REDEFINING BEAUTY

OUR CONCERN WITH OUR

APPEARANCE IS NOTHING NEW, BUT TODAY’S

CONSUMER DEMANDS

MORE THAN EVER BEFORE. IS INNOVATION

ALONE NOT ENOUGH

ANYMORE?

WORDS: NICOLE CAMPANARO

6

Historically, the beauty industry has always been expanding and growing, but with the worlds of science and technology making increasingly pioneering discoveries, the opportunities now for developments in beauty products is greater than ever before.

Beauty is no longer just about makeup and skincare; it now encompasses so much more. From fragrance and hair care, to nails and tanning, and even men’s grooming – an industry that is expected to generate more than $33 billion in revenue by 2015, according to research by global industry analysts – the beauty industry holds countless opportunities for growth and advancement.

With an ever aging and time-poor population, who is also increasingly socially responsible and health driven, the demands placed on beauty products nowadays are far more challenging. However, thanks to new manufacturing techniques, which challenge existing processes and provide alternative methods of industrialisation, in the next 3-5 years it is likely that these needs can be met.

Utilising these new means of manufacturing means that new super ingredients, such as plant stem cells, can be used in skincare products with exciting results. As Richard Sung, global managing director of new plant stem cell based skincare range Racinne explains, plant stem cells are “organic and mostly act as a medium or message carrier to instruct your skin to repair itself.” They are also “very sustainable”, making them a great prospect for future developments within skincare.

Julia Wray, assistant editor of SPC (a beauty trade publication), predicts that there will be a “general move towards cross category multifunctional products,” as well as “even more targeted products.” Consumers want products that are more convenient and mitigate laziness; they simply do not have the time to apply lots of different products and then reapply them later in the day. However, they also want to step away from a ‘one size fits all’ approach to cosmetics and therefore want goods that are aimed specifically towards their skin type and their individual needs.

This want for convenient and multitasking, yet personalised and customisable products is an interesting paradox. Wray believes that “a natural extension of this is towards personalised products.” She notes that currently “personalisation is definitely a trend, not just in beauty but in other industries too. Nike, for example, has had huge success with customizing its trainers.”

As Wray notes, “at present, most examples of personalisation in the beauty industry err towards the premium end of the market. Fragrance specialists like Jo Malone and Miller Harris offer consumers the opportunity to create bespoke fragrances, while in skin care… there is a move towards products that let the consumer ‘play scientist,’ like La Prairie’s Cellular Power Infusion; the user can twist the bottom of each vial to activate the serum whenever she’s ready to use it.”

Looking at the success of hair oils that are added to a consumers existing conditioner – a trend driven by Moroccanoil – it is clear that an element of customisation in beauty can work, despite the financial constraints involved. Whilst this began as a premium product, the popularity it quickly achieved means that it has become a part of the mass market too and these oils are now available in your local supermarket.

Furthermore, it’s rapid success rate and the fact that this is a trend which was born during a recession, when consumers were generally much more careful with their money, shows that there is a real desire for more tailored, personalised products and that consumers on a mass scale are willing to spend the extra to obtain this.

According to Wray, “this is something that is [also] beginning to happen in high-end skin care” and therefore, she ”wouldn’t rule out mass market brands introducing single-

active products or concentrates, whereby one or two drops can be added to a usual cream or serum to give women the experience of customisation.”

Another way in which a more personalised approach to beauty looks set to become commonplace in the next few years, is by using innovatory equipment like the light therapy machine displayed at HCT’s ‘Spotlight on Innovation event” – an evening to showcase the global packaging experts vision for the future of the beauty industry. The machine allows users to learn exactly which areas of their skin need targeting and also what products are most suitable. The company predicts that this machinery, which will come to market in the next few years, will be available for use in stores with an expert on hand to consult you.

However, whilst all this innovation is very exciting, we must recognise that it remains fundamental to any new beauty product or service that

there is an element of familiarity and authenticity. This is something that Rebecca Goswell, global creative director of HCT, highlighted.

“In emerging markets and across middle America, brand and product reassurance and familiarity outweigh the desire for innovation,” explains Goswell. “In China for example, the likes of Chanel, Dior and YSL are the brands that are sought after over and above the more cutting edge ones. Korea on the other hand is a fantastic example of a beauty obsessed culture where innovation and newness is a huge driver and local beauty brands are world leaders in terms of their appreciation and strategy for constant research and development.”

Consequently, whilst “innovation and newness” may be enough to satisfy consumers in Korea, globally there is a greater desire for some trust and familiarity in a product. As Wray noted, “women always respond to novelty… and of course any brand that promotes a new product heavily will always do well. This said, trust is very important and women are inclined to trust a brand or even a key ingredient that is familiar to them.”

In fact, 58% of those surveyed by market researchers claimed, “personal recommendations weigh more heavily than celebrity

marketing, and only 44% bought a particular product for its claim of specific product attributes.” Switching from a product you are comfortable with to something new isn’t easy and therefore, whilst newness and innovation are important, there must be an element of familiarity in the product in order to convince them.

If there is one thing that emerging and forthcoming beauty products have shown us, it is that although consumers remain cautious, they are still in search of the next big thing. Innovation is exciting and any new product that can ease the stresses of modern day life in some way, whilst making use of revolutionary ingredients or processes is destined to sell well. However, modern consumers are much more savvy and demanding; they want products that ease or benefit their life particularly. It is for this reason that personalisation will become a big part in future beauty innovation.

“An element of customisation in beauty can work, despite the financial constraints”

98

FASHION FACTURE

NEW MANUFACTURING AND THE FUTURE OF FASHION: WHAT DO WE HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO?

WORDS: LAURA HAYWARD

11

When we think of the fashion industry, we tend to think of two different ends of a spectrum. On the one hand, there is the fast paced, ever moving and ever-changing world of high fashion with two fashion weeks a year and thousands of pounds being exerted on to a single It-bag. And on the other hand, there is the equally as fast paced world of fast fashion, the splurges in cheap high street and online retailers, and the Primark binges on cheap disposable clothes.

This means that the basic founding of all fashion is that we are running our planet dry by the constant sourcing and farming of materials, the cheap labour in sweatshops in which they are produced, and the disposal of the clothing afterwards. Isn’t it surely about time we found another way of doing things, cutting out the middleman and creating pieces of clothing that are not only crafted for the person, but also crafted personally.

The revolution of 3-D printing is surely the way forward. The idea that we could produce our own clothes, by designing them with some digital and technical piece of equipment, and then print them as we personally and individually like them to appear to our own personal taste and style. How revolutionary would that be, for not only our commercial industry, but economically too?

The use of the growth of materials has already been championed in the use of growing materials through plants, as seen in Carole Collett’s work at Central Saint Martins. Collett has managed to grow lace from a strawberry plant. What if we could also grow our own materials, through the use of plants and other natural sources, and then use these materials to easily and cheaply design clothing and accessories on a programmer that then links this up to a 3-D printer, which prints the final product. There would be no need for cheap labour

in sweatshops and no frustration over queues and delivery times and the size and fit being of the exact measurement. Because us individuals would be making it ourselves. This would make our clothes authentic and unique, designed for the individual and not for the mass market.

Lara McDowell, an experimental, revolutionary and modern fashion designer is channelling the idea of just that. She refuses to advertise her clothes through the mainstream media, believing that “in a time where technology runs our lives, our thoughts and our ideas, I want my clothing to remain a mystery, a home-grown mystery, (again, quite literally) and this creates the authenticity and personalisation I am so desperate to achieve.”It’s exciting to hear about someone who is not desperate for media attention, and who is interested in creating garments

that are more about sustainability, catering to the individual and expression fashion as something that is artful, than following the standards set by our media and consumer culture.

Lara was also keen to point out that fashion is a reflection of what is going on in society, and so if we are living in a time where environmentally, we need to sit up and pay more attention to the damage we are doing to our planet, fashion has to become a major factor of that. Lara even went as far to say that “fashion needs to be the core of it, to lead the way, and to most importantly, make it fashionable so that through the generations, especially with the new generation, sustainable fashion is as accessible, and affordable, eventually, as fast fashion and the whole trend of the Primark binge.”

Is new manufacturing within fashion, the process of growing materials and printing clothing the future of our fashion industry? Surely when looking at how environmentally we treat our planet and the way in which it seems to be crumbling down around us – outer edges and working inwards – it’s so vital that fashion starts to change it’s attitude and it’s way of producing to a mass scale.

Ecological and sustainable fashion has been touched on, gently, by a number of designers ranging from Stella McCartney to Karl Lagerfield and his sustainable design innovation. So it appears that this idea is already being challenged, and with big designer names like McCartney and Lagerfield leading the way, surely it’s not long before the rest of the fashion industry hopefully does the same.

New manufacturing in fashion is something that in the next few years is evidently going to have to be reconsidered with the ever increasing population, shortage of land space and increase in materials needed, so it would seem that with the ever increasing investments made in technology, and in the growth of what it is able to create, that we would not as either a community or individuals be growing and printing out our own designs.

There is also going to most likely be a cross over between the new production of clothing and accessories within fashion in 3-D printing, and also trying to create something that feels authentic and relevant and trustworthy. These clothes need to be durable and wearable, and easy to wear. It also needs to be something that within the realms of new manufacturing is accessible to all generations, not just a specific age range who are adept and able to use the 3-D printers or to grow the materials needed to do so.

Of course these ideas are just about looking at what we have already established within the realms of increasing the endless possibilities and functionalities technology is able to handle, and to look at ways in which we can work sustainably with our planet to continue the ever increasing world of that which is the fashion industry.

“It’s vital fashion changes how it produces on a mass scale.”

1312

TIME TO MEDICATE

SYNTHETIC SKIN,

BIOPRINTING, STEM CELL RESEARCH.

THE FUTURE

OF MEDICINE IS

EXCITING...

WORDS: HARRIET CHARNOCK-BATES

14

In a world where survival is only guaranteed by evolution and the pace of change quickens with every passing year, there are countless new discoveries to be humbled by and endless examples of impressive adaptation. It therefore comes as a surprise that the great medical evolutions over recent decades are often neglected by the mass media and seemingly slip under the nations radar. Generations are at last showing more interest than ever before in the progression of medical science, perhaps due to major developments

such as bioprinting and innovative pain relief methods which have shocked the world and made the general public sit up and take notice.

When discussing the future of medicine with doctors and various other medical industry employees it becomes clear that the key difference between modern medicine and the lesser documented past is primarily the rise in popularity of body modification and personalised surgery possibilities. This new call for consumer tailored products and surgery has helped to boost both productivity and sales. A larger number of scientists are now making progress compared to previous years since they no longer remain solely in distinguished laboratories. Instead, healthcare sectors are actively branching out into all forms of society be it cosmetic brands, sports drinks manufacturers or smartphone programming.

During recent years, revolutionary medical concepts such as

bioprinting, which began development in 2002 by pioneer Professor Makoto Nakamura are challenging the established manufacturing processes we have in place today. Professor Brian Derby from the University of Manchester believes that there is a strong future for bioprinting and that the advances being made in that area of medicine are extremely promising. Professor Brian Derby predicts that in regard to medical bioprinting developments during the next three to five years, cosmetic-focused procedures involving skin and

bones are to be the focal areas. This is largely down to the fact that “skin heals quickly and bone is easily customisable due to the fact that it has only

functional requirements as opposed to cosmetic requirements”. It is evident that if the printing of synthetic sheets of skin comes into fruition during the course of the next few years, companies such as L’Oreal will be the first to benefit as they are already investing large sums of money “into companies which make synthetic skin in the hope that they will be able to use it to test new cosmetics”. Medical professionals also hope that animal testing can be reduced once these manufacturing methods come into place.

Another area in the medical industry currently seeing exciting developments take place is pain relief. The riveting Pain Less exhibition at the Science Museum investigates the future of pain relief and the way that pain management is being furthered. The exhibition focuses on four research areas that are all directly linked to pain – mood and pain, no pain, brain training and losing consciousness. Head of Content for the exhibition Suzy Antoniw

states, “All of us have a personal relationship to pain, but is our current way of dealing with pain working or do we need to think differently? A world without pain could be dangerous, but for the one in five who live in chronic pain, it could be life-changing”. The thought-provoking and somewhat revolutionary future pain relief methods showcased throughout Pain Less include employing tarantula venom as a painkiller and new treatments that involve ‘tricking’ the brain to reduce pain in phantom limbs. The difference that effective fresh pain-reducing technologies could have on patients suffering from terminal illnesses to broken bones could be extraordinary.

Medical innovations are typically rare occurrences due to the large number of ethical constraints. Professor Brian Derby confirms, “things are slower but the final result is better guaranteed and therefore the amount of things going wrong is reduced significantly – so these constraints need to be in place”. A large amount of new medical-focused technologies that are managing to overcome these constraints and pass the vital regulations are in fact smartphone applications and accessories. American cardiologist Dr Eric Topol recently said “These days I’m actually prescribing a lot more apps than I am medications. You can take the phone and make it a lab on a chip; you can do blood tests, saliva tests, urine tests, and all kinds of things… This is a powerful device.” A very successful physician and businessman to date is Dr David Albert who created the ingenious FDA-approved iPhone ECG case in a bid to “deliver healthcare more efficiently, at a lower cost” and also on the horizon are smartphone apps that are programmed to diagnose sexually transmitted diseases and liver problems with £4 million being invested into research and development.There is a growing demand for personalisation in surgical procedures

and medical products yet currently there are only a number of methods that employ customisation as a key feature. Many procedures carried out in dentistry require complete customisation in order to provide the patient with a pleasing and comfortable result yet in terms of hip replacement although it’s not quite a ‘one size fits all’ policy, there are a limited number of hip sizes available to patients. Spire Hartswood Hospital in Brentwood has generated a significant amount of media interest because of the extremely effective personalised knee replacement surgery they now offer. Using an MRI scan to map out exact images of patients’ knee anatomy prior to surgery allows for precise positioning and well-informed selection of the replacement knee. Customised surgery methods such as the one demonstrated at Hartswood Hospital reduce the requirement for further operations in the future and medical professionals hope that these techniques will be extended into other areas of medicine in the not so distant future.

Research shows that consumers are becoming more demanding year by year and although innumerable methods of medicine have been practiced throughout the centuries, currently there is a clear growing demand for manufacturing techniques that incorporate both customisation and convenience. It is evident that we can look forward to cosmetic-focused bioprinting methods in the course of the next five years and smartphone compatible medical equipment will undoubtedly go from strength to strength. Although new medical technologies may appear intimidating at first glance, we’re exceptionally fortunate to have these incredible tools and possibilities at our disposal and so choosing not to take advantage of them would be almost unthinkable.

“There is a strong future for bioprinting... advances in that area of medicine are extremely promising.”

1716