From haute couture fitness to hot additions to the condiment category, here are some things that made us say “That’s Interesting” in the studio this week.
So, we see iconic sauce brands launching seasonal flavours to reconnect with consumers, haute couture fashion creating a space for itself in athletic wear, new dimensions and new marketplaces within the digital realm, and fashion retailers promoting inclusivity with quiet, calm confidence, and making everyone feel represented.
Spice up your grill.
The beloved Tabasco brand just unveiled new seasonal flavours for the summer, just in time for grilling season! The iconic pepper sauce makers have extended their range to four new flavours of BBQ sauces, with heat levels from mild to extra spicy. Each sauce can be enjoyed in different ways, and combines the brand’s pepper expertise and signature taste with a BBQ twist. The packaging is the perfect blend of the iconic Tabasco bottle and the familiar, squeezable bottles of the condiment world, creating ownable stand-out for the brand. Limited and seasonal editions are a great way for brands to re-connect with consumers and to create all-year-round excitement around the brand.
It’s getting hot in here
Sweaty couture.
Working out at home has seen us adapting everyday objects into gym props, from chairs to pots to broomsticks. But have you ever thought of using your luxury belt or scarf as a workout tool? Well, Hermès has just released exercise tutorials that show you how! To celebrate China’s Labour Day holiday, the haute couture brand launched a series of mini exercise tutorials – HermésFit – on its WeChat Mini Program as a way to promote fitness and its new line of accessories. The clips are not a one time initiative, they are part of a bigger change that the brand is introducing with their marketing campaign “Start the movement” through which they are positioning themselves at the intersection of elegance and agility. Hermès isn’t the first luxury brand to expand into active-wear, but the interesting angle is that, rather than inventing a whole new product line, it has simply taken its classic offerings and reimagined them in sports-related settings.
Exercise in style here
New dimensions.
The pandemic has truly accelerated innovation in the digital world. Further proof of this is the latest announcement from Canada-based platform Dapper Labs: they are partnering with star-studded avatar platform Genies, who own 99% of the celebrities avatar market share and work with artists such as Rihanna and Shawn Mendes. The Dapper-Genies collab is aimed at turning the platform into the Amazon of Digital Wearable NFTs, a place where celebrities and regular consumers will be able to create and sell digital wearable NFT items for their avatars. The economy of avatars and cryptocurrencies has been booming, creating opportunities for new virtual experiences – how can your brand leverage this movement and get ahead of the curve?
To the moon here
Fashion for all!
UK fashion retailer ASOS has been praised globally for one of its jewellery ads. However, it’s not the earring that has caught people’s attention, but the model, who is wearing a cochlear implant, a device that bypasses the inner ear and sends sound signals directly to the auditory nerve. Model Natasha Ghouri was born deaf and features in ASOS campaigns for both clothing and accessories. But it is only recently that someone with the same condition noticed the implant and felt represented by the brand. Now more than ever, we look to industries like fashion to embody inclusivity, responsibility, positivity and empowerment.
Spread the word and shop here