–NPR explores Creator, the first restaurant to build a robot that makes a burger from start to finish in five minutes.
–The YSL beauty hotel is coming to New York, with a five-floor fun house including a Black Opium fragrance workshop and a pool room where guests can be photographed walking over water, writes The Cut.
–Chinese luxury brands are selling virtual intimacy, creating POV ads that leverage fans’ emotional investment in celebrities and make them feel like they are sharing an intimate moment with their idols, while making the brands’ message more pleasant to hear. Via Jing Daily.
–US consumer confidence is the highest it’s been in 18 years, with consumers purchasing more “big-ticket items including homes, cars and major appliances,” reports The Guardian.
–The Wall Street Journal investigates how beverage makers are developing enhanced drinks that promise wellness benefits from improving sleep to providing a more youthful complexion.
–New Balance is using AI to observe pedestrians, hoping to collect data about fashion trends and identify influencers and trendsetters. Via Fast Company.
–Disney is preparing to launch a streaming service in 2019, to “give Netflix a run for its money,” says Fortune.
–A. Human has released a line of accessories that explores human body modification, from biological heels to neck barnacles, and blurs the line between reality and fantasy, announces Designboom.
–Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination is the Met’s most-attended show ever, indicating the popularity of fashion shows within art and a resurgence of interest in religion, shares Racked.
–Google is competing for India’s $1 trillion digital finance market through offering consumers instant, pre-approved loans online through Google Pay, discusses Bloomberg.
–Nike has released a Scan To Try feature in their stores which lets customers use their app to order shoes to try on without interacting with sales associates, explains Business Insider.
–Resale app Depop goes IRL with a community space in New York, which teaches up-and-coming entrepreneurs how to develop a brand identity and organize a photoshoot, describes VICE.
