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Zendaya and On explore movement as creative world-building

Shape of Dreams by On breaks through the algorithm, offering viewers a moment distraction and rediscovery with its playful narrative and minimal branding, US

Global – Swiss performance sportswear company On and actress Zendaya have unveiled their first co-created footwear and apparel collection, blending performance and everyday style through refined silhouettes, colour and texture.

The collection is brought to life through Shape of Dreams, a surrealist campaign film directed by Academy Award-winning film-maker Spike Jonze. Set within Zendaya’s conceptual Dream Lab, the film treats creation as a fluid, visual language, where garments are continuously reworked in real time. Outfits stretch, shrink and morph as they move through shifting environments, while silhouettes evolve, materials transform and ideas are refined on screen.

A stark contrast to AI aesthetics, the silent film leans on stop motion techniques and Zendaya’s facial expressions to inject the campaign with emotion. The inherently labour-intensive nature of stop motion makes the human hand feel present in every frame. In The Future Laboratory’s Human by Design report, we explore how authentic human content is becoming a premium, as creators return to imperfect, craft-led creative processes that bring tactility and human expression to the fore.

Strategic opportunity

Use craft-led, visibly human production methods to signal authenticity and emotional value, turning process into a differentiator that builds deeper audience connection in an increasingly AI-saturated visual landscape

Jolene’s hype bakes hit London’s Soho in Aries in-store bakery

Photography by James Hole for Jolene, UK

UK – North London bakery Jolene is opening its first Soho location inside the flagship store of streetwear brand Aries, marking a continued convergence of food, fashion and retail.

Set within Aries’ 4,000-square-feet store, the bakery will extend the brand environment beyond product into lifestyle, with collaborative merchandise – including T-shirts, mugs and caps – available exclusively in-store. All baked goods will be produced at Jolene’s Hornsey Road site, which recently increased output to meet growing demand.

With more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, Jolene is a Hype Bakes institution, drawing large weekend queues across its locations for upmarket pastries such as blood orange Danishes with hazelnut frangipane.

Aries is partnering with Jolene to share customers, increase cultural clout and drive dwell time and footfall. The collaboration reflects insights from our Culture-coded Retail macrotrend, as brands increasingly use their bricks-and-mortar spaces to layer in cultural experiences.

Strategic opportunity

Map your target audience’s spending habits and lifestyle behaviours to identify cross-sector partners that can strengthen your brand identity, attract aligned communities and deepen engagement through shared, experience-led touchpoints

Stat: Why preventative health is still out of reach

The Shire photography by Lauren Kay, UK

UK – Healthcare retailer Holland & Barrett has revealed a disconnection between intention and action in UK wellbeing behaviour.

The high street retailer and Ipsos surveyed more than 5,000 UK adults for the From Reactive Repair to Proactive Maintenance: The State of the Nation’s Health 2026 report. The study showed that while 74% believe good habits prevent future illness, 45% only act when something goes wrong, despite 59% planning to prioritise health in the year ahead.

Clarity remains a barrier, with 37% unsure what their body needs and 78% only visiting a doctor when absolutely necessary. Access is also uneven, with just 45% nationally reporting easy local healthcare access, dropping to 34% in Northern Ireland.

As Longevity Lifestyles become a cultural priority, fractured access, limited understanding and declining trust in healthcare systems are accelerating a shift towards brand-led ecosystems of preventative care.

In response, Holland & Barrett has launched its Back Your Body initiative, which aims to reach 10m people annually by 2030 through education, diagnostics and community-based services, positioning the high street as a non-clinical gateway to proactive health.

Strategic opportunity

Make Longevity Lifestyles accessible to all by developing services that educate and inform, translating complex health data into simple, practical guidance across everyday touchpoints to close gaps in access, knowledge and trust