 The Swiss army life trend is a byproduct of the global recession. For decades we've lived in a time where the era of excess was the hallmark of consumption, bigger is better, the more the merrier, very conspicuous displays of wealth, but in the great recession we see an appetite for fewer things. People want to pare down, they want to simplify and streamline, and to do that you have to invest in multifunctional goods, things that have versatility, durability and back by extraordinary quality. An interesting example you can see this in is in homes. In the U.S. the average square footage today is 2,600 square feet for the average American home. But there are young people that have this increasing movement towards this tiny home. Homes that are 100 to 400 square feet that sell for about $26,000. Now the only way that you can live in that sort of space successfully long term is if you're ingenious in terms of the things that you bring in that you have to display versatility.