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05 : 09 : 17

Paris – Luxury conglomerate LVMH is transforming Paris’ historic amusement park, the Jardin d’Acclimatation, into a modern-day theme park. First opened in 1860 by Napoleon III and his wife Eugénie de Montijo, the garden will be re-opened in 2018 and include a series of steampunk-themed rides, while retaining features that reference its rich history.

LVMH has managed the Jardin d’Acclimatation since 1984 and holds a majority stake in it in partnership with theme park and ski resort developer Compagnie des Alpes. The project marks a significant step in LVMH’s journey to diversify beyond luxury fashion. Similarly, high-end food retailer Eataly has announced its plans to open a culinary theme park to educate urban consumers about where their food comes from.

For more developments in luxury, purchase our Luxury Futures Report 2017.

US – Procter & Gamble has announced that it will list all ingredients present in its scented products in concentrations greater than 0.01% online by the end of 2019 in a bid to create greater transparency in its supply chain. The initiative will initially be rolled out across the brand’s fabric, home and beauty categories, and also highlight other everyday products that feature the ingredients, such as fruit and food.

As LS:N Global explored in the Inside Ingredients section of our Sensitised Living Market, growing consumer concern around skin irritants is driving brands to list individual ingredients to enable consumers to learn about the chemical make-up of products and make more informed buying decisions.

In the age of radical transparency, information is key. As examined in our Honest Products microtrend, brands are developing informative platforms to communicate the properties of ingredients.

In our latest Design Direction, visual trends researcher Rachael Stott explores how creative practitioners are abandoning tired gendered design cues to radically redefine modern female identity.

According to a study by The Engine Group, 86% of women believe that brands’ depictions of women do not reflect their lives, highlighting a need for businesses to reconsider how they represent and engage with women.

As discussed at our recent Female Futures Forum, the ‘pinkification’ of feminism is not only detrimental to the progression of women’s rights – it also alienates men. Consumers increasingly favour neutral imagery that promotes diversity and modern notions of female identity.

A new wave of designers are embracing a bold aesthetic that expresses women and women’s issues in a confident and authentic manner. Sexualised poses, airbrushed images and unrealistic representations of the female form are falling out of favour as photographers increasingly look to capture the body as a graphic form, and emphasise authentic female characteristics through colour-blocking and evocative props and styling.

For more, read our Femininity Rebranded Design Direction.