LSN : News : Thought-starter: Can AI make our clothing intelligent?

Two Chairs is rebranding the therapy experience

Two Chairs, US

California – As well as providing a new type of mental healthcare model for young people, the company has opened a series of design-led clinics.

Two Chairs aims to address the difficulties in accessing mental healthcare in the US by creating a scalable system that works for everyone. To do this, it has developed a matching system that uses a questionnaire and in-clinic consultation to find the right therapist for clients, as well as well as helping them navigate how health insurance affects the cost.

The company is also on a mission to transform the clinical nature of therapy services. Its website uses contemporary branding with a bright yellow colour palette, while its physical spaces are designed to be calming and home-like, kitted out with plants, essential oils and herbal teas. ‘In our most fragile moments, we need our healthcare system to be at its most accessible and welcoming,’ says Two Chairs founder Alex Katz.

As the stigma around mental health falls away, therapy and spaces dedicated to self-care are being redesigned for a younger generation.

Gallinée launches skincare-inspired haircare

Gallinée

France – The beauty brand’s new range is designed to gently care for hair while balancing the scalp’s microbiome.

Gallinée calls the range, which comprises a cleansing cream, a hair serum and a mask, ‘skincare for hair’. In addition to foregoing ingredients such as harsh surfactants, the three products are enriched with fermented rice water and a complex of prebiotics and postbiotics.

According to the brand, which was one of the first to create skincare that supports the skin’s natural bacterial eco-system, the scalp’s microbiome plays an equally important role in hair health. Its hair and scalp care products are therefore formulated with a pH of 4.5–5.5 to avoid disrupting the acid mantle – a sweat, salty water and sebum mix that protects the scalp.

‘I think we will be one of the first brands to extend into [the] space,’ founder Marie Drago says of Gallinée’s move to introduce microbiome science to haircare. In a similar vein, our Skintellectual Haircare microtrend explores how new derma-driven products and rituals are drawing on ingredients and formulations found in skincare.

The seven-year-old influencer shaking up tv

US – Ryan’s Mystery Playdate is a new series created by pocket.watch, the brand’s new studio dedicated to Generation Alpha.

The programme features the seven-year-old star of Ryan Toys Review, a YouTube influencer who is known for videos of he and his family playing with toys and conducting science experiments. Ryan’s YouTube channel averages more than 1bn views per month and has more than 18m subscribers.

The 20-episode series, which will premiere on Nickelodeon later this year, will feature Ryan alongside his parents and a host of animated characters as they solve mysteries. Through this influencer partnership, the tv brand is looking to position itself as a competitor to YouTube, a website that has attracted a loyal audience of young viewers, but has struggles with a lack of regulations around children’s data usage.

By working with one of the site’s most recognisable young influencers, Nickelodeon aims to solidify its place as a go-to entertainment platform for pre-schoolers. To meet the next generation of entrepreneurs, read our Kidpreneurs tribe.

Ryan's Mystery Playdate on Nickelodeon

This car can be driven without a driving licence

Citroën Ami One

France – Car-maker Citröen has unveiled an ultra-compact concept vehicle as an alternative to public and two-wheel transport.

Designed for urban consumers without a driving licence, Citroën’s Ami One concept is designed to make mobility in cities more accessible, while allowing users to explore a new driving experience. The two-seater format provides greater agility than larger vehicles, while the closed cabin protects occupants in the event of bad weather. With a maximum driving speed of 28mph, the car can be driven by consumers from the age of 16, in line with European legislation.

Citroën’s aim is to fulfil various transport needs by allowing customers to access the all-electric car and adjust their usage to suit their changing mobility requirements, from five minutes of usage to long-term leasing arrangements. The company also plans to rent out the vehicle through car-sharing services operated by Free2Move.

As cities become more congested and densely populated, brands and companies are re-imagining urban mobility for a new generation. For more, read our interview with Remo Gerber of air taxi start-up Lilium.

Stat: Consumers wouldn’t care if brands disappeared

Brands are failing to prove they are necessary to consumers’ lives, according to the Havas Group’s Meaningful Brands 2019 report. The key finding of the report was that European consumers wouldn’t care if 81% of brands disappeared. When it comes to global consumers, this number falls slightly to 77%.

The report suggests that brands are failing to provide interesting and entertaining content for consumers, making them increasingly irrelevant. For example, in the UK, 90% of consumers expect brands to provide content, but 63% believe that the content now being created fails to deliver. In addition, just 33% of Britons believe brands are working to improve their quality of life or wellbeing.

This highlights the opportunities for brands to prove to consumers they are a Civic Brand, whether through entertaining content or purpose-driven initiatives focused on quality of life.

Thought-starter: Can AI make our clothing intelligent?

The next generation of connected clothing will use artificial intelligence to react and recalibrate, says senior creative researcher Rachael Stott, catering for continually changing consumer needs and lifestyles.

Despite high-profile product launches from brands such as Levi’s and Google, smart garments have yet to become mainstream. Consumers have been reluctant to invest in concepts that have typically been obtrusive, have limited functionality and are fundamentally not that useful. Recent advances in technology are changing this, however.

A new generation of smart apparel is emerging that responds to the wearer’s movements and modifies its form or functionality in response to each individual’s data. The technology is not only more inconspicuous, it’s becoming intuitive. Using artificial intelligence (AI) to react in real time, these smart garments change with consumers, learning their preferences and behaviour.

Nike’s Adapt BB, for example, is a connected shoe that can intelligently alter its shape and adapts to the player’s feet. Designed for basketball players, the shoe features electric adaptable reaction lacing that adjusts pressure and fit in response to the changing contours of the foot during activity.

Read the full Automated Apparel microtrend here.