TRENDOMANIA

Scent branding has become a hot topic recently, with hotels and retail spaces tempting customers with their unique fragrances. The city of York has taken the olfactory trend in another direction, by creatingSmell York, a guidebook that captures the city’s scents, ranging from the good to the bad and the downright ugly. As reported in the York Press, Kate McMullen of Visit York says that the guidebook was commissioned by the city to give tourists a way to preserve lasting memories from their visit to the historic city. Smell York is not the first scented guidebook; New York, Phew York! was published in 2011 and offers a scratch-and-sniff tour of the Big Apple.  The guidebook contains twelve scents, including York’s Antiquities (‘a musty infusion of leather, old books, gold, silver, wood and dust’), Afternoon Tea (‘the appetising aromas of loose leaf teas, spices and cakes’), Railway heritage (‘a nostalgic infusion of coal, steam, engine oil and iron to represent York’s rich railway history’), and Rural Yorkshire (‘the scent of fresh wild heather as it grows on the North York Moors, the grasslands of the Yorkshire Dales and fresh country air’). Perhaps most unique, however, is Spooky Scents (‘the strong smells of sulphur and roses that are frequently associated with two of York’s eternally restless spirits’).

The best hotels do all they can to create a good experience for customers during their stay, but they can’t typically do a lot once they leave. As a way to offer a memorable parting gift to its customers, Peru’s Kokopelli hostel has developed an edible business card that counteracts the effects of altitude sickness.

Located in Cusco, which is nearby the Andes mountain range, the hostel caters for many hikers and climbers who stop at the venue before heading to higher altitudes. Kokopelli gives each visitor a business card with the venue’s details in case they want to return on the way back down or in the future. Climbers can often suffer from sickness at high altitudes, and the business card doubles as an edible remedy inspired by ancient Peruvian techniques. Designed by New York-based Lanfranco & Cordova, the card features a leaf imprint made of coca leaf, which can be removed and chewed, leaving the hostel’s details intact. The video below explains more about the concept:

The card serves its purpose as a reminder of the hostel’s details but also helps hikers to feel better, creating a positive connection between the brand and their travel experience. However, the card cannot be carried outside of the Peruvian border, as the coca leaf could be used to extract cocaine. Are there other remedies that could be offered by hotels to help tourists with travel sickness or jetlag?

Website: www.hostelkokopelli.com Contact: [email protected]

Ideas To Steal.Today is a platform that encourages users to post the concepts they couldn’t make work so others can use them.

While a concept that looks good on paper might not work for one person, it could still provide inspiration for the masses of entrepreneurs and marketers that are always looking for the next big idea. We’ve already seen Ahhha provide crowdsourced advice for those looking to get their idea off the ground without others stealing it, but now a new platform called Ideas To Steal.Today is encouraging just that, with users posting the ideas they couldn’t make work themselves.

The simple site enables members to log in via Facebook and then upload images or videos that demonstrate their concept, along with a short description. Once approved by moderators, others can then view the idea while browsing the site, which is separated into categories such as mobile, print, radio and social media. Members can like and comment on ideas, even letting the creator know if they’ve stolen it for their own project.

Ideas To Steal.Today ensured that the discarded ideas from brainstorming sessions or failed marketing drafts don’t go to waste by enabling others to be inspired by them. Are there other ways that marketers could take advantage of open-source ideation to create a freer flow of ideas?

Website: www.ideastosteal.today

INTERNET OF CARING THINGS | A network of connected objects brought to life by a clear mission: to actively care for consumers – their physical and mental wellbeing, homes, loved ones, and more.

In 2005, there were 2.5 billion connected devices, most PCs, smartphones, tablets. By 2020, there will be over 30 billion connected devices, most not PCs, smartphones, tablets. (Gartner, November 2013)

100 'things' are coming online every second. (Cisco, July 2013)

Cheaper and more efficient wireless connectivity chips. Making it viable to add connectivity to a whole range of new objects, from toothbrushes to bike locks.

Rising adoption of cloud storage means more consumers will now have a place to put all the data that the INTERNET OF CARING THINGS will create.

Ultra-precise geo-location. Improved smartphone technologies will allow a consumer’s physical location to be known with ultra-precision (Apple’s iBeacon, part of iOS7, allows location to the nearest centimeter): a necessary condition for some interactions with the INTERNET OF CARING THINGS.

The crowdfunding revolution has unleashed a never-before-seen wave of hardware innovation. All kinds of objects are being made smart; consumers can choose the winners.

These changes are driving the demand for a network of CARING objects, designed to protectand assist people in their daily lives.

Air travel based on potential seat partners and friends' travel plans

Implications - Flying is tedious and stressful for most travelers, but some airlines and flight services are making the activity easier and more fun by offering seating arrangements based on social matching. Ranging from couples-only travel promos to services that will choose a seat mate for you based on compatibility, these social flying innovations are a great way to ensure consumers have a more memorable experience with one's airline by increasing the likelihood that they will enjoy their flights more so than if they had chosen a competitor.

Ecovative has developed the worlds first materials made from… mushrooms! These eco-friendly, high performance materials are renewable and compostable.Ecovative don’t manufacture these materials, they grow them.

Today, this young company is producing packaging called EcoCradle® Mushroom™ Packaging. Great for replacing materials made of  extruded polystyrene foam  which aren’t eco-friendly.

EcoCradle is being used by major international companies selling furniture or technological devices to replace foam packaging.

  It’s newest partner is Ford Motors, together they look forward to a fungus-based biodegradable material to be used for car bumpers, doors, and dashboards.

ecovativedign.com

1. GUILT-FREE STATUS

2. CROWD-SHAPED

3. MADE GREENER BY/FOR CHINA

4. MYCHIATRY - from physical health to tracking mental health

5. NO DATA brands - great service while loudly eschewing the collection of data

HONG KONG, China — Wealthy Chinese are likely to buy fewer luxury goods again this year after the steepest cut-back on spending in at least five years, changing the game for high-end retailers like Louis Vuitton which have staked their growth on China.

Overall spending by wealthy Chinese fell by 15 percent in 2013, the third consecutive year of decline, according to a survey by the Hurun Report. Spending on gifts in particular also declined by a quarter.

The drop coincides with a government crackdown on corruption and gifting, as well as an a growing penchant for travelling and shopping overseas to circumvent Chinese consumption taxes on luxury goods as high as 40 percent.

One in three so-called high net worth individuals have already left, or are planning to leave, China, the report showed, a factor that has also reduced luxury spending.

Most of these rich have emigrated, or considering it, to seek better opportunities for their children’s education, a 2011 Hurun survey showed.

“In terms of traditional luxury – leathers, accessories, watches – this year is going to be flat if not a little bit down,” Hurun Report founder and chief researcher Rupert Hoogewerf told Reuters.

“For luxuries like tea, healthcare, even education, we are still looking at a booming market.”

The crackdown on conspicuous spending, which began in 2012, is part of a vow made by Chinese President Xi Jinping to be tougher on graft. He has focused in particular on gifts made to government officials often in exchange for preferential treatment or contracts.

As a result, many wealthy Chinese now buy luxury goods for themselves, rather than as gifts, Hoogewerf said.

Products by Hermès, Chanel, LVMH’s Louis Vuitton brand, Apple Inc and Gucci remained among the most sought-after brands for gifting, the survey showed.

Less popular were Bulgari – another LVMH brand – Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany and Co and the fiery baijiu liquor made by Chinese firm Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd, once the top tipple of Communist Party officials.

SAVVIER CONSUMERS

Luxury firms are already grappling with a slowing economy in China and a more sophisticated clientele that shops online for the best price globally and eschews in-your-face logos.

Affluent Chinese have also become more confident about mixing high-street clothing and accessories with branded goods for an individual look.

“There is a much savvier consumer out there,” Hoogewerf said. “There will be more purchasing done overseas than in China. For a brand that’s global it’s fine.”

Over two-thirds of luxury spending by mainland Chinese was overseas in 2013, a factor that contributed to the United States overtaking China as the world’s fastest growing luxury market, according to a study by consultancy firm Bain & Company released in December.

China’s super-rich are also avid collectors – 70 percent of wealthy Chinese rank collecting as a hobby – but what they are coveting is changing.

Ancient calligraphy last year surpassed luxury watches as the most-collected, knocking watches out of the No. 1 spot for the first time in five years, the Hurun report showed, which could mean revenue losses for top watch makers but a boon for auctioneers.

Patek Philippe remained the most popular watch brand for collectors for the seventh year running while Christie’s was the top ranked foreign auction house, the report showed.

Besides spending less at home, more rich Chinese are leaving the country. The number of wealthy Chinese who have emigrated or are planning to do so rose to 64 percent from 60 percent in the previous year, the survey said.

Most of those leaving, or planning to, are looking for permanent residency overseas – the United States, Europe and Canada are top picks. Very few want to give up their nationality, perhaps because their outlook for China is improving.

The report showed millionaires’ confidence in China’s economy rose for the first time in five years but those who felt “extremely confident” still accounted for only 31 percent of those surveyed.

The survey’s results are based on responses from 393 Chinese millionaires, or those with personal wealth of at least 10 million yuan ($1.65 million). The Hurun Research Institute has conducted the survey for the past 10 years.

Saint Laurent (Hedi Slimane): 

not so grungy, more chic

Teddy Boy Look: 1950's Britan, working class youth movement against older generation, Edwardian drape jacket, bright ties, ankle pants

Dior Homme:

pinstripes

formal wear + denim (combination of two different work wears; factory + office)

Rick Owens

---> shoes very similar to Raf Simons

Raf Simons x Ruby Sterling:

Louis Vuitton

Calvin Klein

Prada

KEY TRENDS

formal wear reloaded: reinterpretation of formal menswear; incorportion of sportswear; more subtle, soft formal wear 

tailoring + sports

clutch: fold over clutch bag for men 

military

touch of fur

from visual to tactile (in textiles)

over-the-top coats (there it's all about the proportion)

brown + bright colors