Need to Know
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New York – A new experiential retail concept from AR fashion platform Zero10 and Crosby Studios is bringing digital fashion into a physical setting. Visitors to the pop-up store can scan QR codes using an app to try on digital-only clothes in real time using their smartphones, with Zero10’s augmented reality technology also allowing them to digitally tailor the garments by uploading a picture.

Designed by Crosby Studios, the collection celebrates its digital nature with fantastical garments that could only exist in virtual reality. Inspired by 1990s video games, pieces include a chequered suit, light shirt, pixel leopard hoodie, disappearing pants and video game trousers. The store setting itself is designed to allow visitors to freely interact with the digital fashion without being interrupted by physical objects. ‘We wanted to create a new concept of pop-up spaces responding to retailers’ needs to attract a new generation of consumers but also evolving the format of pop-ups that are not about product display any longer,’ explains George Yashin, CEO of Zero10.

The pop-up showcases how, as the physical and digital worlds continue to merge, retailers can continue to innovate with Hyperphysical Stores that allow both to co-exist and provide a compelling reason to visit in person.

Finland – In the chaos of a music festival, it's all too easy to lose track of how much you've had to drink. Tackling this problem, Finnish beer brand Karhu is releasing a festival wristband that allows attendants to monitor their alcohol intake levels safely and conveniently.

The wristband features an integrated alcohol meter that wearers can lick to reveal their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels swiftly and discreetly. The prototype was tested successfully at the Solstice festival in Finland in June and there is now interest to bring the technology to additional events.

In the Covid era, self-testing has become much more commonplace, leading other sectors to adopt the practice and innovate new products. ‘More careful self-monitoring of alcohol consumption could potentially help festival-goers have an even more enjoyable time out and about. We want to help our consumers pace their drinking, especially when it’s hot outside,’ says Alexander Sneen, vice-president of marketing at Sinebrychoff, the Finnish drinks company behind Karhu.

With members of Generation Z making an effort to lower their alcohol intake, inventions such as this show how drinking can be enjoyed more responsibly and safely.

Cannabis is becoming an increasingly regular part of young people’s everyday routines. According to research by consumer insights platform YPulse, almost one in four young adults in the US use marijuana daily.

An increase in cannabis and alcohol consumption is often blamed on the pandemic. Before the pandemic, 33% of individuals in the US aged 21–39 reported having used marijuana; by 2021, that number had risen to 40%. But while drinking levels have been declining to pre-pandemic levels, the use of cannabis has continued to rise. According to this year’s survey, 44% of people aged 21–39 have consumed cannabis recreationally.

The perception of cannabis as less dangerous than alcohol may be one of the contributing factors behind its increase. In contrast to alcohol, which 44% of those aged 21–39 deem harmful, only 32% of this age group classified marijuana as harmful.

Attitudes to cannabis are changing, as consumers seek out Alternative Intoxication methods that they deem less harmful than alcohol.