LSN : News : Zara and Wallpaper* join forces to create offbeat travel guides

LifeCup launches first intimate wash tailored to trans women

LifeFemT by LifeCup, Colombia

Colombia – Menstrual cup specialist LifeCup has unveiled LifeFemT, a new intimate wash product explicitly created for trans women and non-binary people who undergo gender affirmation surgery. After identifying a gap in the market, Romina Rizzi and Stephanie Larumbe, co-founders of LifeCup, joined forces with marketing agency Wunderman Thompson Colombia, medical professionals and local trans women to develop a trailblazing intimate wash made of amino acids, complex lipids, calendula and aloe vera. The product, proudly showcasing the trans flag, aims to balance pH and hydrate bacterial flora while boosting tissue regeneration.

‘Trans women are women, but we are also trans, and becoming who we are can take months or years, sometimes even when you’re fighting with yourself,’ says Ximena Borré, one of the trans women who were part of the community that consulted on the project. ‘Right after gender affirmation surgery, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with questions like, how do I take care of myself? What product do I use?’

In Queer Care Market, we signalled the rise of similar inclusive products and services addressing LGBTQ+ health challenges.

Strategic opportunity

As the number of proudly out LGBTQ+ consumers grows, how can you identify gaps in your market, from healthcare to fashion, to tailor to this growing demand?

Zara and Wallpaper* join forces to create offbeat travel guides

Where To Now by Wallpaper and Zara, UK and Spain

UK and Spain – Curated by Wallpaper* and Zara's workforce, Where To Now travel guides prompt travellers to explore five offbeat destinations and indulge in slow-paced locavore travel experiences.

The Where to Now series was created by Wallpaper* magazine and Zara’s editorial teams, including a 300-page coffee table book and individual guides to five travel destinations – Bruton (UK), Ojai (US), Galicia (Spain), Naoshima (Japan) and Namibia.

Collating notes and images of nature, streets, stores, hotels and people, the books are highly visual and feel intimate. The guides target both so-called ‘armchair travellers’ and enthusiastic explorers, but are not geared towards those who travel for a viral social media post. Embracing slow travel and spontaneity, Wallpaper* and Zara encourage readers to pack light, shop local, eat locavore and wander off the beaten track.

Branded as travelogues by experts rather than travel guides, the series reflects the growing consumer appetite for expert and brand-led travel, which feels more personal and in the know than conventional tourist guides or sponsored influencer recommendations.

Strategic opportunity

Hand-picked and vetted recommendations coming from the workforce behind a brand can be a path to connect with consumers on a deeper level in an authentic and trustworthy fashion

The Objaverse: a database of 800,000 annotated 3D objects built for AI

US – Computer vision researchers from Seattle-based Allen Institute for AI have unveiled Objaverse 1.0, a vast database of 800,000 3D-modelled items, from food to animals, vehicles and furniture, among others, that include metadata such as captions, tags and more. Already available for download on the AI community platform Hugging Face, Objaverse will help train AI to better understand the nuances of life in 3D such as the difference between a peeled and an unpeeled banana in AI-generated simulations.

Objaverse also includes variations on everyday objects – different designs of lamps, for instance – and animations. While human home designers can consider the difference between an open fridge and a closed one when 3D-designing a kitchen, AI can’t access this level of 3D expertise without being fed animation and metadata explaining the process in detail.

In Generative AI Creativity, we previously analysed how an emerging wave of consumer-facing artificial intelligence-powered platforms redefines the nature of creative work in a market set to reach £88.54bn ($109.37bn, €100.77bn) by 2030, according to Grand View Research.

Web-3 Café by Crosby Studios and Gaia Repossi, France

Strategic opportunity

Consider how to archive all of your products into an extensive visual database to feed that library to AI later and generate 3D simulations of possible stores, warehouses or offices tailored to your exact needs

Stat: Global second-hand market slated to double in size by 2027

Fast Fashion Confessional Hotline by ThredUp and Priah Ferguson, US

Global – Online thrift store thredUP has released its 2023 resale report, which found that the global second-hand market is expected to nearly double in size by 2027, reaching £282bn ($350bn, €320bn). This figure reflects the pivotal role resale plays in offering sustainable solutions in the fashion industry.

At present, 75% of the fashion industry’s production is unused and ends up in landfill, a figure that does not sit well with the eco-conscious values of the younger generation. According to The RealReal’s 2023 Luxury Consignment Report, Gen Z resell more than any other demographic – emphasising the urgency with which they are willing to adopt sustainable measures.

The notion that a garment can have a second or a third life is increasingly prevalent, and as discussed in our Resale Redux report, resale is no longer seen as buying at a charity shop. Instead, its circularity value appeals to a younger generation who want to shop guilt-free.