World view Asia Love local Across Asia, tensions between traditional and global cultures are giving rise to a desire to embed history within newer cultural expressions, according to qualitative research from Crowd DNA Culture hits hard everywhere, but the impact and pace of change across Asia is particularly compelling. Ideas, concepts and innovations are spreading with greater alacrity than elsewhere. Once there was concern about Americanisation in the region that notion now sounds quaint. The east profoundly influences the west in what is becoming an established trajectory. Brands are facing up to the reality that everything from fitness goals to drinking occasions, and from the meaning of wealth to how purpose is defined, plays out differently. Western brands have long struggled to understand the influence of tradition across Asian cultures. Throw in the intensification of emergent fast culture factors and the challenge is significant. While there is much to be excited about for younger generations across Asia, it does generate some cultural tension. We explored a cognitive dissonance: the desire to be citizens of the world, globally plugged in, versus the innate sense of place, connection and pride in localism. Expressions of fast culture (think food and fashion) are drawing from their slow culture roots (think history and tradition). Driving this is a fear of a rising global monoculture: from fusion foods bearing no resemblance to their inspiration to global home aesthetics getting more identikit. Younger audiences are pushing back from monoculture; were seeing hybridising of old and new, local and foreign. From this comes a fresh way to reflect identity, paving the way for something more personally defined, challenging stereotypes and Western hegemony. Unsurprisingly, in many ways it started in South Korea, with the explosion of the Korean Wave (also known as hallyu), their philosophy of ppalli ppalli meaning fast fast bringing a sense of immediacy to new ideas and how theyre communicated. But it doesnt stop with South Korea. We combined trends analysis and collaboration with members of Kin, Crowd DNAs network of creators and connectors across Asia, to explore how the local love theme is playing out more broadly. They articulated what emerged from this exploration as three shifts. Shift #1: The rise of remix culture In a globalised world, Asian brands are increasingly blending tradition and modernity to reimagine local identity, while still honouring it and appealing to the global mass market. Chinese brands best epitomise this by redefining their local image on the global stage. If made in China has negative connotations, the new refrain is made by China and China chic, showcasing local aesthetics as a competitive advantage and Chinese youths pride at what is distinguishable from global norms. Chinese streetwear is a great example of this. Sankuanz, for example, has been credited by local magazine mRaadii as 14 Impact ISSUE 40 2022_pp14-15 WV Asia.indd 14 13/12/2022 11:21