Crochet is emerging as a major summer fashion trend across both luxury and high-street fashion, appearing in womenswear, menswear, bags, footwear, headwear, and other accessories.

It is making a comeback from earlier fashion cycles, gaining popularity through its textured design appeal, boho styling, vacation-ready aesthetic, strong social media visibility, and celebrity styling featuring Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, and others.

Its appeal is rooted in associations with handmade craftsmanship, authenticity, breathability, individuality, and slow-fashion values.

Its real-world use raises questions around practicality, structure, durability, maintenance, and repairability, and whether it works beyond visual appeal.

Crochet products are not always handmade, and especially when it comes to fast fashion they are industrially produced for scalability, using lace knitting or embroidery techniques that imitate crochet.

Despite the perception that crochet uses natural materials like wool or cotton, most mass-market versions rely on synthetic fibers such as acrylic or polyester for cost efficiency, leading to faster pilling, reduced breathability, and weaker suitability for summer wear.

Garments lack structure and defined shape, follow the body’s natural form, and frequently come without lining, requiring additional underlayers, increasing styling effort and overall cost of wear.

Bags lack rigidity, especially if unlined or unsupported, causing them to distort in shape when filled.

Crochet items are prone to snagging, pulling, and stretching due to their loosely stitched structure, leading to visible damage and a quickly worn-out appearance.

They need hand washing due to their delicate structure, increasing the effort, time, and care required for everyday maintenance.

They require professional repair once damaged, as defects spread through surrounding stitches rather than remaining isolated, shortening their lifespan and leading to disposal.

GLP-1 (Glucagon-Like Peptide-1) medications, originally developed over two decades ago to treat type 2 diabetes, are now globally prescribed for rapid weight loss.

Available as injections and more recently in oral forms, they work by slowing digestion, signalling fullness to the brain, and reducing appetite and calories intake.

Rapid weight loss from these medications results in “Ozempic Face” with facial changes such as volume loss, sagging, wrinkles, hollowed eyes, and reduced elasticity, as the skin doesn’t contract as quickly as the fat disappears.

Many skincare products are emerging, marketed specifically for GLP-1 users, raising questions about whether they are genuinely novel and effective or repackaging of existing ingredients for a trending audience.

During treatment, sharp reduction in food intake leads to lower protein and nutrient levels affecting skin at a cellular level. 

Individuals with lower baseline collagen reserves or with thinner or older skin show more pronounced skin changes.

GLP-1 skincare products are marketed with formulations including multi-peptide complexes, amino acids, hyaluronic acid, bakuchiol (a plant-based retinol alternative), and antioxidants.

These ingredients are already well-established in traditional skincare for years, known to improve skin hydration, signal collagen production, and enhance surface-level texture. 

Clinical trials specific to GLP-1 skincare remain scarce, while manufacturers’ own studies have yet to demonstrate superior efficacy over existing products.

Topical skincare can only improve surface-level skin quality and cannot restore lost facial volume or reverse structural skin laxity - a limitation often underplayed in marketing.

Experts consistently maintain that visible restoration of firmness and volume can only happen through clinical treatments such as, radiofrequency therapy, micro-needling, laser therapy, hyaluronic acid fillers, or collagen-stimulating injectables. 

Protein coffee, famously known on TikTok as “proffee”, is coffee mixed with protein powder, high-protein milk, or a ready-to-drink protein beverage.

It is the newest product in a decade-long protein craze, where protein has become the food industry’s dominant marketing claim and is increasingly added to everyday foods like yogurt, cereals, chocolate bars and even water.

The main appeal of protein coffee is convenience, combining caffeine and protein intake into one drink for people who skip breakfast or want a quick post-workout option.

While protein supports muscle repair and satiety, combining it with coffee doesn't create any unique nutritional advantage, suggesting its popularity is driven more by wellness marketing than by scientific evidence.

Major brands have quickly commercialised the trend. In 2024, Starbucks launched a high-protein ready-to-drink coffee range in UK supermarkets, while Jimmy’s Iced Coffee introduced a protein iced coffee line in two flavours.

Most UK adults already meet their recommended daily protein intake through regular meals, meaning many people buying protein coffee are paying extra for nutrients that their diet is already providing.

Despite being marketed for weight loss, protein in excess amounts is unlikely to benefit most people, except in older adults or competitive athletes, and may instead cause kidney diseases and weight gain.

Research shows that consumers consistently perceive products labelled “high protein” as healthier overall, even when sugar, calorie, and sodium content remain identical to unlabelled versions, a documented psychological effect, a.k.a. “health halo effect”.

This effect is visible in many proffees, which often contain artificial sweeteners, emulsifiers, stabilisers, creamers, and flavourings despite their health-focused branding, a detail consumers rarely scrutinise.