This demand for MP3 players chimes with a growing interest in so-called “dumb phones”. Searches for handsets not connected to the internet have increased by 270 per cent since December 2021, according to Google Trends data.
There is also pushback against a years-long hype cycle, in which bleeding-edge tech such as NFTs, mixed reality and the metaverse saturated and subsequently disappointed consumers and brands alike. This shift is a relevant factor in LVMH’s strategy to invest in “invisible tech” that’s less in your face, according to LVMH VP of digital innovation Nelly Mensah, who spoke at Vogue Business’s Fashion Futures event in New York last month.
“We’re talking about this trend of people actually getting a little bit overexposed online, starting to understand that their attention is frazzled. These consumers are becoming so aware, they’re actually moving towards, ‘I want a dumb phone’, or, ‘I actually don’t want a big screen. I want something that’s really light.’” The recent popularity of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, whose success is credited in part to their specific ability to blend in, ties in to this, she added.
Smartphones are distracting, but iPods offer a way to “relive the old days, when they were just for music”, says Ana Correa, footwear and accessories strategist at trend forecasting agency WGSN. Meanwhile, the aesthetic of digital and film cameras is inherently romantic; it “looks like how we remember things”, Gen Z creator Katie Glasgow told the BBC.
