For The Fashionably Clueless

I was having a conversation with Brian Chiger, a digital strategist at one of the most awesome digital agencies in New York about interactive fashion communities and websites and StyleCaster came to mind.  I have been an active user on Style.com for nearly a decade. Creating a mock website on CSS/HTML sealed the deal with my intimate relationship with the very first fashion 1.0 site. Then came The Fashion Spot, a.k.a. TFS where I would gather over fashion tips and interact with fellow users. No other fashion magazine site or blog has been able to personalize these features.

So what is StyleCaster? Their mantra is “personal style experience uniquely tailored to your fashion DNA”. They describe themselves as the Web’s first truly personalized, integrated fashion channel, where you receive all news on fashion, beauty, breaking news, celebrity, shopping, and community just for you. It’s really an innovative way to receive news about fashion and join an interactive fashion community, aside from blogs and magazine websites. It’s the first venture into fashion web 3.0.

Nike (Green) Air Jordan

It seems like Nike doesn’t want anyone to know it is going green. The sole of Nike’s new Air Jordan XX3 is made of ground-up pieces of old Nike sneakers. You would think it’s more cost-efficient, right? Not at all. The suggested retail price of the Nike Air Jordan XX3 ranges from $180 to $230. Even though its eco-friendly shoes are cheaper to make, the company perceives its consumers are more interested in design and performance than sustainability. This strategy can make or break the brand, especially among its urban and socially responsible consumers.

Nike knows going green has various advantages. Surely there are environmental benefits, but going green offers a more cost effective approach in manufacturing of top performance athletic sneakers. It expects to reduce the amount of material it wastes by 17% over the next decade. While companies like Seventh Generation and American Apparel pride themselves over innovation in the eco-conscious changes they are making, Nike is down playing sustainability initiatives. In its latest digital campaign called Nike +/Running, sensors track physical data, find useful tools to train for the marathon, and connect with others in a friend or foe user experience. Nike is all about innovation and hip athletic gear. How is sustainability relevant to the brand? The brand has always been about winning.

‘London’s Love For A Good Garden’

Wallpaper featured an article on Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, and it seems he like knows what will tantalize shoppers in London. In the past he has filled Tate Britain with bouquets and organized music concerts in the countryside. Would this work for a temporary in-store display? As I’m about to find out Deller doesn’t take his artistic mission lightly.