Need to Know
24 : 05 : 19

Los Angeles – The high-tech fashion concept brand challenges perceptions of reality with its interactive, month-long pop-up at Los Angeles-based retailer Fred Segal’s flagship store.

Virtual Super Land’s (VSL) debut collection of streetwear uses green screen technology to cleverly jump between the physical and digital worlds. Designed for the social media generation, the collection is supported by the VSL camera app, which engages users’ perception of reality in a shareable way. When shoppers point their phone’s camera at the clothes, the app will animate items with renderings of solar systems, Renaissance sculptures and logos.

As the technology works with most shades of greens, the pop-up space heavily features green and neon elements so that all items interact with the app. In addition, VSL has collaborated with brands such as Mai Mai and Casetify to create a range of green products, including a neon bikini and one-of-a-kind iPhone cases. In doing so, the brand has created a fun, accessible and easy way to transform the retail experience, tapping into ideas we explore in our Programmable Realities macrotrend.

Los Angeles – The brand offers a range of affordable, non-toxic skincare that draws on insights from 16 million consumers.

From cleansers to treatments, Versed’s 19-product collection has been created to provide a cleaner alternative to traditional skincare solutions. The brand, which was incubated by Clique Brands, the company behind women’s lifestyle blog Who What Wear, was developed and inspired by insights gleaned from Who What Wear’s online community. Debuting online and in store at all Target locations across the US, everything in the range retails for under $20 (£15.60, €17.70).

‘After years of consumer research, we started to notice a gap in the beauty market,’ explains Katherine Power, CEO and founder of Versed. ‘Shoppers were looking for a brand that was deeply rooted in research and was comprised of clean products that not only work great, but are easy to use and make them feel good.’

Discover why data-driven product formulations are the future of skincare in our interview with Atolla Skin Lab co-founders Nava Haghighi, Sid Salvi and Meghan Maupin.

UK – Supported by dating app Feeld, the publication brings together essays, poems and illustrations, with its first print edition dedicated to botany and eroticism.

Published in partnership with London’s Serpentine Galleries, Mal Journal has launched in print following the success of previous online-only journals examining transcendence and desire. Each bi-monthly edition features inclusive and engaging original essays, fiction and poetry by emerging and established talent.

Mal Journal exists as a literary extension of Feeld, which describes itself as a dating app for open-minded singles and couples wishing to explore their desires alone or with others. ‘Mal Journal has been created as a vital platform for the most incisive and original voices engaging with sex, gender, race & LGBTQ+ issues today,’ says Lyubov Sachkova, communication manager at Feeld.

With sexual exploration straddling the digital and physical worlds, Generation Z are turning to social media, YouTube and Insta-influencers for realistic, inclusive perspectives on sex. For more, read our recent microtrend Sex Re-education.

Fresh data from CGA and ingredients brand Funkin Cocktails reveal growing demand for cocktails in the UK, with sales rising 9.5% in 2018 to a value of £587 million ($753m, €665m).

And, it seems, they’re are becoming a normal part of UK drinking culture, with the number of bars, restaurants and venues serving cocktails growing 75% in the five years since 2014, today totalling 42,000.

The research also shows that around 69% of people choose cocktails spontaneously. Ben Anderson, marketing director at Funkin Cocktails, notes: ‘The opportunity to attract new customers, increase profit per serve and drive footfall is huge, just by adding a few classic cocktails to a drinks menu.’

As consumers become more adventurous with their tastes – and expectant of food and drink outlets to provide creative drinks menus – bars, restaurants and drinks brands are launching experiences that heighten their senses by merging taste with real and virtual stimuli.