Anyway, this time Prada has reached back to the Fifties with classic American automobile inspired imagery. While I’m not on board with this, there’s no doubt it’s causing buzz. “With classic car details appearing on their leather handbags, shoes, eyewear and many of their textiles, the new collection has “gotten engines running.”

The Los Angeleno Rock-a-billies have been doing the punk version of this look for decades!

Well, Prada’s not the only luxury brand that’s looking backwards to go forward. Check out the Absolut Vodkas’ lovely art deco style bottles inspired by the heritage of Savile Row’s iconic pinstripe tailoring. The hand-blown, hand-cut and hand-engraved bottle design is way out of most people’s leagues. Only 800 of the clear crystal bottles and a very limited number of the black crystal bottles -only 10- have been made and are priced at $1500 and $10,000 respectively. Prices that only a pin-stripe suit wearing gangster could afford?

The Time Travel™ wave is about looking to the past for familiarity, and in this case: Inspiration. The Human Truth is “By using the past a sanctuary, I feel more connected to to others.”™

Perhaps it’s just personal preference, in fact -it is, but I’ve always been more impressed with products, brands and services that look forward instead of back. Whatever works I suppose!

So when I saw this cool Neverending Story-themed E-Reader cover from Etsy seller GrimcatProductions., I felt all nostalgic.

Hand-crafted from leather and suede, bound with filigree, and embellished with an AURYN. $58.95.”

The Time Travel™ wave is all about that warm fuzzy feeling. It’s about looking back fondly, and the sense of safety that comes along with the familiar. The Human Truth™ is: “By using the past as a sanctuary, I feel more connected to others.”™ This design has the effect of making a modern gadget feel warm and almost antique. As far as “connecting to others”, this is definitely a conversation starter at the coffee house.

Brooks Brothers have dressed Kermie in several outfits in the upcoming film. He’s looking very dapper in a custom-made notch lapel “Fitzgerald”-style tuxedo, pleated tuxedo shirt and butterfly bow tie, and a second outfit pairing a Brooks Brothers flannel coat and trousers with navy pin-striped cashmere scarf.  Adorable.

OPI nail polish has been inspired to release a color called “Fresh Frog of Bel Air”.  Adidas Originals debuted the Superstar 2.0 Kermit at the beginning of the month. The shoe color is fairway-green suede with running-white accents, there’s even Kermit’s signature felt collar over the tongue and the phrase “The Original HipHop” emblazoned on the side in gold lettering ($80 for adults, $50 for children’s, at Adidas’ e-commerce site).

I even saw a some cheeky Muppets gatecrash Saturday Night Live this past weekend.

Time Travel™ is about connecting over memories.  The Human Truth™ is: “By using the past as a sanctuary, I feel more connected to other.”™ Brands love movies like The Muppets because it embodies what most brands would love to be… Iconic.  To attain a loving, warm place in people’s hearts and memories is a rare thing these days.  That’s why when something as “feel good” as the Muppet Movie comes along, brands are rushing to be associated with the fond reminiscences.

Ahhhhh… Childhood.

The widely respected Chicago restaurant Next, will be taking their diners back in time over the coming three months.

“…the chefs wanted to impart an adult interpretation of what childhood meant to them growing up in Michigan (and also partly in Upstate New York in Beran’s case) in the 1970s and ’80s and to evoke memories and spark conversation. Between scents, sounds and more, they quickly achieve their goal. The meal begins with everyone at the table receiving a gift—and who doesn’t like to open a present? This is the start of multiple courses of fun, laughter and reminiscing, while themes from shows like the A-Team and movies like Star Wars sneak into the evening’s playlist.”

What a great example of the Time Travel™ wave deep in action. THIS is exactly the kind of ideas that can be inspired by this wave. The Human Truth™ is: “By using the past as a sanctuary, I feel more connected to others.”™

“You find yourself telling stories with your tablemates as you taste the chicken “noodle” soup, a hearty oversized bowl of warm soup that in actuality has no noodles, but has plenty of memory built in.”

We always connect over shared experiences, and what better way to stroll down memory lane than with friends at the dinner table.

CLICK HERE for video of the Chefs “playing”.

The Time Travel™ wave answers this question.  The Human Truth™ is:  “By using the past as a sanctuary, I feel more connected to others.”™ Many of us are comforted by nostalgia.  Remakes give us something familiar yet new.  Whether it is “art” is another matter, but I really think a vast majority of moviegoers use the cinema as escapism.  Re-imagining stories from their youth makes them feel good.

Well, Ford Australia knows the power of a good reboot!  Check out this clip of their re-imagining of “Interceptors” here.

“Ford has teamed up with Top Gear Australia to create two special-edition Interceptors based on Mad Max, celebrating the upcoming reboot of the movie franchise. One has spiked wheels to shred opponents’ tires, and the other has a giant taser hanging off the front to protect your precious gezzoline”

Pretty slick!  However, probably best that are not slated for public consumption…

So when I came across this quirky idea it struck a chord with me.

“The Typescreen gives you the retro style of a typewriter fully compatible with the high-tech iPad and iPad 2. If you’re wondering, it does type exactly the same way a typewriter does, only no papers needed this time, it will type directly on your iPad”

There is something so iconic about a typewriter.  It conjures images of great novelists crouched over it with a pipe hanging out the side of their mouth, furiously tapping out a masterpiece. Time Travel™ is about “the past as a haven for safety and familiarity”.  As technology changes and evolves so fast these days, it’s no surprise that we hold a certain whimsical affection for the “tools” of the yesteryear.

While they remain popular on Etsy and are coveted by treasure hunters in antique malls, paper dolls see little exposure to the mainstream public. I Love Mel has been making paper dolls for a while now, with a range from Lady Gaga to Blondie, and recently Arrested Development paper dolls hit the internet; not to mention the countless websites that already offer print-out paper dolls.

So I wonder, when will we see them appearing nationwide in magazines or in shops like Urban Outfitters and Hot Topic, and then spreading out from there. Or maybe we’ll see them go digital with an app?

This comes after a viral campaign to win her back of course, and will be followed up with a collectors edition of the two together. The “She Said Yes” set of the two will be priced around $5. Which is what they were during Barbie’s initial release.

While most throwback campaigns simply push a product to the shelf, Mattel went to some pretty impressive lengths to tell the “story” of their reunion. From Ken’s announcements on the NYC jumbotron that said things such as “Barbie, we may be plastic but our love is real” to banners around the city. And when the reunion day came, they had a spokesperson announce their feelings for each other on the Today show.

So when I came across these skinmods, the design geek in me got excited.

For those of you who don’t know, “skins” are like a sticker that serves no real purpose other than to personalize your gadget in a way that you think is cool.

Well I got a kick out of these ones.  There’s something about turning cutting edge technology into retro, analogue “relics” that makes me smile.   Haha “relics”might be overstating it slightly for a paper notebook and a leica camera, but they are definitely “oldschool”.

Time Travel™ is all about the “need for nostalgia” and as new technology reaches dizzying heights sometimes it’s fun to use “the past as a haven of safety and familiarity”.

Recently, gaming blog Kotaku posted an edited trailer to the upcoming L.A. Noire game in black and white. This sparked a lot of thinking, is it time for black and white gaming? And if so, why hasn’t this happened yet? It would make a seedy 1920′s era atmosphere a lot more believeable. And I also think it would fit right into our current obsession with nostalgia.

However, nostalgia alone isn’t the only driver here, something else is coming along that I’ve been calling the double homage, a tribute within a tribute. This idea of double homage has been floating around the Netherlands in the form of 1920′s Dub Step. Essentially taking music from the 1920′s and adding in a modern speed and bass line.

A lot of it plays into the best of Dub from the end of the 90′s, as well as the best big band performances of the 1920′s; once again a double homage. So with this mindset, why haven’t see seen a game that looks like the rest of the entertainment of the era, black and white. It makes sense to relate the two, seeing how accepting we are of it on the big screen.