2 min
In the last three years, consumers have spent a fair amount of time at home, with fewer opportunities to meet friends and family, go on holidays, and even attend shows and concerts. This uneasy situation has led many to develop an escapist mindset, characterized by the desire for a better future, meshed with nostalgia for the past.
Nostalgia is a huge trend, especially with GenZ, the most awake and interconnected generation ever – and that with the most uncertain future, too. To cope with anxiety about the future, GenZers are taking refuge in a playful, surrealistic interpretation of nostalgia, made of childhood memories and digital playgrounds.
Nostalgia and entertainment
Technology feeds this nostalgic wave with the constant development of innovative multimedia entertainment. Music, cinema, gaming, and social media allow different generations to escape reality and create new worlds, blending reality with the imaginary. Worlds in which much-needed connections and common ground can be developed.
Recent fine fragrance launches have been impacted by the neo-stalgic trend. We see brands playing with vintage, fun, or even childish elements on the packaging and in the communication campaigns.
Inspiration:
1. Moschino Toy 2 Bubblegum with a vintage mood, it’s a tribute to the playfulness of pink bubblegum
2. Kenzo Memori Collection, featuring seven bottles in delicate pastel hues containing scents from the designer’s childhood and featuring notes of mochi
3. Gucci Flora Gorgeous Gardenia with white florals inspired by the 80s and a manga-style publicity campaign with Miley Cirus.
Home escapism
71% of consumers say they enjoy things that remind them of their past or childhood comfort and experimental play.
As a slower cadence is embraced to allow time for recovery and relaxation, home becomes the privileged place for nostalgic experiences. Home designers love products coming from, or reminding the past because they suggest the return to an imaginary past that people feel drawn to a simpler life, no pollution, and solid objects, made to last.
Hyperreal pastel colors, soft textures, and whimsical prints are a huge trend in home design, too. Acting as mood boosters, these features spark joyful escapism, and a sense of well-being consumers are yearning for.
Nostalgia in home fragrances
The main ingredient of nostalgia-inspired air care is optimism. Declined in different directions, optimism spans from familiar comfort to experimental play following three directions:
1- Playful sweet gourmands are reminiscent of the first gourmand scents launched in the 90s. With indulging notes of vanilla, red fruits, chantilly cream, bubblegum, and pistachio, they allow consumers of innocent, little regressions.
2 – Surreal gardens in bloom feature white florals like gardenia, orange blossoms, and jasmine, bursting with optimism and allowing escapism to fantastic worlds.
3- Skin-like scents, characterized by soft, caressing notes like white amber and cocooning musks: comforting, uncomplicated, and close to the skin.
Nostalgia and escapism can be the key to disclosing new successful concepts for your brand: don’t miss this huge opportunity! Contact us for more information; we will support you in designing the most evoking scent for your new projects.
