SMOKING IS BACK
Those clouds of smoke aren’t an illusion - smoking is making a comeback, and it’s not just on the big screen.
MOVEMENT: 001
The Leonard Bernstein drama Maestro, the nuclear-bomb epic Oppenheimer, the visceral gothic tale Saltburn, the ’70s-set The Holdovers, and the gay love story All of Us Strangers all treat smoking as a visual language offering clues about a person or a time and place.
Pair that with a passionately stressed out generation of teens and young adults seeking the Tik-Tok lifestyles of far away places and you’ve got the proverbial spark.
In a 2022 survey by the meditation app Calm, 58% of Gen Zers said they felt anxious frequently or all the time — a big jump from the one-third of Gen Xers and one-quarter of baby boomers who said the same. The most common cause of their anxiety — the future.
So, is it any surprise younger people are stepping out, taking a moment, and sparking up? Their idols of past and present are. If stress is the real killer, why not tackle that hurdle first.
A silver lining - yes, there is one.
Stress isn’t the only thing plaguing our youth. 73% of Gen-Z report feeling alone sometimes or always, and people who experience social isolation have a 32% higher risk of early death.
It’s a strange paradox, Gen-Z are hyperconnected in the virtual world but socially disconnected in the real one. So what?
Well, up to 80% of young adults who smoke, do so socially. Social smoking isn’t anything new - ask anyone who smokes - but when the numbers surrounding social smoking are outpacing those around traditional smoking for the first time ever, it’s worth paying attention to.
Has our youth, despite their appetite for consumption and over-stimulation established a ‘healthy’ relationship with smoking in an effort to curb their social anxieties?
“We’re having a very sexy and ethereal 1980s revival, and smoking is part of that. A lot of people I know are posting pictures doing it. I’m doing it. It’s having its moment for sure.”
Kat Frey, 25. Brooklyn
MARKET SIGNALS:
01 Heritage influence
The movie theater isn’t the only place you’ll see cues of nostalgia. We will continue to see a desire for thrifted and generally timeless pieces across both Sport and Leisure outfitting. Expect to see trims like contrast piping or binding increase in popularity.
02 Social saturation
Third spaces. Young adults may spend an increasing amount of time online but that doesn’t mean they lack the enjoyment of a curated social environment. Both retail and office space will continue to benefit from an emphasis on interior and social design.
03 Tangible pleasures
Process-oriented tasks. Physical items of interest. Products that distract the passing of time. Young adults itch this craving plenty in the digital world, but don’t underestimate their application or impact in the physical one.
04 Ornate masculinity
Earrings, rings, necklaces, and more will find there way onto the bodies of young men as their desire for attention grows and the societal notions of hetero-masculinity continue to dissolve.
05 Micro-travel
If the future brings you anxiety, you might be more inclined to live in the present. Life’s stresses aren’t keeping young adults from travelling - they’ve opted to feed their wanderlust. Leverage this opportunity to retain young talent with travel-based incentives and/or work accommodations.