PURE PURPLE
Anne-Liese Prem works at the interface of technology and culture. The focus is also on fashion, beauty, lifestyle and sustainability.
You are a future trends expert. How does someone get that job?
Even as a child, I was interested in everything new. But
there wasn’t much going on in my home town. So as a teenager,
I regularly took the train into the city and bought the
Wallpaper magazine or the American Vogue – there was no
internet back then. Later on I studied economics and took
courses in trend forecasting and future insights.
With your agency tomorrow stories, you now research trends for
businesses and give presentations. What’s important here?
We are currently experiencing a transformation like never
before thanks to artificial intelligence, virtual reality and
Web 3.0. I help companies look beyond the hype to find out
what’s really important and how they can incorporate these
innovations into their strategies.
And how do you identify key trends?
I’ve built up a wide network of sources over 20 years. I work
with global partners and have a good sense of what has future
potential. Trend scouting is like surfing: at some point,
you know exactly when a good wave is coming and when
and how it will break.
You lived in Africa for seven years and headed up a women’s magazine,
among other things. What developments did you observe?
It was exciting to see how global trends are absorbed and
passed on in another culture. Many of them even originated
in Africa. For example, Rwanda was the first country to ban
plastic bags in supermarkets. I discovered interesting sustainability
initiatives, as well as trends in telecommunications,
community building and healthcare.
How do you see the future of fashion?
It will be mainly shaped by the increased merging of real and
digital life. In the future, products will be connected to virtual
worlds and we will spend an increasing amount of time
putting on our digital avatars. Fashion production will be
optimised with AI and will therefore be more individual and
sustainable.
What big change can we prepare for?
We trend researchers already call the 2020s the “Transformation
20s”. AI and robotics will set the pace. Entire industries
are changing, jobs are disappearing and new ones are being
created. It’s important to stay on the ball and keep on
developing.
You are a future trends expert. How does someone get that job?
Even as a child, I was interested in everything new. But
there wasn’t much going on in my home town. So as a teenager,
I regularly took the train into the city and bought the
Wallpaper magazine or the American Vogue – there was no
internet back then. Later on I studied economics and took
courses in trend forecasting and future insights.
With your agency tomorrow stories, you now research trends for
businesses and give presentations. What’s important here?
We are currently experiencing a transformation like never
before thanks to artificial intelligence, virtual reality and
Web 3.0. I help companies look beyond the hype to find out
what’s really important and how they can incorporate these
innovations into their strategies.
And how do you identify key trends?
I’ve built up a wide network of sources over 20 years. I work
with global partners and have a good sense of what has future
potential. Trend scouting is like surfing: at some point,
you know exactly when a good wave is coming and when
and how it will break.
You lived in Africa for seven years and headed up a women’s magazine,
among other things. What developments did you observe?
It was exciting to see how global trends are absorbed and
passed on in another culture. Many of them even originated
in Africa. For example, Rwanda was the first country to ban
plastic bags in supermarkets. I discovered interesting sustainability
initiatives, as well as trends in telecommunications,
community building and healthcare.
How do you see the future of fashion?
It will be mainly shaped by the increased merging of real and
digital life. In the future, products will be connected to virtual
worlds and we will spend an increasing amount of time
putting on our digital avatars. Fashion production will be
optimised with AI and will therefore be more individual and
sustainable.
What big change can we prepare for?
We trend researchers already call the 2020s the “Transformation
20s”. AI and robotics will set the pace. Entire industries
are changing, jobs are disappearing and new ones are being
created. It’s important to stay on the ball and keep on
developing.
CREDITS
Photography: Sima Dehgani, Production: Vanessa Zeeh, Production assistance: Emma Gültzow, Hair & Make-up: Liset Garza/NinaKlein Artist Management, Photo assistance: Priscillia Grubo
Photography: Sima Dehgani, Production: Vanessa Zeeh, Production assistance: Emma Gültzow, Hair & Make-up: Liset Garza/NinaKlein Artist Management, Photo assistance: Priscillia Grubo
