July Trends... From our Insider Panel.

Hi and welcome to the trends article.

This month’s Vox Pop delves into the life of our London Town girl Victoria.

After a rather traumatic few months of revision and exams for the 18 year old, Vix has taken time out of her lackadaisical summer plans to share her future aspirations, as well as some of her favourite brands.

Plus... as normal we’ll ask our panel to cast their opinion on some notable trends that have caught our eye this month!! We have 12 no nonsense 14-24 year olds, that aren’t scared of voicing their opinion... no matter how critical it may be!!

They’ll also be asked to mark each individual contender out of 10... giving us a ‘top tip’ to look out for.

As a special feature this month we’ve also got the low down from 15 year old Claudia on the trauma that is GCSE’s! As we all probably remember from our old school days (even if they are longer ago than we would like to admit), GCSEs dominate pretty much your entire time at school. Claudia has just finished hers and tells us all about GCSE’s from a 2009 pupil’s perspective! Check out Claudia’s insightful piece after this month’s top trends.

Feature Blog

For this month’s feature blog we’ll be introducing you to another one of our very own trends panel members! This month we meet Vix, a talented musician and keen traveller.

The A-Level students’ creative piece describes her plans to eventually enter the world of advertising, however before that she plans to take a gap year in Canada and study the History of Art at York or Nottingham.

Take a look at the link below to check out this artistic clip...

Next month we’ll reveal the secret life of yet another panel member. If you’ve got any questions you’d like us to ask, get in touch!! In the mean time, it’s time to see what Vix and our eager panel posy have to say on the newest set of trends...

TOP 5 JULY TRENDS

INVENTIVE SUMMER SPORTS

Forget walks in the country, or even visiting your local skate park this summer. Why not try something new and quirky...

In fact, why don’t you try a spot of Sumo Wrestling? Well that’s exactly what NYC trend reporter/jewellery designer Jovana Djuric did.

Sumo in the Park, an all-female sumo wrestling league was held in Prospect Park a couple weeks ago and attacked the attention of commuters in their hundreds.

So not to be out done, we’ve decided to set up our own Asian inspired games... Kabaddi In the Park, to be held in Hyde Park, London.

But what’s Kabaddi I hear you cry? Well, it’s a team sport originally from India.

Two teams occupy opposite halves of a field and take turns sending a "raider" into the other half, in order to win points by tagging or wrestling members of the opposing team; the raider then tries to return to his own half.

Please bear in mind this is all whilst holding their breath!! Watch this space...

RATING; 6/10

COMMENTS;

• 2/10; I definitely wouldn’t have a go at female sumo wrestling or Kabaddi... I’d much rather stick with the more conventional sports that don’t involve holding my breath or pushing someone around!
• 10/10; It’s always nice to bring continental sports over to the UK, not sure about the sumo one though. I don’t want some big ‘un flattening me.
• 6/10; Not a fan of any form of wrestling and I don’t think it’s a very feminine sport, or flattering! The Kabaddi sounds fun though, and it’s something different which is good... could be a laugh to watch!

FAKE FRIENDS BUSINESS BOOMING!!

Planning a party? Guest list looking a little thin? Well a Japanese firm could have the solution for you...

Office Agents, a Tokyo based company, rents out friends, colleagues and even relatives for a hefty sum... and for a worst case scenario they can even send you a stand-in lover.

Describing the necessary credentials for his "fakers", Mr Mizutani told The Telegraph: "They are cheery and clean and look like they have regular jobs."

Despite the current economic climate, Office Agents continues to thrive as the socially challenged try to beef up their guest lists.

So the next time you’re at a party, just think, how many are actually ‘real’ friends?!

RATING; 4/10

COMMENTS;

• 8/10; I think this is a hilarious idea! Obviously there are going to be problems with consistency when people ask to see ‘that hilarious friend from work’ again, but it’s a fun idea. Surely just a ‘friends only’ escort agency though?
• 4/10; This is a bit surreal. I would be a bit disappointed if I had to pay for guests at my own wedding but if your desperate to impress then it’s a good idea, I guess.
• 0/10; Weird and creepy

PEUGEOT METROMORPH

The cars featured in Minority Report may not be as far away as you think...

Peugeot’s Metromorph concept is designed to face the ever-growing issues of metropolitan cities... parking!

No longer will you have to fight for the last remaining spot. Simply drive up the wall of your building, park up and step into your rather plush flat.

That’s right, not only is your sleek new toy a means of transportation, it also transforms into a balcony.

Not convinced? Take a peak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO-yonpKjq4

RATING; 6/10

COMMENTS;

• 6/10; Ridiculously clever but who would drive one of those?!!
• 2/10; Ugly car design and I don’t really understand how it would become a balcony. I think more design concepts and research into target markets would be needed for this to take off.
• 9/10; Well that's my first car sorted!!!

POTTY TAIWAN RESTAURANT

Whilst the financial crisis continues to strangle businesses, companies continue to look for quirky ways to make them stick out from their competitors.

Check out Taiwan’s Modern Toilet (http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/about.asp).

Set up in 2004, the hugely successful restaurant chain started off selling poo-shaped ice cream, presented in containers shaped like squat toilets.

Since then, Modern Toilet have taken things a step further as diners can now enjoy a full dining themed experience...

Eating noodles out of a toilet bowl, yummy!!

RATING; 6/10

COMMENTS;

• 10/10 This is a brilliant idea, and it’d be great if this sort of thing became widespread.
• 7/10 Clearly a great idea but why aren’t we seeing any if it is really that good?
• 8/10 Great idea, reduces the commonly hated sight of them and the space issues.

OLD SCHOOL CASSETTE WALLETS

One of most popular and now redundant forms of listening to music has finally been made into something more useful...

CASSETTE WALLETS!!

This old school design might be lost on Gen Z, however it should have most Gen Y’s clambering over their mouse’s to get hold of the one-off wallets.

All designs are complete one-offs and handmade by Italian designer Marcella Foschi.

A definite purchase for any 80’s child!!

RATING; 8/10

COMMENTS;

• 10/10; THESE LOOK SO AMAZING – I WOULD KILL FOR ONE THEY ARE JUST TOO BRILLIANT!
• 4/10; There is a reason why MP3’s were invented.
• 8/10; Shame Father’s Day has just gone, I’d have got him one of these!!!!

Round Up

A month dominated by Asian inspired trends saw the old school cassette wallets scrape top spot.

Our panel loved the ‘once it’s gone, it’s gone’ uniqueness, plus they couldn’t get enough of the 80’s inspired design.

At the other end of the spectrum, it was Japan’s Office Agents that saw the brunt of the backlash. One Insider commented: Why would you want to share your wedding vows with complete strangers... it’s truly ludicrous.