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A smart mirror for guided at-home workouts

Mirror, US

New York – Described as a ‘nearly invisible interactive home gym’, Mirror is a new home device that doubles as a full-length mirror and interactive workout platform.

With a sleek, free-standing design, Mirror has been created to fit seamlessly into a bedroom or living space, transforming into a two-way screen that allows the owner to actively follow classes such as yoga, boxing and cardio. Mirror is embedded with a camera and speakers, so users can see themselves, their workout instructor and classmates, and can choose from 50 live classes each week or from a library of on-demand workouts.

‘We’re creating a personalised experience with the best trainers and classes around the world, so anyone can enjoy the benefits of a workout, whenever and wherever they want,’ CEO Brynn Putnam explains in a press release.

Like cycling fitness platform Peloton, which at CES 2018 introduced an interactive treadmill, Mirror is targeting time-pressed consumers who want immersive, efficient and effective at-home workout experiences.

Sono Motors brings affordable EVs to the road

Sono Motors

Germany – Automotive start-up Sono Motors is testing the Sion, a new model of sustainable electric vehicle designed with a solar pack to boost battery life.

At present, the vehicle is able to travel 250km (155 miles) on a single full charge, with the battery pack providing a boost of 30km. With 330 integrated solar cells on its roof, sides and rear, the vehicle also features a lichen air-purifying system to help reduce air pollution.

The brand also hopes to attract local buyers with the vehicle’s price point. At £14,240 ($18,550, €16,000) for the car, plus £3,564 ($4,633, €4,000) for the battery, the model costs less than the average German car price of £27,011 ($35,185, €30,350).

‘It’s not a solar car that you can only drive when it’s sunny, it’s an electric car that recharges itself,’ says Laurin Hahn, co-founder of Sono Motors. ‘Imagine a combustion engine car where a guy fills up your tank every day, for free, with a few litres.’

Read our Opinion piece for more on the future of electric vehicles.

Net-A-Porter lends expertise to emerging talent

The Vanguard, Net-A-Porter incubator programme

Global – Luxury e-commerce platform Net-A-Porter has announced the launch of a new initiative designed to nurture and develop emerging fashion talent.

Known as the Vanguard, the incubator and accelerator will support emerging brands that Net-A-Porter believes will make a lasting impression on the future fashion landscape. Its members will be automatically added to the site’s roster of brands, while also enjoying access to a team of experts providing advice on topics such as business strategy and marketing. Brands will only graduate from the Vanguard programme once they have sufficiently matured after a few seasons on-site.

‘In an industry that is constantly focusing on the new, we at Net-A-Porter want not only to introduce novelty to our customers but also to make sure that we’re helping to set these brands up for self-sustainability,’ Lisa Aiken, Net-A-Porter’s fashion director, tells InStyle.com.

Brands set to be included on the programme include Toulouse-based Les Rêveries, which specialises in luxury shoes and accessories, and RŪH, which creates fashion-conscious modesty wear.

In order to discover and cultivate new talent in industries from fashion to furniture design, brands are lending their expertise to the next generation of talent. See our Viewpoint with Ruth Wassermann, design director at MADE, for more.

Camper steps into avatar marketing

Camper autumn/winter 2018 campaign

Camper AW18 campaign

Spain – The shoe brand has created nine sci-fi inspired characters for its autumn/winter 2018 campaign, with a mini-site that encourages consumers to choose their avatar player in order to explore its new footwear collection.

The Augmented Virtuality campaign features characters including Rolling Chan, a rainbow-haired samurai, and evil lost soul Night Helix. Presented like gaming characters, each is classified according to their specific traits and special powers – credentials that also describe the Camper shoe that has inspired each character.

The brand has also worked with a notable line-up of creatives for the campaign, including creative director Romain Kremer, stylist Anna Trevelyan, make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench and hairstylist Charlie Le Mindu.

Like Louis Vuitton and Fenty Beauty, Camper has turned to fantasy gaming characters and CGI avatars to create storytelling around its new collections. For more, explore our Avatar Influencers microtrend.

Nike demonstrates the value in taking a stand

Following the launch of Nike’s new Just Do It campaign featuring American football player Colin Kaepernick, the brand’s Labor Day sales rose sharply. Kaepernick, who has protested against racial injustice and police brutality by refusing to salute the American flag before football games, has been widely condemned by President Trump.

However, Nike’s Backlash Brands approach in taking a political stand with its Kaepernick campaign has paid off, demonstrating both the monetary and moral value in a brand standing up for what it believes in.

The campaign formed part of the brand’s 30th anniversary celebrations, which also included its first female-focused campaign in Mexico.

Thought-starter: Could boarding passes hyper-personalise airport retail?

Air-Hybrid by Simba Sleep

With vast amounts of data already tied up in boarding passes, let’s use it to transform the airport retail experience, says Lee Carroll, interaction and experience designer at Seymourpowell.

Despite the fact the global duty-free industry expected to grow to about $67bn (£51bn, €58bn) by 2020, according to the world’s largest travel retailerDufry, luxury, fashion, CPG and dining brands that rely on these spaces – not to mention the airports themselves – are not yet maximising passenger data.

If they did, they could provide a contextual, immersive and hyper-personalised retail journey for thebillions of peoplethat pass through airports each year.

Key to enhancing the airport retail experience is the humble boarding pass. With passengers' personal, flight and destination data already stored in this one place, it could becoming a digital triggerthat activates personalised retailexperiences throughout the entirety of the space.

For more, read the full opinion piece here.