The past year+ has put a strain on the world, throughout every facet of life, and as spring begins to bloom, so does another chapter of our “new normal”. Most of us were alone or holed up with family waiting for the world to open and now with restrictions easing, so does our entrance back into society. Heading out into the world again, gracing the streets in our pandemic binge-buys, many of us have a new look and it’s all thanks to quarantine.
In a recent article in GQ, columnist Phillip Picardi examines quarantine trends, scruff in particular, and why is sticking around post-lockdown. Speaking about the many stages of men's styling and how it’s changed throughout lockdown, Picardi goes on to conclude that during our time at home, many of us have been “liberated from expectations.” And now, we’re curious if things will ever go back to normal?
If you poll the average consumer, half of them are content sticking to their sweatpants and sneaker uniform while the other half can’t wait to hit up their barber or throw on a pair of Louboutins. Spending our time, mostly with ourselves, our shape of what is “fashionable” is less shaped by the world we live in and more by the constructs we’ve created in our own personal world. Although in isolation, by stepping away from our desks, in-office culture, and weeknight happy hours, we’ve also stepped away from the social norms we had to fit in to — ie. clean-shaven, freshly cut, or perfectly coiffed locks and found a new way to express our inner selves.
While this time away has, in some regards, allowed us to get “lazy” it has also allowed us to experiment with our looks and re-examine what our style actually says about us. There is no doubt in our mind that clients will return to salons in troves, and if you’ve tried to book an appointment lately you know this to be true. But, on the other side, we’ll see very different requests than we would have pre-pandemic. As we return to cafes, bars, and beaches, we’ll notice longer silhouettes for men and more tailored yet effortless looks for women. The embrace of natural texture patterns will be widespread and accompanied by natural hair colors, but we'll also see bright shapes and bold hues as clients everywhere will be looking for new ways to embrace their true selves. If we follow historical events, these post-pandemic "roaring twenties" will be a time of creativity and exploration and we can't wait to see what unfolds.
