Daily Signals 21.02.2019

Signals

CVS focuses on healthcare services, Paridhan wants Indian youth to re-engage with their heritage and Cove’s compostable water bottle.

Fred Perry’s lookbook is inspired by Google Street View

Fred Perry collaboration with Raf Simons
Fred Perry collaboration with Raf Simons
Fred Perry collaboration with Raf Simons

UK – Shoppers can explore the Fred Perry and Raf Simons collection on anonymous models in a virtual suburb.

For the British fashion label’s latest collaboration with Belgian designer Raf Simons, it has created a digital store that mimics Google Street View. The map depicts an unspecified suburb in which anonymous individuals wear pieces from the collection. Shoppers are invited to stroll through the streets to encounter and buy pieces from the collection.

While exploring the shoppable map, customers can also discover a series of micro-narratives and hidden clues as they delve deeper into the town and its cast of characters.

Fred Perry is experimenting with new ways to elevate the e-commerce experience, transforming the path to purchase into a game that requires time and attention. For more, read our microtrend Digital Store Fronts.

Cove is a new brand of biodegradable bottled water

Cove. Photography by Ryan Lowry Cove. Photography by Ryan Lowry
Cove. Photography by Sergiy Barchuk Cove. Photography by Sergiy Barchuk

Los Angeles – Cove has created the first single-use bottle of water packaged with material that can fully biodegrade in the natural environment.

The bottle is made from PHA, a natural biopolymer that breaks down into CO2, water and organic matter, while producing no toxic waste. Cove estimates that its bottle, which has a six-month shelf life, will take five years to completely biodegrade. Although the packaging is designed to be composted, rather than recycled, the company hopes more recycling facilities will accept PHA in the future.

‘Cove isn’t just the next alternative bottle of water,’ says founder Alex Totterman. ‘It’s not an incremental improvement of a bad situation.’

Matt Rogers, founder of Incite.org and one of Cove’s investors, echoes this: ‘We can’t just talk about how to clean up plastic pollution. We have to focus on material innovation to replace single-use plastics from the outset.’

In our Materials Far Futures report, we consider how a new generation of materials with similarly limited lifespans can reduce the impact of single-use packaging.

CVS pilots healthcare-driven store formats

Houston – The drugstore chain is testing a new retail concept that dedicates more floor space to healthcare services.

Three new HealthHub locations offer a broader range of services, new product categories, digital tools and on-demand health kiosks, which will be further supported by advice and personalised care from staff.

With this new model, more than 20% of the store is devoted to care and services, rather than retail. In doing so, CVS is catering for Millennial consumers in the US, who are embracing non-traditional care models, such as retail clinics.

‘Our new HealthHub locations are helping to elevate the store into a convenient neighbourhood healthcare destination that brings easier access to better care at a lower cost,’ says Alan Lotvin, chief transformation officer for CVS Health. In addition to a closed-off space for yoga classes, the stores will provide nutritional health guidance led by an in-store dietitian. For more on the retailers assuming new roles as health advisers, read our Prescription Supermarkets microtrend.

CVS HealthHub, US

An indigenous fashion brand for modern Indians

Patanjali Paridhan, video by L&K Saatchi & Saatchi, India

India – Consumer goods company Patanjali Ayurved is launching a fashion sub-brand for the country’s youth market.

The new brand, Patanjali Paridhan, addresses the fact that Indian fashion is largely inspired by the West, meaning there is a lack of Indian-focused clothing brands for modern consumers. To counter this, Paridhan wants to bring local fabrics and styles to the wardrobes of young people by showing that these styles are suited to Indian body types and climatic conditions.

The brand has tapped into a movement dubbed Tann Maan Dhan Indiapan, which is intended to remind the country’s youth of the rich heritage they have surrendered in the pursuit of Western fashion. ‘India was once one of the biggest exporters of clothing, textiles and styles,’ says KN Singh, the brand’s CEO. ‘Patanjali's objective, through Paridhan, is to mould the old format of dressing into the latest, more comfortable styles for Indian youth, while helping handloom corporations and weavers.’

There is a shift away from Euro-centricity in India, as the country’s Generation Z lose interest in Western culture and re-engage with their heritage through apparel.

Stat: The great financial expectations of British teenagers

British members of Generation Z may not be as pragmatic as commonly believed, according to a new survey by financial services provider OneFamily. The study found that nearly half (45%) of teenagers expect to be in their dream job before their 30th birthday – with the most desirable roles being engineers, teachers and psychologists – and 47% believe they will have bought their first home.

Furthermore, these teenagers expect to be earning £70,000 ($91,200, €80,400) by this time, which is nearly three times the average salary for a 30-year-old. ‘Many teens are expecting significantly higher than average salaries, which highlights the importance of helping them understand money,’ says Steve Ferrari, managing director of children’s savings at OneFamily. ‘Today’s teens have many life goals, so we need to encourage a savings culture to help them achieve their aspirations.’

Read our Money Market: Generation Z report to discover how brands can play a part in encouraging a healthy attitude to finances.

Thought-starter: How mainstream media is ignoring the asexual community

At a time of greater inclusivity, asexual people remain invisible in Western culture. Michael Paramo, founder of The Asexual, asks what media and entertainment brands can do better represent them.

Representation matters. It is a justifiably popular phrase given that who and what we encounter through media can shift, define and shape our identities as human beings, even if on a subconscious level. This is especially true for marginalised groups who are excluded from the mainstream or the most accessible forms of media. For asexual people, who are invisible in Western culture, media and entertainment brands play a key role in retaining a focus on the sexual.

One positive representation is the character of Todd Chavez in Bojack Horseman who portrays many affirming asexual experiences. BoJack Horseman captures the complexities of existing as an asexual individual today in American culture and the show validates Chavez’s asexuality with a story that continues in an affirming fashion.

It's promising that asexual representations are beginning to change, but there should be greater awareness that quality of representation is always more important than quantity. It's time for the mainstream media – and even other brands – to employ quality representation that truly validates those who identify as asexual.

Read the full Opinion piece here.

Dutch Invertuals. Visuals by Audrey Large
Previous Daily Signals Articles
Netflix’s Famous Last Words signals a new era of digital legacy

Daily Signals

Netflix’s Famous Last Words signals a new era of digital legacy

Dr Jane Goodall, the renowned ethologist and conservationist passed away this week. An interview she recorded for Netflix’s new series Famous Last ...
Technology : Legacy : Longevity
Foresight Friday: Seyi Oduwole, foresight analyst

Daily Signals

Foresight Friday: Seyi Oduwole, foresight analyst

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, foresight analyst Seyi Od...
Foresight Friday : Content Creation : Media
Stat: Americans’ trust in media declines to record low

Daily Signals

Stat: Americans’ trust in media declines to record low

Media : Trust : Consumer Behaviour
London welcomes the world’s first Museum of Youth Culture

Daily Signals

London welcomes the world’s first Museum of Youth Culture

The world’s first permanent museum dedicated to youth culture is set to open in Camden, London, in December 2025.
Youth : Culture : Museum
Swedish insurer hacks social media algorithms with mental health anthem

Daily Signals

Swedish insurer hacks social media algorithms with mental health anthem

Swedish insurer Länsförsäkringar Göteborg och Bohuslän has launched Detoxify, a subversive campaign that uses music to retrain harmful social media...
Sweden : Social Media : Algorithms
Stat: Gen Z shuns the values most desired by hiring managers

Daily Signals

Stat: Gen Z shuns the values most desired by hiring managers

New research from behavioural-science company Becoming You Labs reveals that only a small fraction of American Gen Z hold the three main values tha...
Youth : Gen Z : Work
Stella McCartney debuts plant-based feathers at Paris Fashion Week

Daily Signals

Stella McCartney debuts plant-based feathers at Paris Fashion Week

At Paris Fashion Week, Stella McCartney unveiled a striking alternative to bird feathers: plant-based Fevvers.
Stella McCartney : Fevvers : Feathers
Pedestrians are walking faster and lingering less in public spaces

Daily Signals

Pedestrians are walking faster and lingering less in public spaces

Pedestrians in American cities are moving faster and spending less time lingering in public spaces, according to a new study from MIT’s Senseable C...
MIT : Wellness : Design
Stat: Taylor Swift’s new album movie breaks US box office

Daily Signals

Stat: Taylor Swift’s new album movie breaks US box office

Taylor Swift’s latest project, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, turned a listening event into a box office hit, earning £24.6m ($33m, €28....
Pop Culture : Advertising : Media
Chanel’s le19M brings Parisian craftsmanship to Tokyo

Daily Signals

Chanel’s le19M brings Parisian craftsmanship to Tokyo

Chanel’s le19M has landed in Tokyo with La Galerie du 19M Tokyo, an exhibition that unites Parisian artisans and Japanese craftspeople in a celebra...
Luxury : Fashion : Design
You have 0 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN