Daily Signals 12.10.2020

Signals

Black men’s haircare for Generation Z, kitchenware for socially conscious consumers and curious shoppers turn to subscription boxes.

A virtual gallery space for phygital healing

 AORA in partnership with Sook, London
 AORA in partnership with Sook, London
 AORA in partnership with Sook, London

London – With Covid-19 reducing access to the arts, AORA is using digital exhibitions to create a sense of calm and wellbeing.

AORA provides a virtual opportunity to view a series of global exhibitions from emerging artists. The platform is accessible online and seeks to encourage introspective serenity, using art, architecture and music. Building on its virtual offering, AORA is also giving people a physical experience with a recent three-day physical installation.

The platform focuses on four main tenets. Providing an avenue to access art, architecture and music is the first, as well as encouraging sales via its e-shop. The platform also aims to utilise the therapeutic properties of art to encourage reflective healing for those affected by Covid-19, bringing visitors together to establish a digital community.

Discover more about how cultural spaces can improve wellbeing, with the rise of Meditative Museums encouraging calmer mindsets.

Ghetto Gastro’s socially conscious kitchenware

Ghetto Gastro in collaboration with CRUX, New York Ghetto Gastro in collaboration with CRUX, New York
Ghetto Gastro in collaboration with CRUX, New York Ghetto Gastro in collaboration with CRUX, New York

New York – US culinary collective Ghetto Gastro is expanding its socially conscious food initiatives with kitchenware brand CRUX.

The appliance line, which includes a blender, coffee maker and toaster, uses bold design cues to reflect Ghetto Gastro’s ethos of empowering communities and advancing social justice, with matte black and red tones a nod to the pan-African flag. Designed by black chefs and creatives, the products aim to further ignite conversation about race, class and inclusion.

‘Food, for us, is always a vehicle for storytelling, whether it’s the consuming of food, the preparation, the politics around access or lack of access. But it’s really about nourishment at the end of the day,' explains Jon Gray, co-founder of Ghetto Gastro. 'Breaking bread and breaking barriers through community,'

As we identify in Kindred Diners, communities are emerging to make eating a convivial and thoughtful experience, centred around shared values.

KingCurls cuts into men’s afro hair market

US ­– A 17-year-old male beauty influencer aims to close the gender gap between male and female haircare.

KingCurls was launched by TikTok star Khalil to tackle the market for textured hair for young men. The brand’s first product, a Curl Styling Cream, promises to ‘define, hydrate and style unruly curls’.

Khalil hopes the brand will normalise self-care for black male members of Generation Z, which he considers an often-overlooked demographic in the haircare market. KingCurls aims to represent the entrepreneurial spirit of Generation Z, and their desire for greater representation.

As beauty and self-care for men becomes less taboo, men of colour are set to disrupt the space with personal care brands that reframe masculinity. For more, read our conversation with founders of skincare brand Ceylon.

KingCurls, US

Stat: British shoppers use subscriptions for discovery

Bscly, US Bscly, US

Subscription boxes have been gaining in popularity in the past year, with many British consumers appreciating their convenience and potential for discovery.

According to a recent study by YouGov, about one in seven (14%) of British people have bought from a subscription box in the past year, with snacks and drinks, meal-in-a-box ingredient services and make-up and beauty products the most popular types. Expanding on this, while a third (33%) sign up to subscription services to treat themselves, about three in 10 (31%) do it to try new products.

Many consumers have changed their shopping habits as a result of the pandemic, moving towards online alternatives and sign-up services. During Covid-19, we’ve identified innovative discovery boxes such as the Wanda Box for experiential dining and Ikea’s imagination travel kits.

Previous Daily Signals Articles
Dutch Design Week 2025: Digital afterlives and making space for grief

Daily Signals

Dutch Design Week 2025: Digital afterlives and making space for grief

Dutch Design Week 2025 has so far prompted visitors to question what it means to be human, and what challenges that notion more than death itself.
Dutch Design Week : Design : Global Events
ASOS Live redefines fashion shopping through creator-led video content

Daily Signals

ASOS Live redefines fashion shopping through creator-led video content

ASOS has launched ASOS Live, a new video shopping experience designed to merge inspiration, content and commerce within its app.
Fashion : Asos : Retail
Stat: Gen Alpha face stricter screen time controls at home and school

Daily Signals

Stat: Gen Alpha face stricter screen time controls at home and school

New survey data from Morning Consult reveals that technology bans are already widespread in schools across the US, with more than half of parents o...
Technology : Gen Alpha : Education
Dutch Design Week 2025: Slowing AI and fostering empathy

Daily Signals

Dutch Design Week 2025: Slowing AI and fostering empathy

The 25th edition of Dutch Design Week has kicked off in Eindhoven with this year’s anniversary theme being Past, Present, Possible. The purpose of ...
Dutch Design Week : DDW : Global Events
Oatly’s Future of Taste report spotlights flavours shaping global beverage culture

Daily Signals

Oatly’s Future of Taste report spotlights flavours shaping global beverage culture

Oatly has unveiled its first Future of Taste report, charting the flavours and formats set to influence global beverage culture.
Food : Drink : Flavour
Stat: Size inclusivity stalls on spring/summer 2026 catwalks

Daily Signals

Stat: Size inclusivity stalls on spring/summer 2026 catwalks

The Vogue Business Spring/Summer 2026 Size Inclusivity Report reveals disappointing progress on fashion’s size representation. Of 9,038 runway look...
Fashion : Identity : Stat
The Ordinary exposes beauty industry buzzwords in dystopian new video

Daily Signals

The Ordinary exposes beauty industry buzzwords in dystopian new video

In a provocative new campaign, skincare brand The Ordinary is calling out the beauty industry’s reliance on pseudo-scientific language.
Beauty : Skincare : Misinformation
Luxury travellers prioritise value, experience and climate-conscious choices for 2026

Daily Signals

Luxury travellers prioritise value, experience and climate-conscious choices for 2026

Luxury travel is set to evolve in 2026, with affluent travellers seeking deeper meaning, personalisation and sustainable choices, according to Virt...
Luxury : Gen Alpha : Luxury Travel
Stat: Public confidence in UK food safety reaches record high

Daily Signals

Stat: Public confidence in UK food safety reaches record high

Public trust in the UK’s food system has hit its highest level since 2020, according to the Food Standards Agency’s Food and You 2 survey.
Food : Health : Stat
Swedish campaign encourages doctors to prescribe visits

Daily Signals

Swedish campaign encourages doctors to prescribe visits

Visit Sweden has launched The Swedish Prescription, making it ‘the first country in the world prescribed by doctors’.
Health : Travel : Tourism
You have 1 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN