In conversation with Alexi Gunner
Decoding culture, trends & the future of brand-building
‘In conversation’ is Playground’s newsletter series, where we invite friends, acquaintances, and individuals we admire to share their creative thoughts and explore the art of playfulness.
Playground readers,
Happy Thursday – it’s an exciting interview day, and you’re in for a treat. I’m so pleased that the fantastic
, strategist and writer, founder of , came onto my radar some years ago. His explorations and ideas help brands navigate the undercurrents of culture – always intellectual, sharp, and thought-provoking.Our collaboration, like many great things, started with Playground Magazine. I first asked him to contribute an essay for Playground Issue 1, then Issue 2 – which kind of makes him our contributing writer (Issue 3, anyone?). So, I’m thrilled for more people to get to know him beyond his globally relevant yet locally applicable work.
Did I mention you’re in for a treat? Without further ado… over to Alexi.
What has been taking up the most of your mind lately?
I’ve been working with a couple of different sustainability-centric fashion clients lately on a tricky but compelling challenge: how do you elevate mindful fashion consumption into an aspirational, culturally relevant lifestyle that customers feel excited to engage with? The attitude-action gap among consumers keeps getting wider, everyone wants to act sustainably, but our addiction to the dopamine and convenience of fast, seasonal fashion is proving to be a hard one to quit.
What is one subject you’ve been interested in recently that is completely unrelated to your area of work?
I’ve been obsessed with cyberpunk novels recently, from Neuromancer to Pattern Recognition and Snow Crash. On one hand, they feel like these very anachronistic relics from the turn of the century, where stories of computer-saturated, neon-lit worlds full of evil corporations and advanced tech felt super countercultural and edgy. Yet at the same, it’s fascinating to observe how accurately these writers managed to predict the present. As every year passes we’re getting closer to living inside a William Gibson dystopia.
Where would you take us if we asked you to give us a one-day tour of the city you live in?
If it’s summertime: grab a takeaway coffee at Companion and take a stroll down Landwehr Canal (referred to, half-jokingly by locals, as the ‘Kreuzberg Riviera’) which is equal parts gritty and scenic. On the weekend the water is crowded with parties onboard rubber dinghys, the water’s edge lined with people chatting as far as the eye can see and the air is filled with music and laughter. Immaculate vibes. Stop by La Maison for a drink and a bit of people watching. Then head to Badeschiff (an outdoor pool submerged in the Spree) for an afternoon swim, followed by a bike ride through Tempelhofer Feld at sunset, weaving in and out of the throngs of rollerskate discos, kiteboarders and skaters.
If it’s wintertime: I would spend a day exploring the local art scene, entrusting my friend Erik (who runs Paint Shop, a gallery by Hasenheide) to take us on a whistle-stop tour of the best shows and openings. The Boros Collection, housed inside a WW2 bunker, is always a must for new visitors to the city. Maybe squeeze in a film at one of the city’s art deco cinemas. We round off the day with aperitifs and pizza at Gazzo (don’t skip the olive oil buffalo ice cream at the end, that’s the best part).
Snap a picture of your creative space / work desk right now! No cheating – do not tidy up.
What are the books/films/podcasts/any piece of media that truly influenced how you perceive creative work?
Ways of Seeing; John Berger, which taught me to always think about the context, social structures, and power dynamics that exist beneath the surface of all imagery and art. Oil paintings, adverts and TikTok videos all say something on a deeper level about the society that produced them.
If you had one extra day in a week – what would you use it on?
A whole uninterrupted day every week to just write and journal in solitude would be the ultimate luxury!
What are the ways you incorporate play into your daily life?
Being a solo consultant, it’s easy to get stuck in the rut of working from home too much. I love routine, but I need to shake things up every now and then. I’ve started to schedule in weekly co-working sessions with friends, trying out different cafes or co-working spaces around the city, and indulging in 2 hour lunch breaks with pasta and wine, where we share what we’re all working on. It creates a sense of playful adventure – there’s always lots of laughs and interesting discussions, and does wonders for creative thinking.
How would you define trends?
In the broadest sense: an emerging or defining collective thought, behaviour, value, or attitude.
In your opinion, how should trends influence brand-building efforts?
The reality is that brands never exist in a vacuum. They are inevitably shaped by what’s happening in culture. By identifying the trends relevant to a business, and how these will shift in the future, is a key piece of the puzzle in identifying the genuine role a brand can play in the lives of its customers, and making sure it will stand the test of time.
Your work is highly insightful and rich in references. Do you have any routines for scanning media and the cultural scene?
It’s important to have processes in place to break free from personal biases and digital echo chambers. Consultant and writer Venkatesh Rao once said you need to think like “a tourist in strange lands” which really resonates with me. This means approaching everything with enduring curiosity, chasing the weird stuff beyond what the algorithm serves you, going down obscure rabbit holes and speaking to people IRL, to get a nuanced understanding of communities, subcultures and demographics.
Are there any tools or techniques you use to keep track of your research, references, trends, and notes?
Readerwise for bookmarking and annotating articles and documents. Otter.AI for transcribing and synthesizing interview material. I’ve also been using Sublime a lot recently: it’s like a Pinterest for knowledge, that lets me save, collect, organise and make sense of all the various artefacts, ideas and references I forage in the research process.
What do you most enjoy about your roles as a researcher, planner, and strategist?
I really enjoy being curious for a living. As a cultural strategist, it’s all about getting under the skin of not just the brands I work for and its customers, but also identifying the red threads that help to make sense of what’s happening in the increasingly chaotic cultural landscape. It requires equal parts strategic rigour and creative imagination.
From your perspective and expertise, what aspects do you feel brand builders or owners often overlook that they should pay more attention to?
Too many brands are obsessed right now with chasing whatever’s currently ‘trending’. When everyone is trying to figure out how to jump on the latest 24-hour micro-fad - whether it’s coquette, cottagecore or being ‘demure’ – what they should really be focusing on are the more meaningful cultural movements that will impact their business. I call these the ‘undercurrents’; subtle yet powerful drifts that flow beneath the surface of society, that fundamentally define how we behave, connect, consume and express ourselves.
To read more from Alexi, don’t forget to subscribe to idle gaze newsletter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
Studio’s project during Stockholm Design Week 2025
In my previous newsletter I mentioned that curating & creating an exhibition for a client was one of the hardest, yet most rewarding work. Well, here we go again! We are happy and proud to announce that studio playground team is once again shaping the concept, creative direction, comms and production for our beloved client Savo and their exhibition “Studies in seating“ during Stockholm Design Week 2025. Stockholm friends, don’t forget to stop by and say hello!
As a part of the exhibition, Savo will also be hosting an event on the evening of 6th February where industry thought leaders will take to the podium to delve into the future of office seating. Hear from Savo CEO Craig Howarth and leading industry voices from acclaimed design studio Form Us With Love and research and design laboratory Superlab as they discuss the future of office seating and how forward-thinking design meets the demands of modern workspaces and non-traditional work models. The discussion will be led by Amy Frearson. Make sure to RSVP, and see you there!
We are looking forward to the intense couple of weeks, and we’ll make sure to share the highlights on our Instagram – let’s stay connected.
Greetings from Auste & Playground team!