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RECESSIONISTA
FASHION
Clothing is often seen as a discretionary purchase, but devoted fashionistas
want to stay true to their craft. As a result, some of these cash-conscious
clotheshorses are looking for creative and savvy retail alternatives
to help them stay in style without spending a lot. And to help such
‘recessionistas’ cope in this economy, apparel rental services
are coming to the rescue. Dress Vault facilitates the lending, borrowing,
buying and selling of frocks. Members put pics of their dresses into
their virtual closet and include a rental or purchase price. Borrowers
cover shipping costs, but not the cleaning bill. Similarly, Girl Meets
Dress is helping women look their best on a budget by loaning high-end
dresses from top designers. The shopper designates her loaner length
and returns the dress in the package it was delivered in. (source: Iconoculture).
CIRCUS
FITNESS
Fitness gyms have been nichefying for some time now. Adding a new twist
to workouts for women, however, is a class from Reebok and Cirque du
Soleil that simulates the feeling of flying. Jukari Fit to Fly is a
group exercise experience based on a new piece of equipment called the
FlySet. Much like a free-hanging trapeze, the FlySet can be used for
swinging, jumping, hanging, kicking, pulling up and strengthening. The
equipment consists of a durable, three-stranded rope fixed to the ceiling
with a 360-degree swivel point and an attachable FlyBar. Using that
equipment, Fit to Fly classes offer an hour-long total body workout
of cardio, strength, balance and core training for up to 12 people that's
designed to provide a cure for the "workout blues." It's all
about moving your body in a fun new way. Jukari Fit to Fly is named
from a dialect word meaning "to play" and is just the first
in a series of special projects to result from Reebok's new partnership
with Cirque du Soleil. All makes sense, given that more than half of
all women feel exercise is a chore, and nearly two-thirds would work
out more if it was more fun, according to Reebok's research. (source:
Springwise).
UNDERGROUND
EATING
Underground restaurants are the dining equivalent of a speak-easy or
a rave. Whether they are entirely legal or not is a bit
of a grey area. But this is part of their allure. There’s something
very intoxicating about the combination of being “in the know”
and illicitness that creates an experience that people can’t help
but talk about. It’s word of mouth marketing at its most powerful.
Underground restaurants are new to the UK in the guise of MsMarmitelover’s
Underground Restaurant in Kilburn and Horton Jupiter’s Secret Ingredient
in Hackney, but are much more familiar in other parts of the world.
In America the underground dining scene is well established with covert
organisations such as Ghetto Gourmet leading the charge. Ghetto Gourmet
events tend to be relatively large scale and involve much creative collaboration
between chefs, musicians and artists. So why has the underground restaurant
scene suddenly sprung up? The reasons are twofold. The easy answer is
the recession – as money has got tighter diners are looking for
something more exciting but for less money. The second part of the answer
is the internet. The online foodie community is very dynamic in London,
which makes the marketing of an underground restaurant a doddle. This
bottom up approach to marketing a restaurant has not gone unnoticed
by the mainstream media or other restaurateurs. The Guardian reviewed
the opening night and AA Gill wrote a piece about how bored he was with
normal restaurants and how all he wanted to do was actually find an
underground restaurant so he could review it! (source: PSFK).
SEAWEED CARS
Toyota is looking to a greener future, literally, with dreams of an
ultralight, superefficient plug-in hybrid with a bioplastic body made
of seaweed that could be in showrooms within 15 years. The kelp car
would build upon the already hypergreen 1/X plug-in hybrid concept,
which weighs 926 pounds, by replacing its carbon-fibre body with plastic
derived from seaweed. As wild as it might sound, bioplastics are becoming
increasingly common and Toyota thinks it's only a matter of time before
automakers use them to build cars. Bioplastics are being used already
for everything from gift cards to cellphone cases. And demand for the
stuff is expected to hit £50bn annually within five years, a figure
that would account for 10% of the world market for plastic. Unsurprising,
as one producer claims its bioplastic produces 60% less carbon dioxide
than petroleum-based plastic and requires 30% less energy to make. (source:
Wired).
