SUBSTACK: Cards, Croissants and Cannibalism

The Hype Edit

Slow living: the new wellness mindset 🧘🏽‍♀️

One of the most notable lifestyle trends shaking things up right now is rooted in a deep desire to detox and unplug. To step back from the 9-5, always-on hustle culture and find a more grounded, peaceful way of living that prioritises quality over quantity, and rituals over routines. Think: journaling, cooking from scratch, nature walks and swapping fast fashion for a sustainable capsule wardrobe. Thanks to post-pandemic burnout and economic stresses, it’s no wonder people want to strip back, relax and slow things down. Vacations are becoming more immersive and kinder to the environment with travellers trading jam-packed week-long itineraries for longer-term stays, luxury retreats and scenic train journeys. The slow living movement is even dictating content preferences, with an uptake in longform newsletters, a return to blogging and lengthier video storytelling. Who hasn’t found themselves dreaming of stepping off the hamster wheel, leaving it all behind and moving to Italy to stomp grapes and raise goats? Just me?

Coffee and a croissant? The new brand experience 🥐

Dominated by the fashion & beauty industry, and spearheaded by influencer-founded brands in particular - the resurgence of IRL events (namely pop-ups and immersive experiences) has been one of the biggest marketing trends of recent months. In a bid to connect in person with their communities and drum up some good old-fashioned publicity, brands have invested in limited-time activations designed to attract footfall and curry favour with customers. Whether it be REFY beauty’s French-style café offering free coffee and croissants during Paris Fashion Week, Rhode’s pop-up photo booth or Summer Fridays’ Jet Lag collection launch in Covent Garden, offering branded flower bouquets, product samples and cups of hot chocolate - the list of brands embracing this tactic is ever-expanding. Marketers are definitely reaping the rewards of giving back to customers by offering freebies, chances to interact with merchandise and network with like-minded shoppers. Coffee carts and cafés in particular are shining, with Laura Mercier, TALA, Blank Street, Armani, Diptyque, FENDI and more following suit.

A taste for Femgore: Literature’s latest trend 🥩

One of the biggest new book releases in recent month is Lucy Rose’s folklore-inspired tale of Mother and Daughter cannibalism: The Lamb. The story follows 11-year-old Margot, who has grown up dining on human flesh. Evoking a sense of a Bones And All - Girl With All The Gifts mashup, this new release is definitely on BookTok’s TBR. What might seem an unsettling or unusual narrative is actually indicative of a rising theme that sees the book market embracing a new wave of feminine gore-horror exploring boundary-pushing feminine rage and unsavoury bloodlust. It’s no wonder the appetite for body horror, as explored in recent films, The Substance and Nosferatu, is expanding into the literary sphere. And with new offerings from Catherine Dang and Corinne Leigh Clark expected later this year, reader’s appetite (sorry) for femgore is set to endure.

Modern Mysticism: Is reading tarot the new party trick? 🎴

It’s not just angel numbers and horoscopes that are infiltrating mainstream practices today. There has been a significant uptake in interest around spirituality. Most recently, tarot readers have emerged as the latest form of entertainment on the celebrity party circuit. Stylist Magazine reported this month on the fact that Amelia Dimoldenberg hired eclectic witch and intuitive Semra Haksever and Oracle card reader Desiree Diaz Garcia to give readings at her annual Valentine’s ball, whilst author and podcaster Elizabeth Day tapped Miss Leigh Ding to predict guests’ futures at a recent launch party. Meanwhile private members’ club Soho House offers brands its own resident tarot expert for events. It is no wonder people are turning to psychics to give them guidance in a world as unstable as ours. I expect to see tarot influencers experiencing an uptick in commissions in the coming weeks, with brands leaning in to mystical experiences. Something witchy this way comes…

That’s all for now. Check in next time for more hype. 🖤