Why we'll be paying lip service to pies and celebrating the fact that 60 is sexy

If military style has gone in and out of fashion for years, then 2011 is definitely an "in" year with racks of combat inspired garb coming to a high street near you soon. In the next 12 months, the trend will cross men and women's ranges and will be seen from high end collections to more affordable retailers. Marc Jacobs has already put a military stamp on his designs for next year, Valentino's range for Gap shows a similar influence which will also penetrate through to the mass market of stores like Top Shop and Primark will surely not be far behind. However, there is a twist, next year, severe military pieces will be mixed with more feminine separates to soften the effect, but the clean lines will be a dominant theme of season.

Beauty

On the runways this autumn designers played with combinations of looks, but the ones we will keep coming back to involve the beautiful red lips of yesteryear. In 2011, the rest of the face can be completely nude, but in a new departure on a tried and tested classic, next year bright red lips will also be paired with strong eye make-up. If neither of those combinations appeal, in spring face colour will come in the form of bronzed beauties and metallic shades will also make a reappearance. Next year we will still inevitably be trying to replicate the celebrity looks from the red carpet, but increasingly we'll move away from the luxury end of the market to high street products which come at a fraction of the price.

Food

It's fair to say in 2010 the cupcake craze went global, but 2011 will be the year of the pie. Trendy chefs have already put away the icing and have been experimenting with sweet and savoury, layered and thick crust versions of the traditional favourite. Watch out for weddings where pies take the place of the traditional cake. To satisfy our need for local produce, this next batch of pies will be filled with seasonal fruits, new gooey combinations and hopefully it should be enough to slow the cupcake madness which has taken hold in the last few years.

Restaurants

Heston Blumenthal and the like have inspired a new wave of culinary alchemy with outlandish dishes cooked up in a test tube. However, in 2011 restaurants will go back to basics as a backlash against ever more complicated dishes served up by high-end restaurants begins. There will be a glut of simple eating establishments opening their doors. Most will have a narrow focus and some will concentrate on just one particular item, whether that be just pasta, crepes or good quality burgers. The lowly vegetable – for years relegated to a side dish – will also experience something of a renaissance and in many restaurants will be elevated to the star of the show.

Technology

There's little argument against the fact teenagers text too much, but adults are also increasingly becoming addicted to techy pursuits. Already I've heard of one man who changed his Facebook status to married as he stood at the altar and sadly we should expect more of the same in 2011. Our brains are becoming rewired thanks to our constant checking of email in-boxes and our inability to live without ever more complex mobile phones. Next year our need to post details of our life on line will only grow. It's a trend I now call mycasting and when times are tough economically the chance of escaping into a virtual world is an offer many will be unable to resist.

Work

The trend has already begun, but in 2011 people will seriously re-evaluate their lives, their work and their play. The question is: "What is your job and the activities you do outside the workplace really worth?" The old litmus test of success – from bonuses to gadgets and luxury cars – will no longer matter so much, if at all. While education and technology has empowered people to feel more independent at the very same time they have also made us feel helpless. Traditional skills from mending household appliances to growing our own vegetables have been lost, but in 2011 the fightback will begin in earnest as we look for a simpler, more rewarding way of life.

Religion

The number of people who claim to practise religion has dipped drastically in the last two decades, with many churches witnesses a stark drop in their congregation. However, in direct correlation to the move away from organised religion, we will see a move towards to a more soft-focused spirituality. It will be most evident in the growth of spiritual tourism, which was epitomised in the film Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. People want get away from it all and as the Government attempts to measure the nation's happiness the results will likely show that while we may not go to church we certainly haven't lost our sense of spirituality.

The Gender Divide

This year, one trend that will be especially global in scope is that men will increasingly need to accept that they can't expect their gender alone to give them a head start. The gender gap, in terms of access to opportunities has been narrowing for some time, but in the next 12 months the pace will quicken faster than perhaps anyone thought. Women will grow into new roles and men will move out of the traditional male roles that traditionally gave them their top-class swagger. They'll no longer automatically be the head of household, the sexual initiator, the protector and provider, and the decision-maker. Equality, which has been so long fought for, comes into its own in 2011.

Exercise

Previous years have been dominated by a particular craze whether it be the celebrity exercise video or Jane Fonda's diet plan – 2011 will see the launch of exercise programmes which combine the best of what's already there. Fitness is big business and while we are always on the search for a novel way of keeping fit, there is rarely anything that's really new, so next year expect to see piloxing (pilates meets boxing) take off at a health clubs.

Relationships

The baby boomers may be entering their twilight years, but they are increasingly behaving like lovestruck teenagers. How we live out our golden years is being redefined and in 2001 the trend of over 60s deciding to walk away from marriage will continue. Thanks to social media, many are reconnecting with old flames in the hope of finding true love or just simply with the aim of reinvigorating an old romance. Sixty will become sexy and 2011 will be the perfect storm for a complete rethink of our notions about romance and ageing.

Marian Salzman is president of Euro RSCG Worldwide PR. Over the past 15 years she has correctly forecast that companies would make money on the internet, the rise of corporate responsibility, the dominance of Facebook and the birth of the electronic book.