American fashion brand Tommy Hilfiger has collaborated with French video-ad start-up Teads and San Francisco-based AI-messaging experts Msg.ai to extend its chatbot beyond Facebook Messenger into a video advert.

Unboxed, its new video app, combines unboxing with two other booming consumer traits: social viewing/messaging and buying in-app.

No longer the preserve of sugary sweet brand concepts, pink has recently been transformed into a teen-targeting retail design must-have, thanks to its Insta-friendly buzz and soothing effect on shoppers – literally relaxing the muscles (Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry).

Amplifying the ephemeral buzz of the best pop-up experiences, US streetwear brand Anti Social Social Club (ASSC) recently partnered with product release app Frenzy (created by Canadian shopping platform Shopify). The LA event required fans to check-in to a physical location at a specific time to purchase a limited-edition sweatshirt online.

A hotbed of innovation merging fashion, retail and technology, Decoded Fashion’s London Summit welcomed a vast number of start-ups, all stating their cause. We spotlight our top four. 

Responding to a generation of consumers oversaturated with ‘stuff’, shrewd brands are tapping into the global growing desire for sustainable business practices and an upheaval of throwaway culture – with ‘loop-closing’ retail concepts anchored in repair, recycling and recommerce. 

The evolution of IoT technology, where devices and digitised products can communicate with one another, is creating a rich new world of brand engagement opportunities. Smart products are linking to reviews, content, rewards and provenance traceability – extending brand reach far beyond purchase. 

Tokyo-based multi-brand sportswear manufacturer and retailer Goldwin has opened a hybrid ‘remedy hub’/concept store in which all retail and gym elements are anchored in the benefits of achieving a neutral body-mind state. The premise, according to the brand, is that neutrality is the key to unlocking inner power.

On March 9 – the day after International Women’s Day – Puma will host a one-day workout and athleisure experience in London billed as a platform for female empowerment. The move taps into the appetite for brand experiences that celebrate and support women.

Gap has piloted a soon-to-be-rolled-out, fully shoppable augmented reality (AR) app that lets shoppers try on clothes remotely, showing them in context and adjusting to the consumer’s size.