Weekly news and stories covering everything from the Fashion System, Investment, and AI to WEB3 and Crypto that truly matter in Metaverse Fashion.
META'S PROTOTYPE 'FULL HOLOGRAPHIC' GLASSES COULD BE A GAME CHANGER FOR WEB3 | [SINGULARITY]
Cointelegraph
🎮 Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg thinks smart glasses with holographic displays will slowly supplant the mobile phone as humanity’s primary communications and computing device.
🎯 Meta has three separate products in mind. Firstly a “displayless” glasses product featuring voice AI (this already exists in Ray-Ban Meta), second a “little bit of a heads-up display” without full holography, and finally a “premium version” with a full field of view holographic display. Meta hopes to bridge the gap between Ray-Ban Meta, a product with no display, and bulky headsets better suited for virtual reality (VR) than augmented/mixed reality (A/MR).
🎲 According to Zuckerberg, glasses featuring a full FOV holographic display would allow for seamless real-time communications, informational overlays, a heads up display similar to that you’d find in a video game or military operator’s equipment, and more. And they wouldn’t be much bulker than regular glasses — “they’re unmistakably glasses, they’re not a headset,” he insisted.
🦀 Another exciting use case for smartglasses is as the primary display for a neural interface. The most popular big tech neural interface right now might be Elon Musk’s Neuralink, but that has the downside of requiring an invasive procedure to install. Meta is currently working on a neural wristband. This would be a wearable device that measures and interprets nerve signals, as opposed to a brain computer interface that measures signals directly from the brain.
🧠 Ostensibly, Meta’s neural wristband could enable near-imperceptible physical movements such as a finger twitch to translate into digital communications. Combined with Meta’s prototype full FOV holographic displays, this could turn the real world into a boundless Web3 workspace and playground.
WHAT THE UK ELECTION MEANS FOR FASHION | [COMMONWEALTH]
The Business of Fashion
ℹ In a tumultuous election year where more than two billion people around the world will go to the polls, the UK’s national vote this week has been decidedly predictable.
🎩 The country’s left-leaning Labour Party is on course for a landslide victory, delivering a crushing defeat to the Conservatives with counting still underway at publication. The wipeout of a party that had held power for 14 years was practically a foregone conclusion, with final polls so stark that some senior party members effectively conceded defeat before the election even took place.
👔 For instance, Labour has indicated it has no plans to repeal a controversial ban on tax-free shopping for overseas visitors that has made the UK a less attractive destination for big-spending tourists. Plans to float Singapore-based ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein in London are just as likely to proceed under the new government as the old.
🧥 Labour has promised to improve trade ties with Europe, but a return to the pre-Brexit era of free movement of talent and easy market access isn’t on the cards; incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market in his lifetime. Any concessions are also likely to be hard fought with Brussels, which has taken the position that the UK should not be able to selectively choose which benefits of EU membership it would like to regain access to.
🦄 Against a wider backdrop of political tumult, with the far right in ascendance in France which is heading to the polls on Sunday and the Democratic presidential candidate set to take on Trump in the US election in November potentially back in play following President Biden’s disastrous debate performance, stability may be just what British fashion needs.
META CHARGED WITH FAILING TO COMPLY WITH EU TECH RULES | [SINGULARITY]
Fashion Network
ℹ Meta Platforms was charged by EU antitrust regulators on Monday for failing to comply with landmark tech rules as they took aim at its newly introduced pay or consent advertising model.
🌍 The U.S. tech giant launched the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who consent to be tracked get a free service which is funded by advertising revenues.
🏤 The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, said the binary choice breaches the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA) which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech, as it sent its preliminary finding to Meta.
🗣 The charge against Meta came a week after the EU watchdog issued its first DMA charge against Apple for not complying with the new rule.
SONY GETS READY TO LAUNCH CRYPTO EXCHANGE IN JAPAN WITH ACQUIRED AMBER PLATFORM | [METAPHYSICS]
The Block
🏯 Japan’s multi-industry conglomerate Sony is getting ready to launch a cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary by revamping local trading platform WhaleFin which it acquired last year, according to a Monday press release on PR Times.
💲 The crypto trading entity was initially the Japanese crypto exchange DeCurret, which was first acquired by the Japanese subsidiary of Singapore’s Amber Group in 2022. In August 2023, Sony’s wholly-owned subsidiary Quetta Web Co. acquired the platform, according to a press release from 2022.
🖨 Sony has been making efforts to expand its presence in Web3. Sony Network Communications, the conglomerate’s business division, partnered with Japanese blockchain firm Startale Labs last year to build Sony’s own public blockchain network.
💭 Sota Watanabe, founder and CEO of Startale Labs, revealed on X on Monday that Startale’s external director is going to lead Sony’s new crypto exchange, though he did not provide further details.
META'S PROTOTYPE 'FULL HOLOGRAPHIC' GLASSES COULD BE A GAME CHANGER FOR WEB3 | [SINGULARITY]
Cointelegraph
🎮 Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg thinks smart glasses with holographic displays will slowly supplant the mobile phone as humanity’s primary communications and computing device.
🎯 Meta has three separate products in mind. Firstly a “displayless” glasses product featuring voice AI (this already exists in Ray-Ban Meta), second a “little bit of a heads-up display” without full holography, and finally a “premium version” with a full field of view holographic display. Meta hopes to bridge the gap between Ray-Ban Meta, a product with no display, and bulky headsets better suited for virtual reality (VR) than augmented/mixed reality (A/MR).
🎲 According to Zuckerberg, glasses featuring a full FOV holographic display would allow for seamless real-time communications, informational overlays, a heads up display similar to that you’d find in a video game or military operator’s equipment, and more. And they wouldn’t be much bulker than regular glasses — “they’re unmistakably glasses, they’re not a headset,” he insisted.
🦀 Another exciting use case for smartglasses is as the primary display for a neural interface. The most popular big tech neural interface right now might be Elon Musk’s Neuralink, but that has the downside of requiring an invasive procedure to install. Meta is currently working on a neural wristband. This would be a wearable device that measures and interprets nerve signals, as opposed to a brain computer interface that measures signals directly from the brain.
🧠 Ostensibly, Meta’s neural wristband could enable near-imperceptible physical movements such as a finger twitch to translate into digital communications. Combined with Meta’s prototype full FOV holographic displays, this could turn the real world into a boundless Web3 workspace and playground.
WHAT THE UK ELECTION MEANS FOR FASHION | [COMMONWEALTH]
The Business of Fashion
ℹ In a tumultuous election year where more than two billion people around the world will go to the polls, the UK’s national vote this week has been decidedly predictable.
🎩 The country’s left-leaning Labour Party is on course for a landslide victory, delivering a crushing defeat to the Conservatives with counting still underway at publication. The wipeout of a party that had held power for 14 years was practically a foregone conclusion, with final polls so stark that some senior party members effectively conceded defeat before the election even took place.
👔 For instance, Labour has indicated it has no plans to repeal a controversial ban on tax-free shopping for overseas visitors that has made the UK a less attractive destination for big-spending tourists. Plans to float Singapore-based ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein in London are just as likely to proceed under the new government as the old.
🧥 Labour has promised to improve trade ties with Europe, but a return to the pre-Brexit era of free movement of talent and easy market access isn’t on the cards; incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out rejoining the EU’s single market in his lifetime. Any concessions are also likely to be hard fought with Brussels, which has taken the position that the UK should not be able to selectively choose which benefits of EU membership it would like to regain access to.
🦄 Against a wider backdrop of political tumult, with the far right in ascendance in France which is heading to the polls on Sunday and the Democratic presidential candidate set to take on Trump in the US election in November potentially back in play following President Biden’s disastrous debate performance, stability may be just what British fashion needs.
META CHARGED WITH FAILING TO COMPLY WITH EU TECH RULES | [SINGULARITY]
Fashion Network
ℹ Meta Platforms was charged by EU antitrust regulators on Monday for failing to comply with landmark tech rules as they took aim at its newly introduced pay or consent advertising model.
🌍 The U.S. tech giant launched the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram in Europe last November, saying users who consent to be tracked get a free service which is funded by advertising revenues.
🏤 The European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, said the binary choice breaches the bloc's Digital Markets Act (DMA) which seeks to rein in the power of Big Tech, as it sent its preliminary finding to Meta.
🗣 The charge against Meta came a week after the EU watchdog issued its first DMA charge against Apple for not complying with the new rule.
SONY GETS READY TO LAUNCH CRYPTO EXCHANGE IN JAPAN WITH ACQUIRED AMBER PLATFORM | [METAPHYSICS]
The Block
🏯 Japan’s multi-industry conglomerate Sony is getting ready to launch a cryptocurrency exchange subsidiary by revamping local trading platform WhaleFin which it acquired last year, according to a Monday press release on PR Times.
💲 The crypto trading entity was initially the Japanese crypto exchange DeCurret, which was first acquired by the Japanese subsidiary of Singapore’s Amber Group in 2022. In August 2023, Sony’s wholly-owned subsidiary Quetta Web Co. acquired the platform, according to a press release from 2022.
🖨 Sony has been making efforts to expand its presence in Web3. Sony Network Communications, the conglomerate’s business division, partnered with Japanese blockchain firm Startale Labs last year to build Sony’s own public blockchain network.
💭 Sota Watanabe, founder and CEO of Startale Labs, revealed on X on Monday that Startale’s external director is going to lead Sony’s new crypto exchange, though he did not provide further details.
THE DELUGE OF BONKERS AI ART IS LITERALLY SURREAL | [SINGULARITY]
The Washington Post
🖼 The stuff of Salvador Dali’s wildest dreams is no match for Facebook these days: Amputee kittens using crutches. Strawberries in the shape of lifelike frogs. Bosomy conjoined twins, structurally impossible sand sculptures, snakes swallowing fully-grown lions, airplanes with human hands. An underwater Jesus covered in shrimp.
🤡 These unsettling images appear in our social media feeds, sometimes as a jump scare, and sometimes as a Trojan horse. They might be accompanied by a manipulative caption — “99% of people will scroll past without clicking like” — or hashtag gobbledygook that often includes, for some reason, a combination of the words “Scarlett Johansson beautiful cabin crew.” The replies, a medley of gullible users and likely bots, are usually full of compliments for the insane image.
☁ The French writer André Breton wrote, in his 1924 “Manifesto of Surrealism,” that the genre elevates the “superior reality” of the subconscious mind — that dreams and reality can combine to create a reality that is somehow more real. But what happens when the entity creating a surreal image isn’t human? What if the creator itself is surreal?
ARE NFTS DEAD IN 2024 [METAPHYSICS]
NFTevening
👛 The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market has experienced a remarkable surge in recent years. Reflecting on 2021, the total value of NFTs traded reached a significant milestone of $17.6 million, then surged to $24.7 billion in 2022. This rapid growth has captured the attention of investors and become their top-notch favorite investment portfolio. 2023 saw the NFT market’s total value slump to $11.8 billion. Will NFTs be worthless in 2024 and beyond? As we delve deeper into the past two years, let’s explore the key factors that have contributed to these exciting events.
🦄 In speculator’s evaluation, the NFT market collapsed, becoming a fad after a series of scandals in the crypto market in 2022. However, the future of NFT in 2024 shows that the correlation between these two markets is not as close as it seems. From the investor’s perspective, they are still deeply involved in this market. It is evolving and generating great impacts on the entire market. NFT investors are still firmly holding NFTs in their hands, preparing for a stronger breath-in. So, are NFTs still a thing?
📈 The market report in the 2023–2024 stage shows that NFTs are still a thing, moving towards being associated with more sustainable economic and social values, emphasizing ownership and physical verification rather than shocks due to market psychology. The NFT market is capable of maturing in the downturn phase, quietly but strongly. After the SEC’s investigation surrounding Etherium 2.0, doubts about NFT’s dead instability have been removed. The NFT market saw strong growth again soon after, with an 18% rise in total revenue within 24 hours.
📊 It is difficult to reject the fluctuations in the NFT market over the past two years. NFT has clearly revealed its usefulness and value against that backdrop of chaos. The NFT market has evolved from a focus on speculative elements to one that emphasizes practical applications and demonstrable value. This also helps investors have a more realistic, objective, and profound view when choosing portfolios.
💵 From an investor community perspective, NFTs are no longer a worthless collection or a fad. With clear visions, NFT will soon become a bridge between the physical world and the digital world, paving the way for a multi-dimensional experience space and an endless flow of customer engagement.
💥 NFT does not yet live in the FOMO stage for unknown reasons. The market itself has stood on its own and matured steadily; it is not dead. As the vast and varied space for AI and Blockchain technology continues to develop, NFTs have become a powerful tool in data authenticity and ownership identification. There is a lot of potential to apply NFTs in the fields of education, health, life, medicine, and law. That is the main factor enabling the NFT market to expand and be alive in the future.
CAN BLOCKCHAIN AND NFC CHIPS PUT AN END TO COUNTERFEITING AND IDEA THEFT IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY? | [METAPHYSICS]
FashionUnited
Key Takeaways:
⚡ The fashion industry is facing a double threat: a rise in counterfeiting that eats into their profits and a fast-fashion culture that copies designs with impunity. But blockchain offers a glimmer of hope. Or rather, a concrete answer.
💰 Digital transparency company Everledger highlights the urgency of the situation. Citing a recent report, it estimates that counterfeiting costs the industry almost 100 billion US dollars annually. And this is where blockchain can be a game-changer, ensuring brand authenticity based on know-how, origin, and quality.
🎩 Known for its rather low-key approach to NFTs and the metaverse, Balenciaga has nevertheless made a U-turn and embraced emerging technologies in a unique way, by connecting its products to music. In partnership with Eon, Balenciaga Music, a division of the famous fashion house, allows its latest clothing collection to unlock an exclusive playlist by trip-hop group Archive. The NFC-enabled T-shirts and hoodies give fashion enthusiasts access to a dedicated soundtrack, marking a new step for the brand in the digital universe, reports Metavers Tribune.
⛓ Tod’s, the famous Italian luxury shoe brand, also made headlines when it joined the Aura Blockchain Consortium, integrating the consortium’s Digital Product Passport into its collections, starting with the Custom Di Bag. Accessible via an NFC chip embedded in the bag, this digital passport provides owners with proof of ownership, information on the product’s lifecycle, and sustainability certifications. Additionally, owners can claim a blockchain-based digital twin of their bag to prove their ownership.
🐊 Lacoste is also celebrating its 90th anniversary with a reinforced digital presence. The brand has opened a new immersive area in the blockchain-based video game The Sandbox, where fans can explore and celebrate Lacoste’s legendary sporting heritage.
THE EVOLVING CREATIVE TOOLKIT | [SINGULARITY]
The Interline
Key Takeaways from the Interview:
🎵 Before your current role, you spent a long time spearheading AI design as an art form in its own right – one that’s capable of having a tangible positive impact in multiple different areas. How do you feel the fashion industry’s recognition of that potential has developed over the last two years? And how much of that positive possibility space do you think has been realised?
📢 Over the past two years, I have not seen a significant shift in the fashion industry’s recognition of AI as an art form and its potential for positive impact until recently this year. Initially, there was a degree of skepticism and resistance, with many viewing AI primarily as a tool for copying rather than creativity. However, this perception is evolving rapidly. Fashion houses and designers are increasingly acknowledging the innovative capabilities of AI, embracing it not just for optimizing supply chains or enhancing marketing strategies, but as a creative partner that can inspire and generate new ideas.
Despite these advancements, we are still only scratching the surface of AI’s potential in fashion. Many positive possibilities remain untapped. As AI technology continues to evolve, I believe we will see even more profound impacts, such as hyper-personalized customer experiences, AI-driven fashion shows, and deeper collaborations between human designers and AI systems.
🎵You designed the artwork for our front cover as a new entry in a thematic series. Walk us through some of the inspirations behind the image, and the tools and processes you used to bring those ideas to life.
📢The cover artwork for Interline’s AI Report 2024 represents a fusion of technology, human creativity, and the evolving landscape of digital transformation in fashion. Every work we create is a culmination of the experiences we build up in our lives. Our creativity thrives on combining known elements to form new ones, and this boundary of imagination based on our experiences is what I have been exploring.
🎵 Right now, in 2024, how do you believe the roles of the creative designer and creative director have changed as a result of generative AI? And how do you see them changing further in the near future?
📢As AI becomes more integral to design, educational institutions will increasingly incorporate AI training into their curricula. Emerging designers will learn to work with AI from the outset, making AI-assisted design a standard practice. This shift will produce a new generation of designers who are adept at leveraging AI to enhance their creative processes. by the integration of generative AI, leading to enhanced creativity, efficiency, and personalization.
BITCOIN COULD ONE DAY REPLACE US DOLLAR, SAYS TWITTER FOUNDER JACK DORSEY |[METAPHYSICS]
Decrypt
🦆 Twitter co-founder and noted Bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey believes that the world’s top cryptocurrency is poised to change the world. And he thinks that change is coming within a matter of years.
🗣 Speaking at an exclusive gathering for the summer solstice hosted at a castle in Tuscany, Italy last week, Dorsey expressed confidence to a high-profile audience that Bitcoin will soon graduate in the West from a store of value to a dominant, permissionless currency that holders would want to use daily.
☁ “It’s going to take some time,” Dorsey said during the intimate talk, titled “Tech and Freedom,” at the event hosted by legendary music producer Rick Rubin. “It’s not 10 years, it might be 15. Little by little, people see the value of this system [and] why it’s so powerful.”
🌤 Dorsey has long been one of Bitcoin’s most prominent advocates. In May, he predicted that BTC’s price is poised to eclipse $1 million by the end of the decade.
FASHION'S AI DILEMMA IS GETTING WORSE | [FASHION SYSTEM]
The Business of Fashion
👜 When nylon bag maker Baggu debuted its collaboration with the equally buzzy label Collina Strada last week, the two brands were expecting a smash hit. Ahead of the release, their young online fans fawned over the psychedelic prints and a horse-shaped purse in the collection — styles that exemplify Collina Strada’s irreverent aesthetic.
💲 The capsule is selling well, according to Baggu chief executive Emily Sugihara. But on social media, the collection, which includes Baggu’s signature reusable shopping bags, pouches, towels and a tent, met a more mixed response. Some consumers expressed anger and disappointment over the use of generative artificial intelligence by Collina Strada, pointing to the technology’s implications for the livelihood of artists as well as its potential impact on the environment.
👨🏭 Even amid these controversies, the fashion industry has embraced the tool with more or less open arms. In a survey of industry executives, 73 percent said generative AI would be a key priority for their business this year, according to BoF’s 2024 State of Fashion Report.
🌅 AI’s critics often point to potential replication of copyrighted designs from artists without compensation or credit. Others are concerned about AI replacing human designers. The most vocal of Baggu’s critics called attention to the energy-intensive process required to train AI models. Researchers from the University of Washington estimate that training a large language model emits over 55 times more carbon dioxide than the average person’s annual carbon dioxide emissons.
🔮 Brands that incorporate AI, whether in the product development process or elsewhere, need a clear communication strategy to convince customers that the tool is being used in responsible ways.
😇 “People are just scared. It’s a new thing, and it’s different, and a lot of people don’t understand it,” said Sugihara ,professor and director at the Fashion Law Institute. “I always wish that we had done an even better job of communicating that so nobody was confused, and we take total responsibility for that.”
The Washington Post
🖼 The stuff of Salvador Dali’s wildest dreams is no match for Facebook these days: Amputee kittens using crutches. Strawberries in the shape of lifelike frogs. Bosomy conjoined twins, structurally impossible sand sculptures, snakes swallowing fully-grown lions, airplanes with human hands. An underwater Jesus covered in shrimp.
🤡 These unsettling images appear in our social media feeds, sometimes as a jump scare, and sometimes as a Trojan horse. They might be accompanied by a manipulative caption — “99% of people will scroll past without clicking like” — or hashtag gobbledygook that often includes, for some reason, a combination of the words “Scarlett Johansson beautiful cabin crew.” The replies, a medley of gullible users and likely bots, are usually full of compliments for the insane image.
☁ The French writer André Breton wrote, in his 1924 “Manifesto of Surrealism,” that the genre elevates the “superior reality” of the subconscious mind — that dreams and reality can combine to create a reality that is somehow more real. But what happens when the entity creating a surreal image isn’t human? What if the creator itself is surreal?
ARE NFTS DEAD IN 2024 [METAPHYSICS]
NFTevening
👛 The Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market has experienced a remarkable surge in recent years. Reflecting on 2021, the total value of NFTs traded reached a significant milestone of $17.6 million, then surged to $24.7 billion in 2022. This rapid growth has captured the attention of investors and become their top-notch favorite investment portfolio. 2023 saw the NFT market’s total value slump to $11.8 billion. Will NFTs be worthless in 2024 and beyond? As we delve deeper into the past two years, let’s explore the key factors that have contributed to these exciting events.
🦄 In speculator’s evaluation, the NFT market collapsed, becoming a fad after a series of scandals in the crypto market in 2022. However, the future of NFT in 2024 shows that the correlation between these two markets is not as close as it seems. From the investor’s perspective, they are still deeply involved in this market. It is evolving and generating great impacts on the entire market. NFT investors are still firmly holding NFTs in their hands, preparing for a stronger breath-in. So, are NFTs still a thing?
📈 The market report in the 2023–2024 stage shows that NFTs are still a thing, moving towards being associated with more sustainable economic and social values, emphasizing ownership and physical verification rather than shocks due to market psychology. The NFT market is capable of maturing in the downturn phase, quietly but strongly. After the SEC’s investigation surrounding Etherium 2.0, doubts about NFT’s dead instability have been removed. The NFT market saw strong growth again soon after, with an 18% rise in total revenue within 24 hours.
📊 It is difficult to reject the fluctuations in the NFT market over the past two years. NFT has clearly revealed its usefulness and value against that backdrop of chaos. The NFT market has evolved from a focus on speculative elements to one that emphasizes practical applications and demonstrable value. This also helps investors have a more realistic, objective, and profound view when choosing portfolios.
💵 From an investor community perspective, NFTs are no longer a worthless collection or a fad. With clear visions, NFT will soon become a bridge between the physical world and the digital world, paving the way for a multi-dimensional experience space and an endless flow of customer engagement.
💥 NFT does not yet live in the FOMO stage for unknown reasons. The market itself has stood on its own and matured steadily; it is not dead. As the vast and varied space for AI and Blockchain technology continues to develop, NFTs have become a powerful tool in data authenticity and ownership identification. There is a lot of potential to apply NFTs in the fields of education, health, life, medicine, and law. That is the main factor enabling the NFT market to expand and be alive in the future.
CAN BLOCKCHAIN AND NFC CHIPS PUT AN END TO COUNTERFEITING AND IDEA THEFT IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY? | [METAPHYSICS]
FashionUnited
Key Takeaways:
⚡ The fashion industry is facing a double threat: a rise in counterfeiting that eats into their profits and a fast-fashion culture that copies designs with impunity. But blockchain offers a glimmer of hope. Or rather, a concrete answer.
💰 Digital transparency company Everledger highlights the urgency of the situation. Citing a recent report, it estimates that counterfeiting costs the industry almost 100 billion US dollars annually. And this is where blockchain can be a game-changer, ensuring brand authenticity based on know-how, origin, and quality.
🎩 Known for its rather low-key approach to NFTs and the metaverse, Balenciaga has nevertheless made a U-turn and embraced emerging technologies in a unique way, by connecting its products to music. In partnership with Eon, Balenciaga Music, a division of the famous fashion house, allows its latest clothing collection to unlock an exclusive playlist by trip-hop group Archive. The NFC-enabled T-shirts and hoodies give fashion enthusiasts access to a dedicated soundtrack, marking a new step for the brand in the digital universe, reports Metavers Tribune.
⛓ Tod’s, the famous Italian luxury shoe brand, also made headlines when it joined the Aura Blockchain Consortium, integrating the consortium’s Digital Product Passport into its collections, starting with the Custom Di Bag. Accessible via an NFC chip embedded in the bag, this digital passport provides owners with proof of ownership, information on the product’s lifecycle, and sustainability certifications. Additionally, owners can claim a blockchain-based digital twin of their bag to prove their ownership.
🐊 Lacoste is also celebrating its 90th anniversary with a reinforced digital presence. The brand has opened a new immersive area in the blockchain-based video game The Sandbox, where fans can explore and celebrate Lacoste’s legendary sporting heritage.
THE EVOLVING CREATIVE TOOLKIT | [SINGULARITY]
The Interline
Key Takeaways from the Interview:
🎵 Before your current role, you spent a long time spearheading AI design as an art form in its own right – one that’s capable of having a tangible positive impact in multiple different areas. How do you feel the fashion industry’s recognition of that potential has developed over the last two years? And how much of that positive possibility space do you think has been realised?
📢 Over the past two years, I have not seen a significant shift in the fashion industry’s recognition of AI as an art form and its potential for positive impact until recently this year. Initially, there was a degree of skepticism and resistance, with many viewing AI primarily as a tool for copying rather than creativity. However, this perception is evolving rapidly. Fashion houses and designers are increasingly acknowledging the innovative capabilities of AI, embracing it not just for optimizing supply chains or enhancing marketing strategies, but as a creative partner that can inspire and generate new ideas.
Despite these advancements, we are still only scratching the surface of AI’s potential in fashion. Many positive possibilities remain untapped. As AI technology continues to evolve, I believe we will see even more profound impacts, such as hyper-personalized customer experiences, AI-driven fashion shows, and deeper collaborations between human designers and AI systems.
🎵You designed the artwork for our front cover as a new entry in a thematic series. Walk us through some of the inspirations behind the image, and the tools and processes you used to bring those ideas to life.
📢The cover artwork for Interline’s AI Report 2024 represents a fusion of technology, human creativity, and the evolving landscape of digital transformation in fashion. Every work we create is a culmination of the experiences we build up in our lives. Our creativity thrives on combining known elements to form new ones, and this boundary of imagination based on our experiences is what I have been exploring.
🎵 Right now, in 2024, how do you believe the roles of the creative designer and creative director have changed as a result of generative AI? And how do you see them changing further in the near future?
📢As AI becomes more integral to design, educational institutions will increasingly incorporate AI training into their curricula. Emerging designers will learn to work with AI from the outset, making AI-assisted design a standard practice. This shift will produce a new generation of designers who are adept at leveraging AI to enhance their creative processes. by the integration of generative AI, leading to enhanced creativity, efficiency, and personalization.
BITCOIN COULD ONE DAY REPLACE US DOLLAR, SAYS TWITTER FOUNDER JACK DORSEY |[METAPHYSICS]
Decrypt
🦆 Twitter co-founder and noted Bitcoin enthusiast Jack Dorsey believes that the world’s top cryptocurrency is poised to change the world. And he thinks that change is coming within a matter of years.
🗣 Speaking at an exclusive gathering for the summer solstice hosted at a castle in Tuscany, Italy last week, Dorsey expressed confidence to a high-profile audience that Bitcoin will soon graduate in the West from a store of value to a dominant, permissionless currency that holders would want to use daily.
☁ “It’s going to take some time,” Dorsey said during the intimate talk, titled “Tech and Freedom,” at the event hosted by legendary music producer Rick Rubin. “It’s not 10 years, it might be 15. Little by little, people see the value of this system [and] why it’s so powerful.”
🌤 Dorsey has long been one of Bitcoin’s most prominent advocates. In May, he predicted that BTC’s price is poised to eclipse $1 million by the end of the decade.
FASHION'S AI DILEMMA IS GETTING WORSE | [FASHION SYSTEM]
The Business of Fashion
👜 When nylon bag maker Baggu debuted its collaboration with the equally buzzy label Collina Strada last week, the two brands were expecting a smash hit. Ahead of the release, their young online fans fawned over the psychedelic prints and a horse-shaped purse in the collection — styles that exemplify Collina Strada’s irreverent aesthetic.
💲 The capsule is selling well, according to Baggu chief executive Emily Sugihara. But on social media, the collection, which includes Baggu’s signature reusable shopping bags, pouches, towels and a tent, met a more mixed response. Some consumers expressed anger and disappointment over the use of generative artificial intelligence by Collina Strada, pointing to the technology’s implications for the livelihood of artists as well as its potential impact on the environment.
👨🏭 Even amid these controversies, the fashion industry has embraced the tool with more or less open arms. In a survey of industry executives, 73 percent said generative AI would be a key priority for their business this year, according to BoF’s 2024 State of Fashion Report.
🌅 AI’s critics often point to potential replication of copyrighted designs from artists without compensation or credit. Others are concerned about AI replacing human designers. The most vocal of Baggu’s critics called attention to the energy-intensive process required to train AI models. Researchers from the University of Washington estimate that training a large language model emits over 55 times more carbon dioxide than the average person’s annual carbon dioxide emissons.
🔮 Brands that incorporate AI, whether in the product development process or elsewhere, need a clear communication strategy to convince customers that the tool is being used in responsible ways.
😇 “People are just scared. It’s a new thing, and it’s different, and a lot of people don’t understand it,” said Sugihara ,professor and director at the Fashion Law Institute. “I always wish that we had done an even better job of communicating that so nobody was confused, and we take total responsibility for that.”
EU TO CONSIDER CLOSING OFF DUTY EXEMPTION THAT AIDS SHEIN, TEMU | [FASHION SYSTEM]
Fashion Network
🕷 The European Union is working on a proposal to impose import duties on cheap goods bought from online platforms outside the bloc, a move that would primarily target Chinese retailers such as Temu, AliExpress and Shein, according to people familiar with the matter.
🌵 The EU currently has a €150 ($161) duty-free threshold for online purchases that’s meant for small gifts or personal packages but that has enabled a surge in small-value imports from those platforms, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
🍁 While it remains to be seen if there’s consensus across member states to take action, the effort adds to the growing momentum of protectionism against Chinese companies as its cheaper goods threaten local producers. This month, the EU will introduce provisional tariffs of as high as 38% on Chinese electric vehicles.
🌲 Still, inflation across the US and Europe means that there’s substantial demand among consumers for the cheap wares sold by platforms like PDD Holdings Inc’s Temu and those operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The rise of Shein has taken market share from European apparel retailers like Hennes & Mauritz AB and Inditex’s Zara, while Amazon is planning to launch its own low-cost online storefront.
Fashion Network
🕷 The European Union is working on a proposal to impose import duties on cheap goods bought from online platforms outside the bloc, a move that would primarily target Chinese retailers such as Temu, AliExpress and Shein, according to people familiar with the matter.
🌵 The EU currently has a €150 ($161) duty-free threshold for online purchases that’s meant for small gifts or personal packages but that has enabled a surge in small-value imports from those platforms, the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
🍁 While it remains to be seen if there’s consensus across member states to take action, the effort adds to the growing momentum of protectionism against Chinese companies as its cheaper goods threaten local producers. This month, the EU will introduce provisional tariffs of as high as 38% on Chinese electric vehicles.
🌲 Still, inflation across the US and Europe means that there’s substantial demand among consumers for the cheap wares sold by platforms like PDD Holdings Inc’s Temu and those operated by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The rise of Shein has taken market share from European apparel retailers like Hennes & Mauritz AB and Inditex’s Zara, while Amazon is planning to launch its own low-cost online storefront.
FROM PARIS TO SILICON VALLEY AND BEYOND, TO METAVERSE FASHION | [OP-ED]
Alexis Beck for Metaverse Fashion MAGAZINE
✈ Two weeks ago, I traded my Parisian academic studies for the innovative landscape of Silicon Valley.
🕸 From a Metaverse perspective, there’s an interesting dynamic: both Parisians and Silicon Valley residents see each other as somewhat provincial. To the Champs-Élysées bourgeois, Americans could learn from the French subtlety in color coordination. In Paris, clothing is more than just functional; it's a statement. Fashion, as a social phenomenon, truly blossomed in Paris post-World War II. Parisian fashion is infusing meaning into social life through attire, as Roland Barthes articulates in "Le système de la mode."
🌵 On the flip side, Californians often view Paris and Europe as provincial compared to Silicon Valley. They argue that Europe’s architectural beauty and sophisticated sense of style are no longer relevant. Today, humanity's forefront is in developing artificial intelligence, the Metaverse, which is all found in Silicon Valley.
⚖ Both Paris and Silicon Valley hold valid viewpoints. Paris remains a stronghold of Western philosophical and historical traditions, while California brings something unprecedented: a virtual empire, a global technological network.
🏇 Let’s move beyond the "either/or" of Paris and Silicon Valley. As Metaverse Fashion trailblazers, we believe in the inevitable symbiosis of these two worlds. Fashion needs to integrate physical items with digital assets, and the Californian tech world desperately needs Parisian refined taste and aesthetic harmony. With real-world experiences diving into virtual ones, your virtual avatar’s fashion will become crucial. In a virtual society with its own economic and legal frameworks, appearance will be a primary way to stand out.
🤖 The future will seamlessly merge Parisian fashion with Californian tech, creating something entirely new. Stay tuned as Metaverse Fashion Magazine guides you through these transformative times, leading to a unified world of Fashion and Tech.
💥 As the person in charge of Metaverse Fashion Magazine, I am thrilled to launch this op-ed section and invite all leaders and pioneers of Metaverse Fashion to contribute to our community, regardless of your age, status, or location. One of the key aspects of the Metaverse, regardless of your views on the term, is its openness and readiness to share knowledge. From a Metaverse perspective, both Paris and Silicon Valley could be seen as "somewhat provincial."
WHAT DAY SHOULD WE DECLARE THE INDEPENDENCE OF METAVERSE FASHION? | [OP-ED]
Anna Karenina for Metaverse Fashion MAGAZINE
🏊♀️ When will the leaders, pioneers, and brave creators of Metaverse Fashion be ready to announce its sovereignty and independence from the old fashion system? The right answer to this question is: When the new economy pioneers and metaverse inhabitants cease to be subjects of the Old World defined by need and necessity.
👽 When we, creators, move beyond a zero-sum physical game dominated by:
-gravity,
-violence,
-inflation money,
-hypocritical communication and shallow buzzwords
-excessive centralization
-when creativity triumphs over marketing
-when wealth and investments become accessible to the Youth.
🎩 The "founding fathers" of the old world, including the entire old fashion system, were exclusively men. To establish the basic principles of Metaverse Fashion, I propose that we establish a circle of “founding mothers.” I invite everyone interested in working on a thought experiment named the Declaration of Metaverse Fashion. Two Specific Points to Note.
Decent Respect:
💎 As stated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another... a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Respect for the achievements of the old fashion system and various Web3, blockchain, AI, and crypto solutions makes us deeply agnostic regarding specific fashion brands and tech solutions, emphasizing the values of decentralization, community, investment, and sustainability.
Avoiding Past and Men's Mistakes:
🦄 The second important distinction from the "founding fathers' Declaration" is to avoid the inequality and controversy of slavery (some of them were slave owners themselves) and ensure universal rights for all, not just their own kind.
🦎 Today, the role of "slave labor" is taken on by AI, its solutions, entities, models, influencers, and community participants. By combining the philosophy (not just the rapidly developing technology) of fashioning our Selves with the help of blockchain and AI, direct ownership of metaverse assets, self-learning, and sustainable development, we should recognize these Selves (even in the form of Gen AI and blockchain entities) as independently living beings with full rights. They can be active community members, invest, vote, and make decisions. At the MFC, we actively discuss hiring various AI personalities to perform important, routine jobs.
🚀 I hope that we can collaborate creatively and present the Declaration at the Metaverse Fashion Week 2024 opening ceremony on November 20.
Alexis Beck for Metaverse Fashion MAGAZINE
✈ Two weeks ago, I traded my Parisian academic studies for the innovative landscape of Silicon Valley.
🕸 From a Metaverse perspective, there’s an interesting dynamic: both Parisians and Silicon Valley residents see each other as somewhat provincial. To the Champs-Élysées bourgeois, Americans could learn from the French subtlety in color coordination. In Paris, clothing is more than just functional; it's a statement. Fashion, as a social phenomenon, truly blossomed in Paris post-World War II. Parisian fashion is infusing meaning into social life through attire, as Roland Barthes articulates in "Le système de la mode."
🌵 On the flip side, Californians often view Paris and Europe as provincial compared to Silicon Valley. They argue that Europe’s architectural beauty and sophisticated sense of style are no longer relevant. Today, humanity's forefront is in developing artificial intelligence, the Metaverse, which is all found in Silicon Valley.
⚖ Both Paris and Silicon Valley hold valid viewpoints. Paris remains a stronghold of Western philosophical and historical traditions, while California brings something unprecedented: a virtual empire, a global technological network.
🏇 Let’s move beyond the "either/or" of Paris and Silicon Valley. As Metaverse Fashion trailblazers, we believe in the inevitable symbiosis of these two worlds. Fashion needs to integrate physical items with digital assets, and the Californian tech world desperately needs Parisian refined taste and aesthetic harmony. With real-world experiences diving into virtual ones, your virtual avatar’s fashion will become crucial. In a virtual society with its own economic and legal frameworks, appearance will be a primary way to stand out.
🤖 The future will seamlessly merge Parisian fashion with Californian tech, creating something entirely new. Stay tuned as Metaverse Fashion Magazine guides you through these transformative times, leading to a unified world of Fashion and Tech.
💥 As the person in charge of Metaverse Fashion Magazine, I am thrilled to launch this op-ed section and invite all leaders and pioneers of Metaverse Fashion to contribute to our community, regardless of your age, status, or location. One of the key aspects of the Metaverse, regardless of your views on the term, is its openness and readiness to share knowledge. From a Metaverse perspective, both Paris and Silicon Valley could be seen as "somewhat provincial."
WHAT DAY SHOULD WE DECLARE THE INDEPENDENCE OF METAVERSE FASHION? | [OP-ED]
Anna Karenina for Metaverse Fashion MAGAZINE
🏊♀️ When will the leaders, pioneers, and brave creators of Metaverse Fashion be ready to announce its sovereignty and independence from the old fashion system? The right answer to this question is: When the new economy pioneers and metaverse inhabitants cease to be subjects of the Old World defined by need and necessity.
👽 When we, creators, move beyond a zero-sum physical game dominated by:
-gravity,
-violence,
-inflation money,
-hypocritical communication and shallow buzzwords
-excessive centralization
-when creativity triumphs over marketing
-when wealth and investments become accessible to the Youth.
🎩 The "founding fathers" of the old world, including the entire old fashion system, were exclusively men. To establish the basic principles of Metaverse Fashion, I propose that we establish a circle of “founding mothers.” I invite everyone interested in working on a thought experiment named the Declaration of Metaverse Fashion. Two Specific Points to Note.
Decent Respect:
💎 As stated in the U.S. Declaration of Independence, "When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another... a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation." Respect for the achievements of the old fashion system and various Web3, blockchain, AI, and crypto solutions makes us deeply agnostic regarding specific fashion brands and tech solutions, emphasizing the values of decentralization, community, investment, and sustainability.
Avoiding Past and Men's Mistakes:
🦄 The second important distinction from the "founding fathers' Declaration" is to avoid the inequality and controversy of slavery (some of them were slave owners themselves) and ensure universal rights for all, not just their own kind.
🦎 Today, the role of "slave labor" is taken on by AI, its solutions, entities, models, influencers, and community participants. By combining the philosophy (not just the rapidly developing technology) of fashioning our Selves with the help of blockchain and AI, direct ownership of metaverse assets, self-learning, and sustainable development, we should recognize these Selves (even in the form of Gen AI and blockchain entities) as independently living beings with full rights. They can be active community members, invest, vote, and make decisions. At the MFC, we actively discuss hiring various AI personalities to perform important, routine jobs.
🚀 I hope that we can collaborate creatively and present the Declaration at the Metaverse Fashion Week 2024 opening ceremony on November 20.
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