A new year often brings in the appearance of new trends, and 2018 is no exception. This year brings about an age of greater diversity in movies, choosing self-love over yo-yo dieting and the voices of feminism calling out across many countries, especially the UK who are set to celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage. If you are already up to date with some of this year’s trends, then right now you should be reclining in a bubble bath, wearing a lavender shower cap and drinking something that sparkles, while you read this. If you are doing anything else, then you probably aren’t caught up on what 2018 has on store, so have a read through to find out what the latest crazes are that will be in attendance this year.
Lifestyle
The rise of natural beauty products is expected to take over this year, as people become more conscious of what chemicals they are using on their skin. From vegetable based facemasks to water-infused foundations, it seems the age of natural beauty may be taking the reigns. Astrology is gaining greater recognition this year too, with people actually knowing what terms such as ‘Mercury retrograde’ mean, and many Americans having been excited to see the ‘Super Blue Blood Moon’. Before long people will be quoting your daily horoscopes to you in the street, so you’d better keep a note of what your lunar and solar star signs are!
You’ve probably heard of simple old meditation, but have you heard of breathwork? Breathwork is a type of active therapy which utilizes breathing exercises to improve your physical and emotional wellbeing. There are several ways to practice breathwork, and it is becoming more and more popular for people who are looking to find balance and restore calm within their lives. It is unsurprising that such self-healing trends are becoming more popular, as the trend of practicing self-care continues to be adopted by more and more people. With body acceptance being a staple of the online social world, self-care is widely advertised as being an important part of everyone’s daily routine.
Fashion
Fashion is always changing, and now more than ever a creative appearance is how people are expressing themselves and creating their own personal brand. On the back of the introduction of athleisure clothing being introduced to mainstream fashion, workleisure wear is now making its debut. An emphasis on having comfortable clothing with a dual usage is spreading to the professional industry, so it’s possible you will be seeing less suit trousers and more jeans around the office.
Though trends may die, they almost always make a comeback, and 2018 seems set to be the year of 80’s modernism. The bold color and print is being included in many fashion designs, as well as features such as shoulder pads, sequins and ruffles. Ultra-violet and lavender seem to be the color of choice in run-way fashion, meaning we may well see more shades of purple in high-street stores soon.
Hairstyles
Hair styles and color trends are as interchangeable as clothing styles, if not more, and there are a few new styles which are becoming increasingly popular this year. More and more hair dressing establishments, such as Balance hair colour salon, are offering specialist hair coloring in the form of balayage, the new alternative to highlights and ombré, with a more natural looking result. Balayage, the technique of highlighting hair in brushstrokes to create a graduated color, started to become popular within the masses earlier last year, and continues to be on the rise in 2018. In terms of hair styling, the ‘grown out’ look seems to be the most popular this year. Lengthened pixie cutes, and longer ‘no fuss’ bobs are particularly popular, as are curtain bangs, and the ‘new shag’, with the overall aim being to make high-maintenance hairstyles appear effortless.
Technology and media
New inventions are always being made, and technology innovations are constantly being created. Self-driving cars are in the midst of being developed, despite obvious reservations from some, and high-tech virtual reality systems are being developed for educational and recreational purposes. A new ‘easy flying’ drone has been established which weights only 1.6 pounds and has a top speed of 50 mph. The MARS earbud has been produced to allow people to translate conversation in real time, bridging the ever-shrinking language gap between different nationalities, and the future of functioning robots in our society seems an even more likely this year, with the Loomo robot being created as a delivery bot.
Films have changed a lot over the few years alone, with animation becoming more realistic and 3D films no longer requiring those multicolored red and blue glasses. Nowadays a lot of new films are being debuted online, with Netflix leading the charge into a new era of accessible cinema. A lot of cinema has moved away from having a general purpose of entertainment, and now tackle important topics challenging important social and political issues. Casts are finally becoming more diverse, which is one of the reasons why the film Black Panther is receiving such critical acclaim. Even the way that cinema is shot is changing, featuring more in-movie commentary which breaks the fourth wall, such as in the upcoming film I, Tonya.
The Marvel brand continues to be a popular trend, and the company has several eagerly anticipated films coming out in 2018 beside Black Panther, such as Avengers: Infinity War, and the second Ant-Man movie. Disney are also bringing out a few new films; A Wrinkle in Time being one of them, which being produced based off of the book of the same name. The release of the Incredibles 2 film will also take place later this year. The long-awaited sequel comes 14 years after its predecessor, and will no-doubt be viewed by people spanning over several generations.
These are just a few of the new innovations, trends and styles which are expected to be popular this year, with many more products and crazes set to make an appearance throughout this year.
