BackIdeas & Inspiration >> Fall/Winter Trends >> Celebrating Nostalgia
The complexity, intensity and fast-forward energy of today’s over-connected world has sparked consumers’ deep desire to reconnect and seek peace and comfort in the simple pleasures of life. Consumers’ longing to simplify their lives and find solace and serenity in their own reassuring “comfort zone” has fueled a trend towards embracing old-fashioned values and celebrating nostalgia.
Blast from the Past
“Nostalgia is often described as a twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone – a feeling of a place where we ache to go again.”
Consumers yearn for sensory experiences which soothe them, ground them and take them back to their roots reminding them of a more carefree time in their lives.
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
“Christmas – that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible, that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas will always be a day of remembrance – a day in which we think of everything that we have ever loved.”
The holiday season, in particular, seems to transport consumers back to their childhood when the mood was light, happy and joyful.
There is an aura of comfort, simplicity and familiarity exuded during the holiday season which makes consumers realize that their environment does not need to be overly embellished to be beautiful.
Christmasworld 2015 showcased the refined beauty of the handcrafted look as a strong direction for holiday decor products. Additionally, inventive advent calendars also remained a key focus and gold was featured throughout the show giving a bold, luxurious look.
Everything Old is New Again
Marketers have heeded the consumer call for comfort, tradition and authenticity by infusing a nostalgic flair into their creations. This celebration of nostalgia extends across a diverse spectrum of markets from home design, to fabrics and fashion, to food and flavor, beauty, personal care and fragrance.
Similarly, an homage of times past can be seen in all aspects of a creation’s marketing and presentation, specifically color, packaging and logo.
Home Design
As the dog days of summer start to fade, and a crispness fills the air, consumers retreat inside to the sanctuary of their homes, adorning their spaces with items that generate a feeling of comfort, coziness and nostalgia. Design is kept simple, classic and authentic through a mix of antique and vintage hand-me-downs, handmade crafts and newly purchased items.
Fabrics & Fashion
Consumers crave a feeling of security and want to envelop their senses in a blanket of warmth. Fashion marketers are infusing these elements into their creations utilizing tartan, knitwear and velvet. Gold metallic fabrics and embellishments lend an extra spark and warming energy.
Food & Flavor
Choice comfort foods will continue to be a strong trend with a greater array of everyday snacks receiving the luxury treatment and familiar food favorites being accented with a twist or extra pizzazz. Additionally, specialty cafes have become more nostalgic in their themes, menu and decor.Beloved TV show themed cafes (Saved by the Bell, Golden Girls)
- Beloved TV show themed cafes (Saved by the Bell, Golden Girls)
- Decade driven cafes (50’s, 60’s, etc.)
- Comfort food taken to a whole new level – Mac and cheese topped with crushed Cheez-Its, Watermelon pickled in Kool-Aid
Why the increased consumers’ desire for comfort foods? Comfort foods elicit good memories, taking consumers back to their roots and reminding them of more happy-go-lucky days.
In today’s complex, chaotic and often unsure climate, consumers want to feel comforted and safe again, the way they did when they were young and the world seemed simpler.
Comfort food trend watchers say consumers have a feeling of nostalgia regarding flavor, craving the foods they grew up with. Furthermore, they want to enjoy their homes more, choosing to stay in, cook and entertain within their own surroundings.
Color, Packaging & Labeling
The resounding movement towards more restraint, refinement and simplicity has led to a more traditional palette of red, green and gold.
Beauty & Fragrance
The use of scent is one of the most powerful ways to evoke consumers’ memories, and marketers are actively capitalizing on this fact. Through replicating the fragrance of loved foods, holiday traditions, season or sensory memory, the familiarity that is associated with scents is embodied in fragrance creations.
This takes customization one step further into personalization, which celebrates nostalgia through the reflection of familiar experiences — which ultimately initiates intimate connections between the brand and the consumer.
Holiday aromas summon memories of home. Many new products on the market are featuring traditional holiday ingredients, hoping to stir the senses and pull on consumers’ heartstrings by triggering memories of nostalgia and sensorial emotions.
- Bath & Body Works Cozy Vanilla Cream personal care line
- Glade Apple Cinnamon room spray
- Softsoap Alpine Mint Frost body wash
- Caldrea Plum Bergamot Clove personal care and household cleaning line
- Diptyque Epice candle
Yesterday IS News
“If your yesterday was much better than your today, then today you will most probably walk around in your yesterday!”
At the very core of today’s trend towards embracing the past and celebrating nostalgia is the consumers’ inner languishing to hold onto their yesterdays and the simple pleasures, comfort, security and joy they represent.
Fragrance marketers hoping to capture the hearts, minds and spending capital of consumers will need to incorporate an air of nostalgia and simplicity in their branding strategy and position their brands to appeal to the consumers’ overwhelming aspiration to hold onto their history and recreate the magic of their past.
