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11 : 01 : 18

By Rhiannon McGregor and Holly Friend 11.01.2018 Technology : Luxury : Fashion

Gucci Garden blooms into being, Samsung allows colour blind consumers to customise their TVs, Peloton re-invents home workouts, plus more from CES.

1. Gucci Garden the go to luxury destination at Pitti Uomo

Gucci Garden by Alessandro Michele, Florence

Florence – The luxury fashion house has reopened Gucci Museo in Florence’s Palazzo della Mercanzia as its latest reincarnation Gucci Garden. Designed by creative director Alessandro Michele, the space is an eclectic mix of past and present, juxtaposing oil paintings with commissions by contemporary artists like Coco Capitán.

As the name suggests, the Museo acted more as an ode to the brand's achievements, while the Garden is a generative exploration of creativity and imagination. ‘We decided to make the space a laboratory where you have all the elements with which to creatively experiment,’ says Maria Luisa Frisa, who assisted in curating the gallery space.

On the ground floor, visitors can purchase one of a kind products in the retail space designed to resemble a bazaar, while the Osteria headed up by chef Massimo Bottura provides visitors with an intimate restaurant setting. In line with Destination Retail, brands are creating retail spaces in which consumers can luxuriate.

2. CES 2018: LifeFuels shows off its smart water bottle

Smart Nutrition Bottle by LifeFuels, Las Vegas

Las Vegas – The bottle has a dispenser base which can contain up to three different concentrated flavour capsules, known as FuelPods, that can be injected into the water vessel at the press of a button.

Launching this summer, LifeFuels will offer seven FuelPods, which promise different functional benefits. For instance, there is the Hydrate Plus pod with electrolytes for post-workout rehydration or the Sleep Well pod which contains chamomile, white tea and melatonin.

The smart element of the bottle comes with the accompanying app that connects with fitness trackers such as the Apple Watch or Fitbit in order to make recommendations on what to drink and when. ‘We are targeting the part of the population that take a lot of care in deciding what it is they consume and who track their input versus their output,’ says co-founder Jonathon Perelli. He believes LifeFuels will have a similar adoption model to Nespresso machines. ‘Once you make the commitment and you enjoy the taste and enjoy the feedback and its learnings, you will want to stay in the eco-system.’

3. Samsung’s new app for the colour blind

South Korea – The SeeColours app, which can pair with any Samsung QLED TV, allows those with Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD), more commonly known as colour blindness, to adjust the colour levels on their television display.

Users first take a diagnostic test through the app to determine how their vision perceives colour, before SeeColours automatically adjusts the television screen to suit their personal needs. Samsung worked with Professor Klara Wenzel of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, who developed a digital diagnosis test known as the Colorlite Test, to determine CVD.

According to Samsung, nearly 300 million people globally have CVD, with approximately 8% of men and up to 1% of women affected, but many are unaware that they even have the condition.

The app offers a quick and easy route to diagnosing and adjusting an optical problem that is more prevalent than many people realise and is part of a growing wave of assistive products.

SeeColours app by Samsung, South Korea

4. CES 2018: Peloton rethinks at-home fitness

Peloton, Las Vegas

Las Vegas – Known for its stationary bike, the fitness company announced that it will be launching a second product, the Peloton Tread, this autumn.

Like the Peloton Bike, the treadmill comes with a subscription content platform and a 32-inch screen that streams live workouts. During the workouts, an instructor will be able to see a user's metrics in real-time to coach them in the moment. Integral to using the treadmill is actually jumping off the machine, with instructors teaching classes that balance cardio with floor exercises.

The treadmill is priced at $4,000 (£2,960; €3,350) but customers can pay for it in monthly instalments of $149 (£110; €125), which includes the subscription to Peloton's online classes. ‘It's competitive to a high-end gym membership,’ a spokesperson for Peloton told LS:N Global. ‘This an in-home experience for those who can't make it to a gym but still rivals it.’

Look out for more new launches from CES in our daily News.

5. Confusion among women over what feminism means

Despite 'feminism' being decreed word of the year by The Merriam Webster dictionary, too few women know what it actually means. The research by Mintel found that there was a 70% increase in searches for the term throughout 2017 compared to 2016, yet nearly half of women are confused by the term.

The term, which has undergone a radical transformation in meaning as society has evolved, is particularly unclear to women aged 55 and over, with 57% saying they find it ‘difficult to understand what being a feminist means’. As we explore in our new Female Futures microsite, brands need to help consumers define the narratives around what it means to be female in this day and age.

Thought-starter: Is there a place for left-wing hotels?

As political divides widen and people increasingly vote with their wallets, junior creative researcher Holly Friend investigates a new wave of liberal hoteliers offering hospitality ventures with left-wing credentials.

The turbulent political situation in the US is having a significant impact on the nation’s tourism in what industry analysts have dubbed a ‘Trump Slump’. According to the National Travel and Tourism Office, the number of international visitors to the US was down nearly 4% in first half of 2017.

With this sharp decline, companies in the US are structuring their business models to reflect the nation’s widening political divide and form closer relationships with like-minded consumers.

As restaurants become ideal spaces in which to foster cross-cultural debate and civic action, American hotels are following suit. By spotlighting culturally important issues or picking a position, hotel brands can appeal to a group of consumers that increasingly wish to make a statement to the world through their hotel choices.

For more on how hotel brands are re-evaluating their political potential, read our microtrend Liberal Leisure Havens.