LSN : Daily Signals : Startup creates textile from coconut by-products

Net-a-Porter ventures into kidswear

Gucci Childrenswear for Net-a-porter

Global – The fashion e-tailer is targeting a new generation with the launch of its first pop-up shop for kids.

For a limited time, the brand will offer a selection of Gucci childrenswear for young boys and girls up to age 12 on its e-commerce site. Campaign imagery accompanying the launch showcases a group of young children wearing the designer clothing while playing in a vintage photobooth.

‘Over the years we have had consistent requests for kidswear from our customers, especially our most engaged ones’, says Alison Loehnis, president of Net-a-porter.com. ‘Women and men are not just thinking about style in terms of their own wardrobes, but in a broader sense of family and lifestyle. I have no doubt that social media has had some influence on this.’

In our Childrenswear Market we explore how brands are approaching kids clothing as an extension of their adult customers’ style profiles. Retailers are recognising that young parents don’t want to sacrifice their own aesthetic choices when dressing their own children.

Elastic ice cream launches in New York

Republic of Booza, Williamsburg, Brooklyn

New York – The dessert start-up, Republic of Booza is bringing a traditional Middle Eastern ice cream called Booza, to the Western market.

Best known for its elastic properties and resistance to melting, Booza was developed over 500 years ago in the Eastern region of the Mediterranean. Created using two main ingredients, sahlab (ground orchid root) and mastic (a resin), the formula provides a smoother and denser texture to ice cream.

The density of Booza means that it already has more flavour than other forms of ice cream and is traditionally only served in one neutral cream flavour. The store, opening in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, looks to change this by serving over 30 classic and experimental flavours, ranging from Vanilla and Pistachio to Saffron Peppercorn and Coconut Matcha.

Given the rise of the health-conscious consumer, dessert restaurants and retailers are having to rethink their sweet proposition to provide small but sophisticated doses of indulgence that offer a hint of luxury.

Startup creates textile from coconut by-products

Australia – The material technology start-up, Nanollose has developed the first rayon fabric made with biowaste from the food industry.

Tapping into the growing interest in circular fashion, the eco-friendly material called Nullarbor, is created by adding microbes to coconut biomass, which are synthesised into microbial cellulose and then converted into fibres using technology.

With future plans to tap into bigger food sectors, the company wants to increase the availability of sustainable fabric choices on the market. ‘Our process has the potential to convert a number of biomass waste products from the beer, wine and liquid food industries into fibres using very little land, water or energy in the process’, says Alfie Germano, CEO at Nanollose.

For more on how brands are tackling issues such as sustainability, download our Fashion Futures report here.

Crop-A-Porter, Global Change Award 2018, H&M Foundation

Designer brings physical garments into the digital world

The Netherlands – Aleksandra Gudkova, a recent graduate from Design Academy Eindhoven, has demonstrated a new approach to displaying garments on the web.

Her project, entitled Optic White, examines the different ways in which we interact with our clothes, including unconscious habits and purposeful movements such as dressing and undressing. In a short film, Gudkova envisions the different contexts in which clothing might be seen and represented, and how garments might freely move, without the constraints of being draped on a body.

The project hints at a future of online shopping where the tactility of materials could be translated into an online setting to provide a more tangible experience for consumers. For more, see our Digital Fabric microtrend.

Consumers embrace reusable water bottles

The latest figures from a report by Transparency Market Research suggest that reusable water bottles are not just a fad. The market, which had a valuation of £5.31bn ($7.04bn, €6.01bn) in 2015, is set to expand at a CAGR of 4.2% between 2016 and 2024.

As consumers develop a growing sense of eco-anxiety, they are increasingly investing in sustainable alternatives that better protect the environment. Brands alike, are also investing time and resources to banish plastic items. Several retailers, for instance, have partnered with Parley for the Oceans to bring awareness to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans

Thought-starter: Is low-ABV a suitable alternative to teetotalism?

Consumers are eschewing the extremes of binge-drinking and abstinence in favour of a more considered relationship with alcohol.

In 2016 we identified the Party-totallers, who practice total abstinence from alcohol. Now, there is a growing movement towards drinking in moderation. This is largely being driven by Generation Z, a group who’s surprisingly conservative nature has meant they are opting out of the rebellious activities previously associated with youth, such as drinking and smoking.

With many brands seeking out either drinkers or teetotallers, Punchy’s is an example of a brand that places equal importance on both mindsets. Its offers a ready-to-drink spiced rum punch in both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety.

Running parallel to this shift is the idea that the moderate drinkers no longer consume alcohol with the purpose of getting drunk. In light of this, brands are now considering how they can re-market alcohol as something that does necessarily induce intoxication, but instead focuses on flavour. Ketel One’s new Botanical range, for example, is infused with natural fruit essences in a similar way to gin and bottled at just 30% ABV, challenging the minimum 40% ABV requirement for a spirit to be considered vodka.

For more on the appealing to moderate drinkers, read our latest microtrend.