THE NOT SO WEEKLY EDIT: from greenwashing, wearables, VR healing to disease surveillance and digital twins
Immerse yourself into our latest research edit, packed with some of the future signals that have caught our attention. Being a futurist requires connecting the “unconnectable”, as random as it may seem. We research behavioural and cultural shifts impacting our world and fashion, as a mirror of society.
Photo by Geraldine Wharry
CULTURE | Why Fashion’s greenwashing can’t wash anything clean. The word has been leveraged and overused and it is practically an industry of its own; making it problematic to progress further. It is solely used by brands and the fashion industry for ‘clout’. “Greenwashing” has been used as a way of “painting over the cracks”, as the industry uses it as a way to disguise it as progress. With vast amounts of wastage being produced every year, the burning of unsold products, volumes of water being wasted and CO2 being used on regular basis, it doesn’t seem as though we are saving the “carbon footprint”. However, there is some good news! More recently, France has officially made the move to ban the destruction of unsold goods. Brands are slowly transitioning away from the use animal products and are opting for plant-based materials and recycled synthetics. Over the past few years, progress has been made in big fashion houses such as, Prada developing a re-nylon programme, Gucci and Hermès incorporating mushroom leather in their latest products.
INNOVATION | A wearable baby health monitor disguised as a shoe, is the latest concept device derived by Industrial designer Chris Barnes who drew inspiration from the “form and function of a sandal". It is an affordable and non-intrusive device that is attached to a child’s foot using a silicone strap to keep it secure. The monitor comes to life when the foot is inserted into the device, and a mechanical switch turns it on to measure the child’s heart rate, oxygen level, and temperature. The technical device features a traffic light system to signal the newborn’s status. This wearable health monitor could be a solution for low-resource countries due to lack of medical care and facilities. In Chris's words,“This innovation empowers parents in low resource countries to monitor their newborn babies, by providing them with a cheap, accessible device and ultimately giving them new confidence that their newborn will survive despite their lack of medical knowledge".
FASHION | 5 Ukrainian Designers to support right now! Ukrainian designers are doing their best to stay afloat amid the crisis with Russia. Wmagazine have curated a list of designers to support during this difficult time which include, Kyiv-based designer Ksenia Schnaider who runs her eponymous label with her husband and together the couple advocates for recycled denim. Jean Gritsfeldt label is inspired by “everyday party wardrobe” and Ivan Frolov whose work is inspired by fetish communities.
HEALTH | Can virtual reality ease chronic pain? a recent article published in the New York Times revealed that V.R. treatments may potentially provide a sense of relief, for the millions of Americans who are living with chronic pain. Chronic pain is the leading cause of long-term disability in the world, and it is defined as pain that lasts 3 months or longer. The emergence of virtual reality as a tool in health care is valued at billions of dollars and it is expected to grow in the next few years. Researchers are seeing the potential for V.R. in health care, ranging from depression to rehabilitation after strokes to surgeons strategizing where they can cut and stitch into the body. “In November, the Food and Drug Administration gave authorization for the first V.R. product to be marketed for the treatment of chronic pain.”
TECH | Has the pandemic revolutionised disease surveillance? Covid encouraged the world’s top scientists to develop the best epidemiological surveys. As the infection rates continue to drop, scientists have been forced to cut back on research even though the threat of the virus still looms. However, the team behind the ZOE tracking app pledges to continue researching into the next phase to respond to the virus. The progress made in disease surveillance may have a significant lasting impact on we respond to and track future diseases. If the world were to face another pandemic threat, disease surveillence could increase our readiness as we would have the infrastructure to cope with the threat. This could be a "renaissance in our understanding of infectious disease transmission" in the population, and how society interacts with that.
WELLBEING | Are magic mushrooms the future of mental health care? In an unprecedented time that has seen a significant surge in depression and anxiety, the revolutionary rise of psychedelics as a form of treatment is beginning to gain approval for use in some private clinics. A recent study published on Dazed Digital suggested that psilocybin could potentially treat signs of depression. Scientists compared traditional treatments with psychedelics and found that the compound is more effective at breaking free from “negative thinking patterns”, by opening the patient’s brain. Professor David Nutt, head of the Imperial Centre for Psychedelic research, found that the patient's mood improved within hours of treatment. What would this look like as a treatment on the NHS?
SHOES | Givenchy’s Creative Director, Mathew M. Williams gives us a first glimpse into the new TK-360 Sneaker aka “the dream shoe”. The new men’s sneaker is a revolutionary, avant-garde concept composed of a singular total knit structure, combining it with state-of-the-art technology. The TK-360 series emphasizes “disruptive silhouettes with bold lines”, creating a visually arresting outcome with wearability and comfort for the wearer, just as the designer intended. The highlight of the shoe features a “custom-molded silhouette with a stretch knit that is integrated with the sole”, enabling the wearer to walk on the knit.
DESIGN | A Shower proof prosthetic leg developed by Harry Teng, has been designed to support amputees. The device consists of a height-adjustable pole with added grip for stability where users can rest their residual limbs. The Lytra was designed by industrial designer Harry Teng to bridge the gap between traditional prostheses and bathroom aids with a safer and low-cost experience. Modern-day prostheses are expensive and not waterproof, in his words, "Their current solutions when showering can be quite dangerous or troublesome. The biggest challenge is entering and exiting the shower. Some amputees must jump to get inside, others may crawl."
PRIVACY | The Price of Privacy, an article featured in The Atlantic, sheds light on a society that is completely data-driven and the fight to protect it in this digital age. At the turn of the 20th century, the rise of aggressive press and technical innovations such as photography and telephones, triggered the public to call for a right to privacy. Data collecting tools such as facial recognition and social media platforms, inspire this fatalism. The ever-expanding surveillance has been debatable due public concern about “protecting our lives from online scrutiny”. So, in a hyperconnected world, who gets to keep a secret?
SCIENCE | A Quest to Make a Digital Replica of Your Brain. A recent European project called Neurotwin, wants to make virtual copies of brains. Digital twins are already being used in manufacturing and aerospace, where they are “doppelgängers of cities, ports, and power stations.” In 2016 CEO of GE Digital Bill Ruh, predicted that “we will have a digital twin at birth, and it will take data off of the sensors everybody is running, and that digital twin will predict things for us about disease and cancer and other things.” A digital twin could provide us with revolutionary pathways to develop treatments for example, it could tailor treatments for a patient and predict how their disease may develop. A recent report published by NASA researcher John Vickers estimated the market for digital twins is expected to reach nearly $50 billion by the year 2026.
Editor: Geraldine Wharry
Research: Schona Nagi