The new religion according to Faith
By Carole Sloan -- Furniture Today, August 19, 2002
There's a whole bunch of new stuff out there that could be — and probably is — influencing consumers' views of their homes, their purchases and where they shop.
In a presentation earlier this month to the International Furnishings and Design Assn. chapter in New York, consumer analyst and trend forecaster Faith Popcorn updated her now-two-decades-old cocooning concept and discussed its implications for the future.
Moving beyond the past elements of cocooning, which embraced the home as a sanctuary from the unpredictable events of the outside world, the cocooning of the future will involve a strong home improvement drive, a continued increase in existing home sales, a dramatic increase in people owning two or more homes, and ongoing strong sales of new homes.
Interestingly, in looking ahead, Popcorn discerns trends that she calls "aspirational" and "spiritual" cocooning.
In the former, she pointed to what she calls the "Madison Avenue to Main Street" phenomenon, exemplified by Target's furniture and other home furnishings from designers like Philippe Starck, Michael Graves and Todd Oldham, which bring chic contemporary design to the retailer's mass-market customers.
As if to illustrate just the point that Popcorn was making, Target ran a multipage ad this month in Architectural Digest, the publication that assumes the role of the ne plus ultra in home design and decor.
And what did Target offer the AD reader? Michael Graves product, exclusively at Target, from $19.99 for a coat rack to $99.99 for a bookcase. As one wag said, "It's to attract millionaires who need something for the nanny's room."
But back to Popcorn. She sees women looking for reproductions of luxury looks for their homes. And, in a spiritual vein, she notes a longing for meditation rooms, feng shui and Americana, which she calls the new religion.
