happy? This episode focuses on the huge importance of this emotion for us all, now and in the future. WGSN forecasts a very real need and desire for people to feel joy, particularly when mental health is a rising concern among many demographics. WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi is joined by bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to discuss the future of consumer happiness and how brands can harness the power of joy.
Gretchen’s work focuses on happiness and human nature, and she’s best known for her book The Happiness Project. But why are we looking for brands to make us happy and relax? Is this too much to ask?
Carla and Gretchen discuss what we want and expect from brands, and whether they can actually make us happy. Tune in to hear about new concepts such as silent airports, plus the US retailers who are etching out hours in the morning to make the shopping experience more accessible for customers with sensory issues. Happy listening!

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Lives of Tomorrow podcast about the macro societal shifts, exploring what they mean for all of us and how they will affect our Lives of Tomorrow.
In this episode, WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi discusses the future of the creator economy with Mae Karwowski, CEO and founder of Obviously, a technology-led social influencer marketing agency based in New York, with operations in San Francisco and Paris.
The creator economy has experienced huge growth in recent years, and it plays a pivotal role in shaping consumer behaviour. Carla finds out about the proprietary technology which Obviously used to work with influencers and world-class brands such as Google, Amazon, and Converse. Mae shares her insights into setting strategy, executing campaigns, and the importance of building authentic partnerships across social platforms. 
They discuss how Mae’s Obviously blog focusing on what social media should be, acted as a springboard to launching her influencer agency in 2014, which last year was acquired by WPP. 
Tune in to find out about the future of the Creator Economy, hear tips about how brands should collaborate with creators, and how niche content and penetrating sub-communities is an effective way of reaching the most committed audiences.

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Lives of Tomorrow podcast about the macro societal shifts, exploring what they mean for all of us and how they will affect our Lives of Tomorrow.
In this episode, WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi discusses the future of fashion with Jane Shepherdson, the founder of clothing resale and rental company MyWardrobeHQ. Jane is well known for being the former brand director of global retailer TopShop where she pioneered many of the retail trends that remain today, not least the full shopping ‘experience’ – the London flagship offered in-store vintage and individual designer concessions, plus hair styling, a piercing salon and a cafe.
A sustainability champion, Jane discusses the state of fashion, why we must recognise and appreciate the value of clothes, how she’s adopted the Rule of Five and why she set up her rental business MyWardrobe HQ.

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Lives of Tomorrow podcast about the macro societal shifts, exploring what they mean for all of us and how they will affect our Lives of Tomorrow.
In this episode, we discuss the rise of the kidult. At WGSN, ‘kidults’ are simply put, adults that shop like children. Adults around the world are escaping the polycrisis and finding comfort in buying toys and rekindling experiences from their childhoods through play.
We’ve been closely tracking this trend and today we hear from Genevieve Cruz, LEGO Group’s Head of Product – Senior Director within Adults Global Marketing to find out how the brand is engaging AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) and pioneering and leaning into this trend.
Gen explains how LEGO strategises to capitalise on this consumer shift, how playdates are revolutionising the LEGO world, and about the different sub-communities shaping the future of how we play with LEGO.
Tune in to hear why more adults are turning to LEGO as a pastime, the future of the kidult trend, and how building blocks are a unifying antidote to doom-scrolling.

Hello and welcome to the fortnightly Lives of Tomorrow podcast about the macro societal shifts, exploring what they mean for all of us and how they will affect our Lives of Tomorrow.
We are forecasting Glimmers for 2026. If you don’t know what they are, consider them the inspiring, positive antidote to triggers. Glimmers describe micro-moments of joy, and psychotherapist Deb Dana joins WGSN’s CEO Carla Buzasi to discuss this emerging customer sentiment, an evolution of awe that we forecast for 2024.
Deb Dana defines glimmers as ‘small moments of positivity that can combat negative emotions’. In 2026 we will see glimmers become a prized coping tool. Find out why glimmers coexist with suffering and how opening yourself up to these simple moments of joy can help you move forward and lead you to seek out more. 
Tune in to hear Carla and Deb discuss polyvagal theory, how glimmers can crop up in the most mundane, everyday places, and how important it is to share the joy. 

In this episode we discuss ageing. We are all living longer and this is creating consumer shifts, opportunities and imperatives for age-positive products and services. 
WGSN’s CEO Carla Buzasi welcomes fashion influencer Lyn Slater, aka the accidental icon to talk about life after influencing, the narrative around ageing, the lack of women over 50 represented in advertising and the challenges of being yourself as your body begins to change. This former professor of social work, now retired fashion influencer, writes about this and more in her new book ‘How To Be Old: Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon‘. 
The conversation meanders from reflections on the world of fashion bloggers and influencers to the advantages of multigenerational living and why ageing closer to death, encourages Slater to embrace living life in the moment and to its fullest. Hopeful about the future of ageing, Slater is keen that more older women should be “blowing it up and inviting young women to ask us those hard questions” – tune into this episode to hear just that.
At WGSN we’ve been tracking the rise of age compression since 2015 and are forecasting the dismantling of age-related stereotypes for 2026, as we all embrace a more inter-generational world – you can sign up to read more about this here.