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Hot Bodies explores how design can help us survive a warmer world

Hot Bodies, Singapore

Singapore – Hot Bodies is a new exhibition examining how apparel and wearable design can help humans adapt to global heat. Opening on 6 December 2025 in Singapore, the showcase arrives as the past decade becomes the hottest in Singapore’s recorded history, according to the Meteorological Service Singapore.

Supported by the SG Eco Fund and the DesignSingapore Council, the project from global brand practice Anak brings together 10 heat wear prototypes developed with guidance from research experts. The curatorial brief asks global designers to consider how heat could shape new behaviours, aesthetics and adaptive systems – a pertinent question for one of the world’s densest and most humid nations.

The apparel on show ranges from practical to playful: Jean Jullien’s UPF50 Sunshell cape; Tanchen Studio’s cooling jade statement neckpiece; TMS.Site’s Hardwear Jacket for outdoor workers; and Harri’s inflatable self-cooling container.

Our Wellbeing Wear report explores how garments and accessories are being designed with extreme weather in mind, ushering in a new era of fashion design.

Strategic opportunity

Partner with climate experts and material innovators to develop climate-responsive products, positioning your brand to meet future consumer mindsets and rising demand for apparel and wearables that enhance comfort, performance and safety in hotter futures

Vow launches lab-grown exosomes for skin repair

Australia – Sydney-based biotech company Vow is expanding beyond cultured meat into functional beauty with the launch of cultured exosomes designed to regenerate skin at a biological level.

The firm has started a new brand called Membrane[actives]. Its debut ingredient, exo[membrane], is produced using Vow’s 20,000-litre bioreactor system under food-grade, serum-free conditions – a scalable alternative to plant- or human-derived exosomes.

Vow’s move reflects the rise of Elastic Brands – companies defined by their ability to stretch beyond category boundaries and apply core expertise in new, adaptive ways.

Unlike single-molecule actives, exosomes act as cellular messengers, transporting peptides and proteins deep into the skin. Early trials show promising results: in a dermatologist-led study of eight participants aged 30–40, redness reduced by 34% and wrinkle width by 20% within seven days following micro-needling and application.

Vow frames this as a turning point for biotech beauty: ethical, standardised and clinically validated ingredients that ‘speak the same language as the skin’. This echoes analysis from our Accredited Beauty macrotrend report, in which we explored how consumers are increasingly seeking proof points on product quality, efficacy and sustainability in the beauty sector.

Photography by Jess Loiterton, Australia

Strategic opportunity

Re-imagine core capabilities for new categories and products that adapt to evolving consumer needs, proving your brand can stretch, respond and stay relevant in a rapidly shifting marketplace

Stat: US businesses report real returns as generative AI adoption matures

AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK

US – A new study from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania challenges months of pessimism about generative AI’s business value. Wharton’s survey of more than 800 US firms found that, of the companies actively measuring returns, 74% say generative AI is already delivering a positive return on investment (ROI), with many expecting gains to grow over the next two to three years.

ROI varies sharply by sector: In tech and telecoms, 88% report at least moderately positive returns, in banking this dips to 83%, while retail lags behind at 54%.

Seniority also shapes perception: 81% of vice-presidents and above see positive ROI, compared to 69% of managers and directors, who are more likely to still be in pilot mode. Smaller companies are adapting fastest – just 57% of firms with revenues above £1.5bn ($2bn, €1.7bn) report positive returns so far – as large enterprises struggle to reset established workflows at speed.

Wharton’s findings signal a more uneven, industry-specific and role-dependent AI adoption curve than early narratives suggested. This reflects insights we explore in The Synothocene Era macrotrend; perception of generative AI is evolving to recognise this technology as powerful, but requiring realistic expectations and integration.

Strategic opportunity

Don’t rush AI adoption. Focus on practical, workflow-driven use cases that boost productivity, support measurable ROI and upskill teams to ensure successful, sustainable integration