Five Forecasts for 2022
I have been doing these forecasts for over two decades, sharing a few headlines for this year. This is a particularly difficult year to forecast, so it may be foolhardy to go public this year, but then, this is a year for putting oneself out there, fully masked. That is the first peek into the year ahead already.
- Fashion – we shall see more tailored looks emerge with more relaxed silhouettes. The pajama party comes to an end but the relaxed shapes continue as overly structured elements dominate. Hair becomes a major accessory again, signalling the calibration of the interaction. I want to see crafted elements emerge rather than loud collars or winged sleeves and am willing this to happen.
- Business continues to grow with value tending to those with sound foundational values: product over sales, commitment to customer, care at the core of all that they do. Value creation follows these three, even as the road turns a bit more rocky for most medium and small businesses. This is a good year for partnerships to build reach, even before scale. Super scaled businesses continue to dominate, of course, as customers seek brand as a proxy for reliability.
- Food tends to get more traditional and minimalistic. We find the sourdoughs of 2020 continue their run as do variations on potatoes and other basics. Home chefs seek to simplify their life so meal prep is an opportunity for local businesses, for support services and for self help,writers. If I were smart, I’d be writing a clean eating complex flavours comfort food cookbook.
- Fiction and stories go back to the two extremes, each escapist in different ways. Stories of mile struggle with happy endings, good looking people finding refuge in money and relationships will succeed. Simple stories that help people us escape to simpler times will prevail. Deep dystopia and other world stories will balance out the sappy comfort seeking trend, but here too the dire landscapes and desperate challenges will offer comfort to the reader in finding companionship to the daily heroism that the year will expect from many of us. Our stories will seek to create winning worlds.
- The keyword of the year is going to be ‘Transform’. You will see it creeep up in work presentations, in titles, in advertisements too with variations on the theme. We will either be asked to transform, or to admire the transformation of others. This comes as an act of renewal, and an affirmation of survival. It is reflective of the effort we put in to create hope and safety in the world where we discover ourselves anew.
Meeta Sengupta, wishing us all a safe, secure, satisfying year ahead.
Meeta W Sengupta 