Need to Know
15 : 11 : 18

UK – Heist, a brand known for its inclusive range of hosiery, is using a performance fabric to advance the shapewear sector.

The Outer Body is a shaping bodysuit that removes the struggle, sweat and squeeze that many women experience when wearing traditional shapewear. In a bid to enhance both comfort and shape, the product takes cues from the body’s natural support system of connective tissue, known as the fascia. The resulting product is made with a laser-perforated fabric never before used in underwear, which is breathable and lightweight, only applying pressure to the areas where the body needs it.

The product was developed by Heist’s vice president of innovation Fiona Fairhurst, a performance-wear innovator who is renowned for designing the Olympic-medal winning Speedo Fastskin swimsuits. ‘We wanted to give women freedom by giving them something better – bodywear that’s designed to move with the body, not against it,’ Fairhurst explains.

By creating underwear focused on efficacy and comfort over the male gaze, Heist is also championing the concept of Bare-it-all Branding.

Denmark – Danish bicycle brand Biomega has launched its first four-wheel electric vehicle (EV), named SIN.

The concept car, which will be ready for market by the early 2020s, has been developed as an affordable and sustainable solution to modern urban mobility. Designed using minimal components and lightweight materials, SIN can easily manoeuvre in tight spaces and applies Biomega’s principles of social innovation and modular design thinking to the automotive industry.

‘We’ve been focused on urban mobility since the 1990s,’ says Biomega founder Jens Martin Skibsted. ‘We feel that we are in an extremely strong position to design an EV that represents the frontier of new mobility.’ According to Skibsted, SIN is also the next step in Bioemega’s ‘ongoing battle against the combustion car’.

Automotive innovation is set to transform the way we use and design our future cities. For more, subscribers can explore how AVs will impact urban design.

China – Xinhua, China’s state-run media outlet, presented its new digital anchors at the World Internet Conference.

Developed with the latest AI technology, the two anchors are digital composites created from footage of human hosts, which learn from live broadcasting videos by themselves. Both were created in collaboration with local search engine company Sougou, with one broadcasting in English and the other in Mandarin. Xinhua says the anchors can work 24-hours-a-day, reducing news production costs and improving efficiency.

The technology still has limitations, however, including restricted facial expressions and overtly synthesised voices. Yet, with CGI and machine learning improving, it may soon become harder to distinguish real and computer-generated hosts. As a result, some commentators have raised questions about how CGI software might be used in the future. Earlier this year, at IAM Weekend 18, CGI artist Alan Warburton explored similar concerns with his work Goodbye Uncanny Valley.

On Sunday, Alibaba smashed its Singles Day sales record. The shopping event, now in its 10th year, racked up $30.8bn (£23.8bn, €27.3) in sales in just 24 hours, marking a 27% year-on-year increase from 2017.

The Chinese event far exceeded the spending of consumers during any US shopping holiday. To put this in perspective, CNBC estimated that Amazon’s Prime Day in July 2018 generated around $4bn (£3bn, €3.5bn) in sales. In addition, Singles Day surpassed the transaction volume of last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday events combined.

According to CNBC, the growth can be linked to the e-commerce giant’s expansion into physical retail. To commemorate the shopping holiday, earlier this week Alibaba launched a satellite into space, which broadcast sentimental messages to customers through its Taobao app.