At the beginning of June, Starbucks posted vehement support for Black Lives Matter across its social media channels, and stood in solidarity with the biggest civil rights movement in history. It also sent an internal bulletin to its staff forbidding them to wear any clothing or badges in support of Black Lives Matter for fear of “inciting violence”. 

Once the media got hold of the memo and the public protested online, Starbucks reversed its stance and even created its own Black Lives Matter clothing for employees to wear. 250,000 items were made for staff to wear if they chose to, and the shirt is also available online from unofficial vendors (£14.99).

In 2020, brands are at once all-powerful and completely vulnerable. The dialogue between consumer and company has never been more direct, or more potent. People don’t just want to know what brands sell, they want to know their purpose. Nowadays it isn’t just individuals doing soul-searching, it’s corporations.

The Era of Monomass is Dazed Media’s in-depth trend report which forecasts the influential forces shaping youth culture and shares a guide for how brands need to adapt in this current moment. 

The extensive study shows how the world is changing, offers a reflection on what was, and shares insight into what comes next in a fluctuating landscape for brands and media.

The Era of Monomass report covers data from January 2020 until now, revealing recent behavioural changes in response to Covid-19 with additional interviews in response to the Black Lives Matter protests around the world. “Monomass” is a term coined to describe hyper-individualism and mass trends existing comfortably side by side.

Consulting over 3500 members of the Dazed audience – from the UK, Europe, UAE, USA, Russia, China and beyond, as well as a panel of fifteen expert voices from across fashion, technology, culture, trend forecasting and media – the report has been created by Dazed Studio’s Creative Strategist Izzy Farmiloe and insight consultant Rhianna Cohen.

It explores how the hyper-connectivity and self-surveillance wrought by the age of social media has changed the ways we formulate and articulate our identities. How polarised politics have made us rethink the meaning of leadership as we look for new, more authentic icons. How increased global migration has led to the cross-pollination of cultural reference points. How a global pandemic signals a reversion to analogue values in a digital age.

This report is about people and their shifting perspectives and desires. Coronavirus hasn’t created a dystopia, it’s revealed one. Coronavirus didn’t kill the celebrity, it was already dying. This isn’t cause for alarm, rather an opportunity for reset, and the chance to shape a new world. Consumers are questioning everything – it’s unrealistic to expect to have all the answers, but you’d be wise to ask the same ones they are.

This report has been created by Dazed Studio, our in-house creative studio, placing brands at the heart of global youth culture. Download the full report from the Dazed Studio site here.