MaxiMootral by Ruby Violet and Mootral, UK
Airlines are reviving luxury air travel, transforming the in-flight experience from exhausting to enriching and bringing wellness to 40,000 feet.
Low-cost – and often low-comfort – commercial flights have been dominating the airways for years, stripping back basic comforts and putting a hefty premium on any added extras. Yet now, travellers are expressing renewed interest in premium experiences and motivating airlines to rethink in-flight wellness.
From luxury toiletries to healthier food, optimised sleep spaces and even stretching zones, airlines are beginning to reframe flights as a destination for sleep, relaxation and rejuvenation.
Several airlines are leading the charge in this trend. United Airlines has collaborated with luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue and wellness company Therabody to enhance the sleep experience for business class passengers. Beond, a Malaysian carrier, positions itself as the first "premium leisure" airline, offering a luxurious travel experience with business-class seats, fine dining, and entertainment. Private jet hire company VistaJet introduces a comprehensive wellness program, including pre-flight consultations, ergonomic seating, and post-flight guidance.
UK – The inaugural Vogue Business Fashion Futures event, held at The Design Museum in London on 28 November, brought together founders, manufacturers, regulators and designers to discuss sustainable innovation in the fashion industry.
Hosted by Vogue Business editors Hilary Milnes and Rachel Cernansky, the panels discussed introducing a quantitative definition for what counts as fast fashion, the need for more data and traceability from brands, the logistical limitations of the fashion industry’s current structures – buying seasonally, being slow to implement new technologies, purchasing finished garments rather than fibres and showing reluctance on long-term commitments – and how shareholders, investors and brands can help rethink these systems.
The event closed with a rousing speech from fashion designer and former creative director at Chloé, Gabriela Hearst. Stating that ‘you have to know the ingredients you’re cooking with’, Hearst emphasised the craftsmanship and high-quality materials at the core of her eponymous brand, echoing themes from our Luxury Recrafted macrotrend report.
Vogue Business Fashion Futures, London, UK
AI imagery by The Future Laboratory, UK
At Dutch Design Week 2023, French foresight and speculative design studio Imprudence revealed a futuristic beauty line created with the intention of tackling the impending threats of the Anthropocene climate. ‘We’ve worked in the speculative design field for a while,’ explains Julien Tauvel, president and co-founder of the agency. ‘We chose beauty because it is the perfect vessel through which we can speak about our environment, our biology, our relationship with our bodies, our appearance and our metabolism.’
Tauvel and his team have been working in this industry for over five years now, combing through scientific explorations and radical and emerging theory to create tangible solutions for extreme futures, eventually developing Chthulu. ‘Everyone is talking about climate change; there is greenwashing and futurewashing,’ says Tauvel. ‘What we need to understand is that this is our new living paradigm; it’s not about becoming more sustainable, it is about adapting to more extreme, radically different conditions.’ As consumers find themselves paralysed by a paradox of choice about which future path is best for the planet and its people, disruptive innovation from science and technology offers a viable solution.
The beauty line consists of five key products, each created to tackle a specific Anthropocene threat.
: In the Artificial Intelligence section we explore how we can overcome the ethical issues and fear around the technology to build positive outcomes
: Our spotlight on Sustainability illustrates why brands need to embrace radical transformational business opportunities, while finding new ways to communicate their approaches
: In the Home & Family and Identities sections we highlight the opportunities and challenges created by shifting demographics
: Finally, in the Mobility section we consider how futuristic technology and the influence of the new space age are forcing automotive brands to adapt and diversify
