Beyond The Limits 1.07.2024

?? Welcome to our newsletter for the week. We have gathered some of the most interesting news and updates from the world of circularity, technology, fashion, and luxury.

?? Sustainable Luxury

A UK-based tissue engineering company, 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), has announced the successful production of lab-grown leather, currently at the sample stage. This innovation is poised to revolutionize the luxury fashion sector. 3DBT, a biotech start-up owned by London-based BSF Enterprise and led by Dr. Che Connon , has developed ‘tissue-engineered skin’ derived entirely from cells for the luxury goods market. The leather, tanned with expertise from the University of Northampton , promises to be an ethical and sustainable alternative, addressing the increasing demand for environmentally and animal-friendly products. Unveiled at the Future Fabrics Expo in London, the lab-grown leather is structurally and genetically identical to traditional leather but produced without harming animals. It can be tanned using traditional or modern eco-sensitive methods. The production process utilizes immortalized cells from an adult female horse, following strict bioethics, to grow a skin/hide structure in six weeks without additional materials like plastics or cellulose. This method is distinct due to 3DBT’s patented, serum-free, animal-free cell culture media supplement, City-mix, which accelerates tissue production and reduces costs. The resulting product is 100% animal tissue, free of animal suffering, suitable for various applications including footwear, apparel, handbags, furniture, fashion, and automotive accessories. Lab-grown leather offers consistent quality, uniform composition, and can be scaled for larger production, unlike traditional leather with natural imperfections. It is also biodegradable within 10-50 years, contrasting sharply with polymer-based alternatives that take over 500 years to decompose. This project, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through Innovate UK, with support from various co-funders, represents a significant advancement in sustainable luxury materials.

?? Fashion

The highlights of Paris Men's Fashion Week:

As the men's European Football Championship in Germany and the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris foster a shared sporting spirit, fashion houses showcased their latest menswear collections in Paris. Some shows embraced a sporty theme, while others indulged in vibrant fashion spectacles or exercised restraint. 路易·威登 's SS25 collection, designed by Pharrell Williams, emphasized sports and solidarity. The collection, featuring a palette of grey, brown, and black with splashes of blue and green, blended streetwear, classic menswear, and workwear. Football references were prominent, with jerseys, jackets, and bags inspired by the sport. 酩悦·轩尼诗-路易·威登集团 , 路易·威登 's parent company, reported a slight decline in sales for its fashion and leather goods segment in early 2024, with ongoing concerns over personnel changes and investment in the Paris Olympics. META CAMPANIA COLLECTIVE showcased a fencing-inspired line, while Zurich-based Prototypes highlighted football fan culture with various jerseys and sporty pieces. Y-3, a collaboration between Yohji Yamamoto and 阿迪达斯 , returned to Paris with jerseys from the Japanese national football team, generating social media buzz. Adidas, recovering from a supplier shift by the German national team to 耐克 , looks forward to new partnerships, including with Eintracht Frankfurt. Rick Owens presented a collection with a cult-like aesthetic, while Sean Suen and Yenesai drew inspiration from spirituality and space travel, respectively. Sankuanz's Shangguan Zhe explored Asian mystical deities with a mix of Western and Asian garments. Walter van Beirendonck and Kidsuper embraced circus themes, while COMME des GAR?ONS Homme Plus showcased a blend of patterns and silhouettes reminiscent of a circus. Brands like Kidill and Junya Watanabe infused punk elements into their collections, with Jeanne Friot incorporating denim and latex. Workwear influences were evident in collections from Juun.J, 032c, and Loewe , each reinterpreting traditional garments with a modern twist. Despite the extravagance, some brands focused on wearable pieces with restrained color palettes. Collections from System, Namesake, and Lemaire featured earthy tones and subtle accents, reflecting a trend towards understated luxury amid economic challenges. Paris Fashion Week marked the end of DRIES VAN NOTEN 's 40-year career with a poignant show. Meanwhile, US artist A$AP Rocky debuted his "American Sabotage" collection, merging political messages with 90s streetwear aesthetics, highlighting societal issues in the US.

?? More Than Fashion

路易·威登 is strengthening its ties with Barcelona by expanding its urban guide project. Following the showcase of its latest Cruise collection in May and sponsorship of the 37th America’s Cup, the brand will launch an edition dedicated to Barcelona on August 23. This guide will feature around 350 locations, including markets, restaurants, cultural sites, historical landmarks, and spots favored by football fans. Notable contributors, such as Sergio Caballero, co-founder of the Sónar electronic music festival, helped select key points of interest, while photography was managed by Pascal Aimar of the TENDANCE FLOUE collective. This Barcelona edition is part of 路易·威登 ’s renowned initiative, which began over 20 years ago and includes guides for cities like Paris, New York, London, and Tokyo. These guides provide detailed itineraries focusing on design, contemporary art, fashion, beauty, gastronomy, and sports. Founded in 1854, 路易·威登 is a leading luxury brand within the 酩悦·轩尼诗-路易·威登集团 conglomerate, which also includes KENZO Mode , Fendi , Dior , Loewe , and Berluti . In Spain, 路易·威登 operates boutiques in Madrid, Barcelona, Ibiza, and Puerto Banús, Marbella, along with two corners in El Corte Inglés in Diagonal, Barcelona, and Castellana, Madrid. Despite a 2% drop in sales in the first quarter, attributed to challenges in the Chinese market, 酩悦·轩尼诗-路易·威登集团 reported total revenue of €20.7 billion.

?? Blockchain

In the first half of 2024, the cryptocurrency industry's most profitable sectors have been memecoins and emerging sectors, overshadowing blockchain gaming, decentralized finance, and layer-2 platforms. Data from BitEye, CoinGecko , and Wu Blockchain revealed that memecoins led the profitability charts with an impressive 1,834% return. Following were real-world asset tokenization, yielding a 214% return, and artificial intelligence blockchain projects, which posted a 72% return. Decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) returned 59%. Digital asset mainstays, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), continued their strong performance, with ETH achieving a 50% year-to-date gain and Bitcoin 45%. Layer-1 platforms averaged a 43% return, while gaming and decentralized finance sectors recorded modest gains of 19% and 3%, respectively. Contrarily, the layer-2 sector experienced a significant downturn with an average loss of 41%. The rise of memecoins is partly due to the Solana Network , which saw 541,000 new token projects minted in May alone. Prominent figures like Andrew Tate, Lil Pump, and Iggy Azalea have launched memecoins on Solana, though these projects have faced accusations of insider trading and pump-and-dump schemes. Solana's user-friendly architecture has earned it the reputation of being the "MacOS of blockchain" by Pantera Capital. The real-world asset tokenization sector has garnered significant attention from institutional investors and banks, poised to revolutionize the digital asset landscape. This sector, potentially encompassing $874 trillion in global wealth, aims to bring investment funds, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate on-chain. Projects like Chainlink are advancing this frontier, focusing on digitizing wealth through distributed ledger technology.

?? Metaverse

The Rolling Stones have ventured into the metaverse, joining Roblox ’s immersive music hub, Beat Galaxy. This collaboration aims to introduce the band's iconic hits to younger generations through interactive experiences, gameplay, virtual merchandise, avatar items, and more. A press release highlights that this partnership will provide users with a unique and engaging way to connect with the band’s music and interact with other fans.The band expressed enthusiasm for this innovative approach, stating that bringing their music to the virtual world of Beat Galaxy allows them to connect with both new and existing fans in an unprecedented way. As part of their involvement, users can participate in a track runner game featuring The Rolling Stones’ classic hits and visit a 24/7 virtual club and social hub.

?? E-Commerce

Shopify has introduced new features in the UK and Europe through its Summer 24 Edition, enhancing payments, discount applications, and AI capabilities. For merchants with physical stores, Shopify unveiled the POS Terminal, a payment hardware solution with a customer display to guide in-store shoppers, complementing the previously launched POS Go, an all-in-one mobile device for on-the-floor sales. Both devices now offer digital receipts for Shop Pay users and can capture additional checkout information, such as email and sales staff details. A notable addition is the ability to apply multiple discounts to a cart in-store through Combined Discounts, enabling merchants to offer various order, product, or shipping deals simultaneously. The 'buy X get Y' discount feature has been introduced to enhance in-store promotional activities, allowing for more personalized and engaging promotions. This feature can be accessed easily during checkout via smart grid tiles, streamlining operations and improving the customer experience. Shopify has also revamped its analytics solutions to provide real-time insights, helping merchants quickly answer common queries like week-on-week sales comparisons and changes in average order value during promotions. Furthermore, the company has reimagined its Markets solution, creating a unified command center within Shopify Admin to facilitate cross-border, B2B, and physical retail selling from a single location. Embracing AI, Shopify has rolled out new features in its AI image generation tool within the Media Editor, extending its functionality across various Shopify platforms, including the Shopify Mobile App. Shopify Magic has been designed to automatically suggest personalized product attribute recommendations, reducing manual tagging errors. Additionally, the new Suggested Replies feature generates AI-crafted responses for merchants to review and approve, saving time and enhancing customer interactions.

??Congrats to 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), The Rolling Stones , 路易·威登 , Shopify !

?? Stay tuned for more updates and, as always, feel free to share your thoughts with us!

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