#consumer priority

Historically, race and gender have been the most divisive markers of identity. And while they are a foundation of mainstream culture, we are beginning to see early adopters and innovators challenge these rigid classifications and replace them with visions of identity that are more personal and nuanced.

As technology enables more flexibility in our everyday lives (there’s an app for that), how we identify ourselves is becoming increasingly flexible as well. The topic of gender identity continues to dominate the industry and seemingly every fashion brand has unveiled a gender- neutral campaign, to reflect society’s embrace of gender fluidity. The lines of both Gender and Sexuality are becoming ever more blurred. Flexible identity is more than just a gender and sexuality issue – employment identity and ethnic identity are the new flexible frontiers set to impact 2018.

For example, a new exhibition at London Fashion Space Gallery explores fashion designers’ fixation with male youth. Not only does curator Lou Stoppard explores themes such as sexuality, street culture and the rise of ‘Neutral Culture’ but the ‘Made About The Boy’ exhibition features audio interviews, photography, films as well as key pieces from designers, including Gosha Rubchinskiy and Raf Simons

Seminal photographs of skinheads from the 1980s by celebrated fashion photographer Nick Knight sit alongside a spring/summer 2015 collaboration between grime artist Skepta and chillwear designer Nasir Mazhar, demonstrating the increasing pertinence of youth culture on today’s fashion industry.

Stoppard also highlights the rise of gender fluidity, citing JW Anderson’s androgynous collections and fashion photographer Brett Lloyd’s editorials. But she is still keen to highlight the differences between the genders. ‘With masculinity there is more of a focus on rights of passage, gangs and freedom,’ says Stoppard. ‘With women the focus is much more on aesthetics and youthful.”

Kochi, India – Cochin International Airport has become the world’s first entirely solar-powered airport.The airport’s solar power plant comprises more than 46,000 photovoltaic solar panels across 45 acres of landThe power plant will produce 48,000 units of energy per day300,000 tons of carbon emissions will be saved over the next 25 years – the equivalent of planting three million trees

Sustainability is no longer a buzzword, but an expected standard. An eco-efficient approach aims to minimise ecological damage while maximising the efficiency of the company and its production processes. This could be through reduced use of energy, material and water, or through recycling, or cutting hazardous emissions and by-products. In short, the focus is on maintaining production, but with fewer resources, and less waste and pollution.

On a larger scale, Rio de Janeiro’s latest cultural addition, the Museum of Tomorrow, has been designed to improve the quality of the environment around it. Not only will the museum host exhibitions exploring and reflecting on possibilities for the future (including an outlook on sustainability) but the building itself has been designed as an exercise in making a building as sustainable as possible. Not only does it use cold water from the surrounding Guanabara Bay in its air conditioning system but the water is filtered and returned to the bay via reflective pools that cool the surrounding air by up to 2°C. Other sustainable features, include solar panels which supply 9% of its power.

Other examples include: