@tbwabackslash

class="content__text" Faced with a shortage of specialized craftspeople, luxury brands are launching their own schools and training centers. Last week, LVMH announced the creation of a “centre for excellence in the trades”, which will house an employee training area as well as practical craft workshops for the general public. In the same week, Bottega Veneta launched a school to train the next generation of craftsmen. Bottega’s “Accademia Labor et Ingenium” will include training programs for university students as well as refresher and development courses for the label’s current employees. Classes cover everything from bag design, to production, to professional communication skills. These efforts aim to preserve age-old skills that are at risk of disappearing as craftspeople retire. Altagamma, which brings together Italy's luxury goods companies, estimates that over the next five years, luxury goods companies will need to employ 346,000 professionals in top-level trades, including more than 40,000 in fashion and leather goods. The challenge is making these professions attractive to a younger generation that tends to devalue trades. "We need to ensure that people approaching the professional world see a career as a craftsman as their first choice, rather than a fallback option,” says Diego Della Valle, CEO of luxury shoemaker Tod’s. With the luxury industry heavily tied to Italy’s national pride and identity, these educational initiatives are being driven by something much larger than recruitment problems. They’re a concentrated effort to keep the country’s craft heritage alive. Edge: Stability Pursuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #StabilityPursuitBackslash #LVMH #bottegaveneta #bottega #craftsmanship #craftspeople #madeinitaly #italianheritage #luxurycraft #luxuryfashion #luxurytrends #tradeschool #luxurylabels @lvmh

October 23, 2023

class="content__text" Itching to live out your Man vs. Wild dreams? Desert island tourism could be for you. A leader in the space is Docastaway, a travel company that brings people to remote, uninhabited islands so they can “feel like a castaway.” Clients can choose between Survival Mode, where they get dropped off on the island with barely anything (in some cases, just a machete or spear gun) and have to figure out the rest on their own, or Comfort Mode, where they have a crew on standby with food, water, shelter, and other necessities. The company’s founder, Alvaro Cerezo, works directly with the owner of the island to secure permissions and ensure that no boats will be in sight during the client’s stay—a detail that’s essential to creating the illusion of complete isolation. In some cases, this process can take years. Though not new (the company was founded in 2010), Docastaway says that Survival Mode has become an increasingly popular option as people look to put their self-reliance to the test. UK-based competitor Desert Island Survival—which offers five days of hands-on survival training before leaving clients to fend for themselves for three days—has also seen a recent uptick in interest. “Everything is very difficult on an island. You need to fight for everything you get,” said Cerezo. “I could be more romantic and tell you, ‘Oh yeah, this is the life.’ But it’s much better being in civilization. This is a true test for people.” With modern living making it easier than ever to indulge in comfort and convenience, desert island tourism is becoming a new kind of escape. For some, it’s a transformative personal experience. For others, it’s a rare chance to get back to basics and learn essential survival skills. Edge: Next-Gen Naturalists . . . . . . . . . . . . . #NextGenNaturalistsBackslash #desertisland #remotetravel #desertedisland #castaway #bushcraft #survivalskills #outdoorsurvival #backtobasics #selfreliance #docastaway #desertislandsurvival

October 21, 2023

class="content__text" What if there was a way to control your emotions on demand? Wu Xiaotian from China spent 16 years helplessly battling severe depression until last year, when he joined a clinical research trial at Shanghai’s Ruijin Hospital to have a “brain pacemaker” implanted under the skin of his chest. The pacemaker sends tiny electrical pulses to electrodes implanted in his head, allowing Wu to go from miserable to happy with the push of a button. He uses two main device settings: “work mode” to energize him in the morning, and “rest mode” to relax him before bed. Using the technology, researchers believe they can reliably create “mood settings” that patients with treatment-resistant depression can apply depending on their state of mind, allowing them to alleviate their symptoms almost immediately. While the procedure came with plenty of risks, Wu says the operation has allowed him to recover 80% of himself. He is still participating in the clinical trial and believes the technology will “give him freedom and dignity.” With groundbreaking health developments underway, instant mood control could one day become the new norm. However, dependence on such tools will have to be thoroughly evaluated and heavily regulated to ensure we maintain complete autonomy over our own minds and emotions. Edge: Mood Geisting Spotter: Ong Xue Ying – TBWA\Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #MoodGeistingBackslash #braincomputerinterface #bci #depressiontreatment #moodcontrol #mindcontrol #emotioncontrol #brainpacemaker #treatmentresistantdepression #mentalhealthtreatment #healthinnovation #medicalprocedure #medicalbreakthrough

October 20, 2023

class="content__text" When you step into a Lumin Fitness studio, you’re stepping into the future. The walls of the new-age gym are lined with LED screens that track both the guests’ movements and the gym’s equipment—including dumbbells, medicine balls, skipping ropes, and more. Once members arrive at their designated stations, they pick their AI coach through the gym’s app. There are different options to fit different preferences, like a “warm and positive” trainer named Emma or a tough drill sergeant who goes by Rex. The trainers’ instructions are delivered through headphones and paired with music of your choice. The hope is that these AI trainers will appeal to people who are too intimidated by actual human trainers, but too unmotivated to hit the gym without any guidance. But don’t think you can get away with slacking off. The sensors allow Lumin’s system to track the number of reps completed and ensure that guests are maintaining proper form throughout their workout. To make things even more interesting, there’s also a gamification element. Members might be tasked with filling up a virtual basket of balls as they complete sit-ups, for example, or building a virtual block tower while doing burpees. Playing these games allows you to earn points that can be traded in for special perks or discounts. Although AI is being incorporated into smart mirrors and fitness apps, @lumin.fitness  is the first to integrate the technology into a full-blown smart gym. For those looking to get precise, personalized coaching while still being in a group environment, Lumin’s model could offer just the motivation needed to get moving. Edge: Health Hedonism . . . . . . . . . . . . . #HealthHedonismBackslash  #luminfitness  #aifitness  #virtualfitness  #virtualworkout  #workoutmotivation  #futureoffitness  #personalizedfitness  #groupexercise  #virtualtrainer  #gymtrend  #gymtrainer

October 20, 2023

class="content__text" In this week’s \Brief: @Netflix plans to launch physical spaces for shopping, dining, and live entertainment in 2025; Atlanta hosts America’s first senior-friendly Pride event; @Roblox invests another $15 million to promote educational games. #OddysseysBackslash #InclusiveByDesignBackslash #PlayItForwardBackslash

October 18, 2023

class="content__text" This week, California passed a bill that will require venture capital firms to annually report the diversity of the founders they are backing. The law is the United States’ first piece of legislation that aims to increase diversity within the VC landscape. And given California accounts for nearly 50% of the world’s venture capital, it will have far-reaching impacts. Once the law goes into effect on March 1, 2025, any venture capital firm operating in the state (as well as firms that either invest in California companies or raise money from California investors) must report the race of the people they back, as well as their disability status and whether they’re a member of the LGBTQ+ community. The bill also requires firms to share their diversity data with the public. Funding to startups led by women, Black founders, or Latinx founders has never risen more than 5% in any given year—a grim statistic that could change as a result of this new law. California’s landmark move also comes in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent decision to strike down Affirmative Action programs in college admissions, raising concerns about equal opportunities for underrepresented groups.  With the VC industry under fire for its lack of diversity, this new law is a critical step toward fostering a more equitable startup ecosystem. And it may be the start of a much larger transparency movement. According to Allison Byers, a tech policy advocate who helped ideate the bill, they are “already in discussions with leaders in other states and countries who are interested in enacting similar policies.” Edge: Inclusive By Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . #InclusiveByDesignBackslash #VC #venturecapital #californialaw #diversefounders #startupfunding #celebratediversity #femalefounders #blackowned #inclusivity #dei #diverseleadership #diversityintech #diversitymatters

October 17, 2023

class="content__text" Lidl is making sure that cost isn’t a barrier to plant-based eating.  The German supermarket chain recently lowered the prices of its own Venmondo vegan products to match their animal-based equivalents. Besides being a win for vegans, Lidl hopes the price parity will encourage more shoppers to give sustainable alternatives a try. According to the Federal Association of the German Food Trade, 41% of Germans identify as flexitarian, and 43% say they’d buy more plant-based foods if they were offered at a cheaper price. In addition to lowering prices, Lidl is placing Venmondo products near their non-vegan counterparts so that customers can easily compare the two. Lidl is also the first German food retailer to publicly disclose the ratio of plant to animal protein sources in its range. Just 11% of the retailer’s protein offerings are currently plant-based — a number they’ve committed to boosting to 20% by 2030. While consumers consistently say they want to lower their food footprint, the reality is that purchase decisions are still largely driven by cost. By making vegan products more accessible, Lidl is proving that ethical eating doesn’t have to be a premium pursuit. Edge: Conscious Convenience Spotter: Moritz Kleiser — TBWA\Düsseldorf  . . . . . . . . . . . . . #ConsciousConvenienceBackslash @lidlde #lidl #veganfood #plantbased #flexitarian #ethicaleating #sustainablefood #affordablefood #plantbasedprotein

October 17, 2023

class="content__text" What if urban buildings could charge your EV? By 2030, cities will need to charge up to 20 times as many electric cars as today, but charging infrastructure is struggling to keep up with that growth. Copenhagen-based startup Elby has a unique solution: integrating chargers into the walls of existing multistory buildings with adjacent street parking.  Car owners use their own cable to connect their car to the wall unit, running the cable through a secure sleeve in the sidewalk. They can turn on the charger using Elby’s app and pay DKK 2 (USD 0.28) plus the cost of electricity, which is among the lowest charging rates in the Danish market. Best of all, building owners receive up to 60% of the profits generated from their Elby sockets — allowing them to profit from excess power capacity that’s rarely used. Elby’s innovation is open for preorders now and is set to launch in Greater Copenhagen next year. Besides being extremely scalable, Elby’s strategy could also motivate more buildings to add renewable energy sources in order to increase their profit margins by powering multiple chargers.  With interest from New York, San Francisco, London, Berlin, Stockholm, and more, Elby’s model could serve as a blueprint for expanding charging infrastructure globally. Edge: Travel Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . #TravelRightBackslash @elbydotco #ev #electriccar #electricvehicle #evcharging #evchargingstation #evcharger #evinfrastructure #mobility #autotrend #sustainablemobility #greenmobility

October 17, 2023

class="content__text" In this week’s \Brief: The UK proposes a ban on cigarettes for younger generations; @McDonalds opens its first LEED Zero Carbon certified restaurant in Hong Kong; a new California law requires high schools to teach students about workers’ rights. #BodyDebatesBackslash #ClimateCreditBackslash #ActivistAwakeningBackslash

October 17, 2023

class="content__text" A few years ago, every restaurant was curating its look specifically to attract influencers. Now, they’re banning them.  DAE, a new design shop and cafe in Brooklyn, is prohibiting people from taking photos and videos due to “TikTok and Instagram photoshoots getting out of control.” The Korean cafe blew up on social media as soon as it opened, with users obsessing over their photogenic foods like checkerboard butter on milk bread, as well as their aesthetically designed interior. According to the shop’s co-owner, Carol Song, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to come in, order one drink, then stay for two hours doing photoshoots. Others didn’t even order anything, they just took photos of food and drinks on nearby tables. While some businesses are leaning into that kind of free publicity, DAE is intentionally leaning out. “I didn’t want to be a place where people just come and go for the trend,” says Song. This situation isn’t unique to DAE. Due to complaints from diners, other restaurants have implemented no-flash photography policies, asked users to delete videos that show other diners, or banned phones altogether. At Lamia’s Fish Market in the East Village, diners even get a free bottle of champagne if they agree to lock away their phones during the meal. With social media overload disrupting IRL experiences, we could see a clearer divide between spaces that encourage content creation and those that regulate it. Expect phone-free environments to serve as a new kind of escape. Edge: Zero Out  Spotter: Warren Dell — TBWA\London  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #ZeroOutBackslash @daenewyork #foodinfluencer #phoneeatsfirst #photoban #nophotosplease #influencers #restauranttrends #nyeats #daenewyork #nophonepolicy

October 17, 2023

class="content__text" In the Philippines, talking about sex is still highly taboo—especially for Catholics who make up 80% of the country’s population. Unprude wants to change that. As Asia’s first sex therapy app, Unprude is taking a unique approach that’s grounded in local culture. It was created by two Filipina women of faith, sex therapist Rica Cruz and Chief Technology Officer Nicole Bernabe, who say that religious people like them often don’t have anywhere to turn for advice on sexual matters. As Bernabe puts it, “It’s not like you can ask your pastor.” When you open the app, the first thing you’ll see is a questionnaire that asks things like “How do you feel about masturbation?” and “How did you learn about sex growing up?” Based on your responses, Unprude will then curate content that’s aligned to your sexual values, regardless of religion. This includes sex modules, conversation cards, meditative audio guides, podcasts, short form videos, and soon, community-led conversations. For those planning to abstain from sex, the app covers that too. While similar apps from Western countries tend to be more explicit, Unprude is showing how sex wellness can be adapted according to personal and cultural context. And with Asia’s sex wellness market poised for serious growth, this more inclusive approach could pay off in a big way.  Edge: Sexual Liberation  Spotter: Oliver Loyola — TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #SexualLiberationBackslash #unprude #sexwellness #sexeducation #sexualwellness #sexualempowerment

October 10, 2023

class="content__text" In this week’s \Brief: @WHOOP launches a hyper-personalized health coach using ChatGPT-4 tech; Southeast Technical University offers Ireland’s first degree in social media influencing; @universalmusicgroup announces its own music-centric wellness app. #HealthHedonismBackslash #StabilityPursuitBackslash

October 10, 2023