Ever ask Siri "What’s trending?"

Recently, I did, and she told me the Top 100 Trending Topics in the US Right Now. From the list top down, I almost stopped reading at #8 Drunk elephant, but definitely stopped at #46 Banana ketchup. This exercise unearthed a buried memory from my past which I found to be both comedic and prescient.

The final project for my final business class in my final semester of college, was to construct a Business Plan. My team and I created one for a proposed retail store named Toulouse LaTrend: Wearable Art, Modern Clothes and Etcetera. So clever, so mod. Trendy wear by Fiorucci, YSL and Calvin Klein, Betsy Johnson body suits, leather jeans, t-shirts, gold jewelry, button pins, and “fancy smoking devices,” whatever that was. At the Short Hills Mall aka The Mall at Short Hills, no less. The advertising plan, paid for by manufacturers’ allowances, included free LaTrend match books, free cappuccino in LaTrend mugs, a pinball machine, live music, and a mailing list acquired at checkout. What were we thinking?!

The project got an “A-.” The professor’s comments on our business plan read: “This concept might make it if done right. People will come from Short Hills, Summit, Livingston, Bernardsville, Far Hills, etcetera.” Guess what year this was? The correct answer gets you that cappuccino!

Back to Art Market Trends.

New York City remains the trendsetter in the Art Market. Everyone buys online, mostly sight unseen, relying on their dealer’s advice. However, there’s an undercurrent return to in-person shopping as fear of Covid decreases and people want tactile experiences. I’ll take that ball and run with it!

NFTs are going nowhere until platforms settle down and away from short term trading. Cultural Economist Clare McAndrew reported that “NFTs are bought and resold within around one month (versus the average resale period on the art market of 25 to 30 years).” For an art investor and collector, I’d like to see the metaverse / blockchain preserve provenance and be an understandable, user-friendly, super safe steward of one’s legacy collection forever. Good luck on all that.

Some things seem not to change and yet, remain trendy. Recent TikTok “trending” data (reported at an appraisal conference I recently attended) posted these most hashtag viewed (luxury) brand keywords:

1. Gucci 13,605,100 views

2. Rolex 11,702,900 views

3. Louis Vuitton 2,084,700 views

4. Dior 282,700 views

5. Chanel 163,101 views

These luxury brands have been indomitable for decades. Wall Street Journal’s Weekend magazine appears entirely fueled by these firms, along with Balenciaga, Prada, Hermes, et al.

Here’s my personal take on “If I could, I would own:”

1. A compelling work about social justice by Hank Willis Thomas

2. A painting from 50 Contemporary Women Artists (Schiffer, 2018), authored by our Marketing Director Heather Zises

3. Reclaim my rock t-shirts from the 70s and 80s

4. A David Hockney swimming pool painting

5. A Hermes Birkin bag AND a Kelly bag

6. An Olympic Gold Medal

Millennials (age 25-40-ish) seem to like “investing” in alternative asset classes, including experimenting with NFTs. At least a third of millennial collectors have purchased on Instagram. A 2021 Forbes +UBS report on their art buying habits said they were the highest spenders on fine art in 2020, with an average spend of $228,000! Who are these people? A third of them spent over $1M on art? Really? I need to do some more research here. In collecting, in general, Millennials, in general, are pursuing:

• Diversity

• Fresh to Market

• Designer Sneakers

• Trading Cards

• Vintage Guitars

• Vintage Games

• Blending Antique and Modern Design Furnishings

GenZ’ers are not-so-much luxury buyers according to Bain & Co. They’re more into sustainability and upcycling, streetstyle and sports. They like vintage and handmade goods, skate culture and music, anything that offers personality, transparency, and unfiltered authenticity. Even the Louis Vuitton x Supreme and the Dior x Air Jordan collaborations felt more organic to them.

I can tell you, too, what people are NOT buying, but you already know that. Until next time…Carpe diem!

-Authored by Lynn Magnusson, President + Heather Zises, Marketing Director