What’s trending for 2023?

From sea moss to sweaters for your armchair, discover the key trends that will emerge across the globe in 2023.

WGSN ushers in the new year with our annual forecast on the trends that will shape the industries we cover: Insight, Fashion, Beauty, Interiors, Food & Drink and Consumer Tech. So what can you expect from the Top Trends for 2023 & Beyond?

Explore the biggest trend predictions in our latest podcast episode alongside WGSN CEO Carla Buzasi, Vice President of WGSN Consumer Insight Andrea Bell and Creative Director of WGSN Lisa White. Welcome to 2023.

The spirit of sotol

“I love sotol, which I haven’t heard of until our Food & Drink team brought this to the list for next year. It’s a Mexican spirit that, like lots of other spirits, has been around for decades, if not hundreds of years, but in one particular country and it’s just beginning to gain prominence now outside Mexico. So if anyone’s drank tequila or started drinking mezcal in recent years, we believe sotol will be the next ‘it-spirit’ that you’ll start seeing in cool hipster bars and even your cocktail cabinet.” 
– Carla Buzasi, CEO, WGSN

The end of social media as we know it? 

“DeSo, or decentralised social media, is going to come in incredibly strong for 2023. There’s so many drivers within it. We know the pandemic accelerated the use of social media, but it’s spotlighted some big problems – user control, privacy, misinformation – and this has led to what is essentially a decentralised network. So it’s independent servers not owned by big corporations, similar to blockchain technology, to govern the future of social media.” 
– Andrea Bell, Vice President, WGSN Consumer Insight

Digital goes minimal

“In a recent study in Canada, France, Italy, Germany, UK and US, 47% of respondents said they actively seek downtime from internet-enabled devices due to digital fatigue. Digital fatigue is real. We get so much from social media and digital, but we need to take a break sometimes. It’s interesting because tech brands are starting to respond with what they’re calling ‘calm tech principles’. These are ambient devices that help reduce stress by taking on certain tasks autonomously and delivering more gentle notifications.”
– Lisa White, Creative Director, WGSN

To hear the full discussion, tune into episode 67 of our Create Tomorrow podcast, Top Trends for 2023 – From Sea Moss to Sweaters For Your Armchair, on Anchor, Apple and Spotify.