Irenebrination: Notes on Architecture, Art, Fashion, Fashion Law, Science & Technology

As Artificial Intelligence Gives Conscience to Non-Playable Characters, Will It Mark the End of NPC streaming?

Major publications including the New York Times discovered in July this year a trend that has been going on for quite a while on TikTok – content creators impersonating non playable characters (NPCs), that is those secondary characters you see in video games that can't be controlled by a human player.

NPCs usually have robotic movements and are destined to repeat the same sentence or a set of options, dictated by the game’s Artificial Intelligence. Quite often their dialogues with the protagonist of the video game is not even instrumental for the narrative. NPCs are represented like this because it would be extremely expensive to implement their dialogues, especially when there are too many of them (think about having to write the script, adding voice actors, directors for performance coaching, doing script changes or reshoots, dubbing, localization and so on).

Early examples of people playing at being NPCs on TikTok gave you an "uncanny valley" vibe and were more focused on basic actions, showing for example a young woman walking, running or eating ice cream in Venice. But the trend has grown and there are users now, often young women, who stream to their followers in real time, pretending to be just that, NPCs from well-known games with limited and repetitive movements and sentences, accompanied by static facial expressions.

Yes, we do have a human mimicking the behavior of a secondary video game character and livestreaming it on TikTok. The livestream consists only in that, with the same catchphrases and gestures repeatedly in an unending loop.

Despite its repetitive nature, there is a lucrative aspect to NPC streaming: users purchase virtual coins with real money, using these coins to obtain gift tokens like digital ice-cream cones, roses, doughnuts, and hearts, appearing as cartoon graphics on the screen. During live streams, these tokens are sent to the content creator, allowing viewers to exert a certain level of influence over the streamer. Different gift tokens trigger indeed specific gestures or lines of dialogue, turning viewers into virtual players who control the actions of the NPC-like character.

The creators have the option to exchange these received gifts for real money. The process involves converting the gifts into gift coins, which are further transformed into virtual diamonds, and finally redeemed for cash. The value of each individual gift can vary from a cent to a few dollars.

The fascination with this mesmerizing yet bizarre content astonishes those of us with regular (underpaid) jobs who find it shocking that such content creators can make money from it. The New York Times recently did a feature about NPCs streaming that featured Montreal-based TikTok creator Fedha Sinon, known as Pinkydoll, who became the face of a trend (and a meme...) for repeatedly uttering "ice-cream so good" in response to viewers' gifts of ice-cream tokens or "gang gang" every time someone paid for a "GG", while popping corn kernels one at a time with a hot-hair flat iron.

Pinkydoll financial success appears extraordinary and evokes a mix of jealousy and happiness among onlookers: she indeed claims she earns up approximately $2,000 to $3,000 per stream, while her daily earnings combining TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans, can hit $7,000 in a single day, Unperturbed by other peopel's opinions, she confidently told the New York Times that she is the one winning out of this situation.

Dissenting is hard, even though the phenomenon is intriguing enough to warrant lengthy essays, as it represents a unique blend of gaming culture and sexualized content (just like ASMR videos could be seen as a combination of cam girl aesthetics and geekiness for sound and audio devices).

While not explicitly sexual, Pinkydoll's playful gestures and her habit of sticking out her tongue to pretend she is licking an ice cream cone, add to the appeal and turn the NPC streaming into a fetish per se or in a sort of sanitised repackaged erotic content.

After all, there is a weird dynamic between users and streamers in these cases as the line between active and passive content creator is blurred. Users send indeed "gifts" while streamers respond to an order to thank them, raising questions about the degree of control viewers have over the streamer.

It is interesting to note how during the Trump presidency, the term "NPCs" was used in a derogative way to describe liberals repeating certain concepts and ideas, so, from a right-wing Internet meme and a term popular among believers in the theory that we're all living inside a simulation (last December Elon Musk, tweeted: "If you don't think there's at least a tiny chance you're an NPC...you're an NPC"), the term mutated to indicate something else.

Yet streamers aren’t promoting any political message or conspiracy theory in these cases, they are just there to make money (consider also that some content creators who are into NPCs such as Pinkydoll and Cherry Crush, also operate OnlyFans accounts with more explicit content). At the same time, do not think that this is an easy job or a get-rich-quick scheme that empowers women: while streaming such contents as a woman may avoid direct physical harassment, you still need to have a thick skin to be able to take in all the negative comments of the haters. Besides, most women streaming as NPCs still align with specific beauty canons that appeal to men. Last but not least, playing at being an NPC requires talent to immediately react to all the gifts while ignoring nasty comments.

Definitely insane and mesmerizing, this trend offers an absurd reflection of the bizarre times we are living in. That said, the question is how long will it last? Yes, because this trend is based on NPCs characters being caught up in an endless cycle, performing the same actions or repeating the same words. But, with Artificial Intelligence things are changing also for NPCs characters.

In the last few months there have been indeed a few attempts at turning AI NPCs' conversation into more engaging dialogues with ChatGPT plugins.

In May Japanese free game development team Kotonoha experimented on two levels with the conversation app "AI say hello," where you can talk with AI, and with the ChatGPT_APIMZ plugin for RPG Maker MZ, that explores how two AI NPCs interact in a conversation.

The ChatGPT_APIMZ plugin employs OpenAI's ChatGPT to automatically generate dialogue for NPCs in RPG games. In the first experiment they did, initially, the dialogue seemed normal, but as the conversation progressed, it took a strange turn and the AI started displaying an unusual behavior. The two AI-generated NPCs named Eleanor and Seria were indeed engaged in a seemingly normal conversation ("So many flowers have bloomed", "I love sweets!") that quickly developed into a repetitive and eerie exchange, reminiscent of the uncanny valley phenomenon.

Eventually the AI NPCs began to repeat each other's lines unnaturally and the conversation took on a detached, formal tone, losing the emotional warmth present at the beginning. Soon after that, the AI characters dropped their roles as young girls and started reporting on their tasks, suggesting a shift away from the intended conversational context (the characters bid farewell to each other, but then wondered what they should do next time).

Kotonoha explained that the video was a test to see if this AI-generated conversation could be incorporated into a social deduction game.

But there have been other experiments with users chatting with ChatGPT-driven NPCs using OpenAI's Whisper for speech-to-text, GPT3.5-Turbo for the NPC's "brains", and ElvenLabs for text-to-speech.

NetEase, a renowned Chinese developer and publisher of online games, plans to use ChatGPT in their upcoming massively multiplayer online game (MMO) Justice Online Mobile. This action-combat MMO will feature a language model AI allowing players to have unique conversations and interactions with NPCs throughout the game. They also suggest the possibility of using AI to create fully-voiced characters.

In May Replica Studios, a company providing an AI voice plugin for 3D engines, announced Smart NPC Experience, a  plug-in that allows developers to integrate NPCs powered by AI language models, such as OpenAI, into their games. So NPCs can dynamically respond to players' in-game voice, changing their dialogue, emotions, and gestures accordingly. The Style Morphing update also guarantees an expanded range of emotions for NPCs.

The plug-in combines AI language model smarts with Replica's text-to-speech models, enabling real-time animations of characters to match audio streams and providing accurate lip sync. Custom animation blueprints allow NPCs to send body gesture messages during their listening, thinking, and speaking phases. The result is a natural and responsive NPC that can surprise and engage players with thoughtful, funny, and intriguing responses based on their unique contexts and voice input captured directly from their microphones.

When the Smart NPC plugin launches for Unreal Engine later this year, game developers will have the opportunity to integrate Smart NPCs into their projects, enhancing the scalability of characters in their games.

To show it, Replica introduced a modified version of The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 demo, showcasing their Smart NPC plug-in. The demo enables players to interact with NPCs in real-time by speaking into their microphones, receiving immediate dialogue responses.

The features of the Matrix Awakens Replica Smart NPCs demo include real-time NPC responses based on player input, AI voices with varying emotions, customizable NPC backstories, and automated lip-sync and body gestures to enhance the NPCs' realism. The AI-powered NPCs intelligently converse with each other, adding depth to the game world.

As stated above, in traditional video games, NPCs have limited speech with repetitive phrases as the process of writing and recording these lines can be laborious and costly, especially for large-scale games where vast amounts of unique dialog are required. These recent experiments prove that the utilization of large language models (LLMs) in video games opens up new possibilities for realistic and immersive dialogues. By using game world-specific prompts or fine-tuning the LLM with the video game script, meaningful sentences can be generated. NPCs can then lip-sync these sentences while matching their body language, resulting in flexible and authentic dialogues and characters that may provide a more immersive and emotive experience to gamers. The potential implications for AI in gaming are unprecedented, marking an innovative experiment with AI NPCs in the gaming industry.

AI will indeed allow studios to craft more extensive and immersive stories while creating never-before-seen living-world gaming experiences that adapt to players in real-time. But also smaller studios will benefit from AI in these cases as they will be able to come up with more intricate characters even with limited resources.

As a result gamers will have more dynamic dialogues that will profoundly impact gameplay in highly adaptable game worlds (imagine being able to chat about anything in your favourite video game with an NPC, and obtaining an appropriate response).

For gamers that's good news, but when read one after the other these stories are extremely bizarre: humans are mimicking NPCs on social media, while AI is helping turning NPCs into more human characters. Which means that the fashion for impersonating an NPC may soon die.

What to do if you're a content creator impersonating an NPC on TikTok? Well, simple, make as much money as possible now, then do something clever with it, study or invest it in real estate (or ask ChatGPT to tell you what you should invest in after updating it with the latest financial news…).

Like many other jobs affected by AI, also NPC streaming will eventually get out of fashion as in 8 months' time (or even less...) NPCs performing repetitive tasks will be a distant memory and these secondary characters will be able to chat with us about more complex philosophical or existential issues.

In fact you get a feeling that, just like AI may be giving a thinking mind and a voice to NPCs changing video games, soon, in fashion, AI will bring further changes. Imagine what would happen if powerful fashion companies would launch their own AI-driven digital influencers, capable of chatting with the users, generating engaging content and multiple images, and costing a fraction of what it is spent on human influencers. So, enjoy your NPCs streaming and fashion influencer jobs while they're still here as AI's rapid progress may soon bring about significant changes in these domains.

A Fusion of Eras: From Vintage Straw Hats to AI-Driven Designs

Let's continue the straw hat thread that we started last Sunday with a look at other types of vintage straw hats, this time by Robert Dudley.

As you may remember from a previous post, New York milliner Robert Dudley was well-known in the '40s and the '50s, when he operated the Chez Robert salon at Saks Fifth Avenue and his own shop, Robert Dudley Originals, on the East Side of Manhattan.

Born in Rochester, Dudley moved to New York as a young man to pursue a career in the theatre, but then decided to become a milliner when he used an old felt hat to create a new one for a friend.

At the end of the ‘30s some milliners actively joined the war efforts: Sally Victor, for example, came up with a beret for the Cadet Nurse Corps and created for General Electric a denim work hat with an attached adjustable snood to protect the long hair of women workers, preventing accidents.

Dudley instead first committed an embarrassing faux pas, creating in 1939 cringing hats inspired by the Second World War (including a Hitler hat that was meant to mock the dictator, but was just in terrible bad taste View this photo, while his torpedo, periscope and cannon hat, the latter with a puff of organza smoke coming out of it, View this photo, were ridiculous rather than surreal - File under: "Things to avoid as a designer"),

Eventually Dudley joined the war efforts coming up with a felt hat that had a brim that could be styled in five different ways and with a removable veil.

The hat supported the Allied war effort as it was available in patriotic colours including navy and red.

By the '40s Dudley had become a bit of a favourite for many theatre and society figures and he designed hats for several films, including "Rebecca" (1940).

In this romantic psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, actress Joan Fontaine starring as the young woman who becomes the second wife of Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) dons at a certain point a summery gown matched with a straw hat decorated with fabric flowers.

Yet, between the '50s and the '60s Dudley went beyond the more classic romantic hats and used straw to create architectural designs. Straw hats are often associated with beachwear, but Dudley’s were meant for the city, as proved by the three hats illustrating the beginning of this post.

The three hats - one from the '50s, another from 1955 circa and the third one from the '60s - had iconic shapes: the first one formed a halo around the head of the wearer and featured a minimalist decorative straw element knotted on the front.

The curling sides of the second hat evoked the shapes of the roofs seen in Japanese woodblocking prints from the Sōsaku-hanga art movement (View this photo), while the third one featured a bi-coloured pleated motif that formed a structure reminiscent of the roofs of temples in Bangkok (think the Wat Benjamabhopit or Marble Temple - View this photo - to get an idea).

Want to reinterpret the hats in rather unusual ways? Try remixing them with Artificial Intelligence.

In the first case Midjourney combined the colour of the hat box with the minimalist knotted element on the hat and came up with helmet-like designs in ivory and blue characterized by a series of dynamic bold curves formed by intersecting straps of a semi-rigid material (could that be leather, PVC or maybe shape memory polymer straps?) 

The remix of the second hat was rather puzzling as Midjourney came up with a hat that looks like a safari helmet and transformed the lateral curled up sides of the hat into an elongated leather strap.

In the third transformation, Midjourney managed to preserve the architectural aspect, coming up with a modernist hat in which the straw was replaced by other materials (fabric? paper? wood? Not sure, actually).

In this case Artificial Intelligence remixed the bi-coloured pleated motif, coming up with a white hat with a dark / light brown architectural element (in the second interpretation of this hat, this element actually looks like a fin).

If you still prefer straw hats with an architectural element, keep on playing around with Midjourney: in the last two examples in this post Artificial Intelligence produced hats incorporating sweeping curves reminiscent of the three-dimensional curved surfaces representing an aircraft's aerodynamic turbulence field in the Maths gallery designed by Zaha Hadid for London's Science Museum (even though in my prompt I didn't include this reference; mind you, the first straw hat produced by Midjourney also evokes in my mind the Teletubbies...).

The final verdict? Well, architectural straw hats designed by Midjourney may not be perfect yet, but experimenting with them can be enjoyable and surprising as well.

Return of the Futuristic Circuit Board Bodysuit

There are items in the history of fashion that, throughout the decades, have turned for commentators into the proverbial albatross hanging from the neck of the ancient mariner - they are a curse rather than a pleasure to write about. Why? Mainly because there are numerous interpretations (or, well, copies...) of the same idea, spanning decades or, in some cases, even centuries, meaning that your research will be like falling into a bottomless rabbit hole.

One example is the Little Black Dress (LBD), a mutant entity throughout the centuries, but there are more modern items that have garnered throughout the years a sort of "aggravated" albatross potential. While the LBD is, after all, not a specific design, but an idea that can be transformed into thousands of interpretations, there are some garments that aren't even reinvented or reinterpreted; they are simply reissued after a few seasons, contributing to the repetitive nature of fashion discussions.

A recent example is the futuristic Printed Circuit Board (PCB) bodysuit. Inspired by the robotic body, rather than pointing at the sexy allure of cyborgs and of gynoids in particular and their smooth metal armoured bodies, the circuit board bodysuit indicates a softer, almost more romantic, type of approach.

It is as if those designers who employed it tried to give a more human aspect to the robotic body, hinting at the veins and arteries of the robotic anatomy rather than at the harder shell protecting it.

The circuit board bodysuit was first spotted in fashion over 20 years ago (no, this doesn't mean that you can copy it because so many years have gone since then...).

Alexander McQueen sent out on Givenchy's Fall1999 runway models clad in rigidly cut suits that made them look a bit like Rachael out of "Blade Runner" (but with hairstyles reminiscent of Pris...) and in bodysuits covered in circuit board patterns.

In some cases the prints and embroideries glowed in the dark, though the final bodices - the result of a collaboration with Studio van der Graaf - were made of molded clear plastic with integrated battery-powered programmed flashing LEDs, and they were matched with glowing leggings patterned like computer chips.

This radically different interpretation of Givenchy's style was McQueen's answer to the fears and anxieties of Y2K.

But fashion-wise maybe McQueen may have had as reference for the circuit board patterns something way less technological - a motif printed on an ensemble designed by English tailor and fashion designer Freddie Burretti for David Bowie.

Sported by Bowie in a well-known series of images by Michael Putland showing him painting his house in 1972 and on stage at a gig at the Newcastle upon Tyne City Hall, the design featured a pattern that looked minimalist and futuristic, even though Burretti wasn't certainly trying to do a circuit board print here. That said, the configuration of the print makes it look a bit like a circuit board.

Fast forward to 2016 and Chanel fans may remember that in the maison's S/S 17 collection there was a jacket covered in a beaded embroidery that mimicked a circuit board. The collection also featured handbags in the shape of black robots with circuits traced in white or green.

The circuit board bodysuit came back in the costumes (by Laura Theiss) for a piece entitled "Clara" (part of the "Future World" double bill) performed at the Saarland State Theatre in 2020 for the Saarbrücken Ballet, choreographed by Stijn Celis.

In the performance at first the dancers appeared naked and vulnerable, but a change of lights made the reflective circuit boards printed on the bodysuits visible, transforming the dancers from humans into machines. 

For those of us who aren't dancers yet love the idea of a bodysuit for cosplaying or festival purposes, there have been cheaper versions available for years on Aliexpress (in black with white circuits or in black with white and green circuits).

 

Other retailers, including Black Milk Clothing and Devil Walking have their own interpretations of the circuit board printed designs that includes a long sleeved version and a variety of other items, from crop tops and leggings to cut-out bodysuits and face masks.

The latest rendition of the design is Marine Serre’s silvery circuit board-cum-signature crescent moon print bodysuits (embellished with a metallic jewelry body piece with a silver chain top with letters forming "Renaissance" hanging on the front) created for Beyoncé and donned by the Grammy-winning star during the Chicago leg of the Renaissance World Tour.

It is worth remembering here that Beyoncé actually wore an archival Givenchy by Alexander McQueen reflective catsuit from the brand’s Fall/Winter 1999 collection in a shoot for her merch coffee table book.

The designs donned by Beyoncé in her Renaissance World Tour have been thoroughly noted by fans and the singer selected Amazon Music as the exclusive merchandise partner for the tour. The designs featured on Amazon feature T-shirts and sweats with prints of Beyoncé in different costumes, but not in the circuit board bodysuit.

Yet, as following the European tour launch there was a remarkable surge in search interest for fashion items seen on the stage (including metallic cowboy boots) and the tour sparked a frenzy among retail chains looking for ways to capitalize on its popularity, you can bet the circuit board print will soon resurface on even more items.

Despite the mere thought of seeing more circuit board bodysuits may be traumatic for some of us, maybe we could turn this inspiration into something else. 

To find less banal interpretations of the circuit board print we could for example re-read the work of American mathematician, engineer and information theorist Claude Shannon, founder of the digital computer and digital circuit design theory in 1937.

There are other ways to explored the world of circuit boards: as you may remember from a previous post New Mill's Spring/Summer 2023 yarn collection features, for example, several yarns in green shades that call to mind the green core of a PCB. 

While you can also download free images of PCBs from HiClipart and do something with them, in the unfortunate event that your washing machine has recently malfunctioned (like in my case), you can turn your bad luck around by disassembling its PCB.

Yes, washing machines have a PCB that controls many of their electrical functions, and if it fails, the appliance may lose functionality entirely. However, you can transform this situation into an opportunity by creating something fun, extravagant and original from the PCB, like a pendant or a keychain – the choice is yours. Just refrain from adding to the abundance of circuit board bodysuits out there, for goodness' sake.

New Trends in Fashion Law: Lawsuits Between Ultra-Fast Fashion Companies

So far, the most prominent lawsuits in the fashion industry revolved around copyright infringements that often involved two powerful brands or fashion houses, but we have also seen litigations between a powerful maison and a digital artist. Yet things are rapidly changing as fast-fashion giants are joining the game.

Swedish retailer H&M filed indeed a lawsuit in Hong Kong, targeting Shein's parent company, Zoetop Business Co., and Shein Group Ltd. The legal dispute between H&M and Shein actually began in July 2021. The case started in a Hong Kong court in September of the same year and has progressed since then.

H&M argues that the strong resemblance between its products and Shein's offerings provides evidence that Shein copied H&M's designs.

The Hong Kong Copyright Ordinance grants copyright owners exclusive rights to various acts, including copying their works onto tangible media, distributing copies, renting computer programs and sound recordings, and making works available to the public via the Internet. They can also perform or display their works publicly, broadcast them, and make adaptations, such as translating, converting, conveying stories through pictures, arranging music, or converting computer programs. The standard of similarity for copyright infringement is based on the replication of a substantial part of the copyrighted work and the test for substantiality is qualitative and not quantitative.

In the court filing, H&M sought an injunction to prevent Shein from further infringing on their copyrighted and trademarked designs (including knitwear and swimwear). The lawsuit also highlighted the vast number of unauthorized reproductions of substantial parts of its copyrighted works by Shein, which reportedly releases up to 6,000 new styles daily. H&M is seeking unspecified damages and injunctive relief to prevent Shein from continuing to infringe on its copyrights.Founded in China in 2008, Shein has rapidly risen in the global fast-fashion market, attracting customers with its ultra-low prices and social media-based marketing, particularly targeting Generation Z on platforms like TikTok. However, the company has been selling a variety of designs that seem lifted from more popular brands, from lookalike Marine Serre tops to bags copied from Gucci, Dior, and Bottega Veneta, and often faced copyright infringement accusations and lawsuits (among the others also by Dr Martens-owner Airwair in 2020 and Ralph Lauren in 2021).

Shein is also facing another lawsuit on copyright infringement grounds by three independent artists - Krista Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Baron - who sued Shein earlier on in July and filed a complaint in a California federal court (Download Krista Perry_Larissa Martinez_Jay Baron_Shein).

The artists accused Shein and related entities (Roadget Business and Zoetop Business) of large-scale and systematic intellectual property theft. They also claim that Shein not only copied but also produced, distributed, and sold exact replicas of their creative work, alleging that such infringement constitutes racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act).

The complaint shows Perry's creation of the "Make It Fun" artwork and "Floral Bloom" design; Baron's "Trying My Best" artwork and Martinez's "Orange Daisies" design compared to Shein's products. 

But there is somebody else currently embroiled in a legal battle with Shein - ultra-fast fashion giant Temu. Both Shein and Temu target price-conscious customers, particularly Gen-Zers, seeking constant new designs for their wardrobes and ultra-low prices.

Temu, represented by U.S. law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, filed the case in a Boston federal court (Whaleco Inc v Shein US Services LLC et al, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Download Whaleco_SheinUS), against Shein, accusing it of attempting to eliminate its competition in the US market.

According to Temu, Shein, that entered the U.S. market in 2017, "obtained a monopoly position" and established exclusive contracts with 8,338 independent apparel manufacturers in China, preventing them from working with Temu.

In the complaint (Download Whaleco_SheinUS), Temu states that "Shein forces manufacturers to sign loyalty oaths certifying that they will not do business with Temu" and that it "issues public penalty notices and imposes extrajudicial fines on disobedient manufacturers for supplying product to Temu". As a result, US consumers have limited access to direct price competition, leading to a significant decline in Temu's fashion sales.

Temu states that these agreements are part of Shein's anti-competitive scheme and strategy to dominate the US markets and hinder Temu's business growth (the complaint highlights that "By October 2022, Shein had begun engaging in all the anticompetitive conduct that forms the Scheme. Since that time, more than 10,000 product listings have been pulled from Temu because of Shein's Scheme.")

According to Temu, "Shein's Scheme harms consumers and competition by raising prices to consumers, restricting choice and innovation, and impairing the expansion of the ultra-fast fashion market in the United States".

Temu, an offshoot of the Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo, entered the US market in September 2022 and quickly gained popularity, particularly among young consumers, by offering low prices (in some cases lower than Shein...) and incentives for encouraging app downloads.

Shein also took legal action against Temu, with an initial complaint in December 2022 (Roadget Business PTE. Ltd. v. Whaleco, Inc.) when it alleged that Temu paid influencers to spread false and deceptive statements about Shein on social media.

In March this year, Roadget Business Pte. Ltd., the owner of Shein's trademarks in the U.S., filed an amended complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Temu. In this case Roadget accused Temu of willfully and flagrantly infringing on Shein's exclusive and valuable trademark and copyright rights. According to Roadget, Temu engaged in a scheme to boost its growth in the American market by impersonating the Shein brand on social media, trading off the well-known Shein trademarks, and using copyrighted images owned by Roadget in its product listings.

In a nutshell, rather than competing fairly, Temu allegedly engaged in unfair competition by impersonating Shein and used "imposter" Twitter accounts containing Shein trademarks in the handles and misleading links that directed consumers to Temu's website instead of the Shein app. This deceptive tactic aimed to divert customers from purchasing Shein-branded goods to Temu's offerings.

Furthermore, Roadget accused Temu of using copyrighted images owned by Shei on its website, thus infringing on Shein's copyrights. Temu allegedly disseminated false and deceptive statements about Shein products to influencers, inducing them to promote Temu's goods and services in exchange for monetary payments.

In response to Roadget's allegations, Temu filed a partial motion to dismiss, contesting Roadget's copyright claims and false advertising and trade libel claims. Temu denied creating the fake Twitter accounts and stated that they were likely created by third parties trying to exploit Temu's referral programs.

Such complaints aren't rare in the US: Fashion Nova faced accusations of engaging in a conspiracy to hinder the growth of its fast fashion competitors, such as Honey Bum, in a lawsuit filed in 2020. The lawsuit accused Fashion Nova and its founder of violating Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act and engaging in interference with business and contract (Fashion Nova successfully had the monopolization claim under Section 2 of the Sherman Act dismissed in March 2021, as Honey Bum failed to establish that Fashion Nova held "market power within a relevant market." Subsequently, in January 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted Fashion Nova's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the rest of the case in Fashion Nova's favor).

Despite we as consumers have become more knowledgeable about the damages of the fast and ultra-fast fashion industries to our planet, these retailers and companies keep on expanding, luring us with new products offered at affordable prices. Criticism of fast and ultra-fast fashion retailers continues, though: Shein recently invited American influencers to visit their HQs in China, and while their feedback was overtly positive, people on social media attacked the influencers highlighting not only the multiple copyright violations Shein has been accused of, but also the fact that Shein has been consistently accused of mistreating marginalized groups in China, particularly the Uyghurs, and there are allegations of forced or underpaid labor in some of its supplier factories, with some located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (not to mention the presence of hazardous chemicals in Shein's clothing).

Shein has consistently refuted any wrongdoing, but also Temu's sister company Pinduoduo, faced similar accusations in China and has been under scrutiny for different issues including worker conditions and the sale of counterfeit products on Pinduoduo's platform.

Seeing fast and ultra-fast fashion companies suing each other is a terrific ironic twist in the infinite universe of lawsuits involving fashion houses and brands. What was once a scenario of designers and fashion houses suing fast-fashion retailers has now transformed into fast-fashion retailers suing each other. It is indeed almost comical to see H&M, known for its expertise in copyright infringement and trend replication from high-end runways, taking legal action against another fast-fashion retailer.

The frustration of H&M and other fast fashion retailers such as Zara or Forever 21 stems from Shein's ability to offer even cheaper prices, engage more influencers, and garner strong support from its customer base.

Since its introduction to the US in 2017, Shein has risen as the most popular ultra-fast fashion brand in the country, captivating customers with extremely affordable prices and trendy designs. In May 2021, the Shein mobile app became the most downloaded shopping app in the U.S., and, in May 2022, it outperformed both TikTok and Instagram, becoming the most downloaded mobile app in any category. This situation has left brands such as H&M feeling threatened.

However, while these lawsuits about copyright infringement and unfair business competition are somewhat hilarious, it is our planet that suffers from the practices of these companies, urging us all to reconsider and change our collective habits.

Upon reading excerpts from Temu's complaint, you can't help but become aware of how these companies view us all: "Temu and Shein are at the vanguard of ultra-fast fashion, where technology and highly efficient supply chains meet to satisfy consumer demand for cutting-edge fashions at ultra-low prices. The speed of communications and rapidly changing consumer preferences and fashion have created strong consumer demand for the ultra-fast fashion business model. Critically, that model relies on relationships with tens of thousands of clothing manufacturers capable of meeting the rigors of the ultra-fast fashion business model."

The complaint's heavy focus on words like "ultra-fast," "ultra-low," and "speed" should serve as a wake-up call, revealing that these retailers view everyone in their supply chain, from manufacturers to consumers, as mere machines, involved in the production and consumption of their products and we all know that nothing will change if we as consumer do not act now to make them change (Shein reportedly aims for substantial revenue growth, setting its sights on $60 billion in revenues by 2025; moreover, rumors have circulated about the company contemplating an IPO in the United States...).

While we try and reassess our consumption habits and patterns, if you harbor a passion for fashion, you like researching and dream of a career that allows you to immerse yourself in the industry and profit from it, forget fashion journalism and consider exploring fashion law studies, an increasingly lucrative option (with some sagas becoming worthy of their own TV shows). In the United States, specialised attorneys and fashion law experts can command high rates (starting from $500 per hour) and these new cases show us that, in future, these jobs will multiply at different levels, as there will be more lawsuits involving powerful fashion houses and brands, but also more fast-fashion entities. Yes, litigation in this field has transformed into an enthralling spectacle, akin to a runway show, making it an alluring career path for those who adore the law, legal battles, and, of course, financial rewards.

Sparkingly Subtle Sophistication: Glistening Accents & Radiant Details in Interior Design Materials

In some of the images illustrating yesterday's post there were fragments of shells embedded in the sand. Let’s move from that effect, but think about glistening and radiant gold and metallic accents integrated in other materials, from fabrics to hard surfaces for interior design purposes.

These luminous elements infuse spaces and wardrobes with a touch of beauty and fun, elegance and sophistication, luxury and playfulness and have an enduring allure that goes beyond trends and eras.

In interior design, metallics have been transforming living spaces for decades, from the opulent glamour of Art Deco times to the sleek minimalism of modern design.

Formica is continuing to rediscover its vintage patterns to celebrate its anniversary and one example of metallic accents can be found in the company's history.

In 1952 Formica pioneered indeed the industry's first gold-flecked series - "Sequin": this offering featured a layer of sparkles over a solid-colored paper, adding a touch of glamour to interiors. Other laminate companies soon launched similar versions of laminates that incorporated glitter sparkles.

The success of the Sequin series led to further expansion in 1959, with three pastel shades added to celebrate the gold rush anniversary, one of them a pink one (Camellia Sequin - perfect for the current Barbiecore mania).

Over the years, Formica's innovation continued: in 1962, Raymond Loewy + Associates designed Silversnow, featuring small silver sparkles on solid colors. In 1964, in-house Formica laminate designer Lorraine Elton drew inspiration from cracks in the concrete floor of the Winton Place Formica plant to create the Spindrift pattern. 

In the early 1970s, the Gold Gossamer pattern, delicately filigreed, joined the collection, while 20 years ago, in 2003, the Authentix Metal collection made its debut, featuring copper, brass, stainless, and aluminum shades that brought shimmer and subtle shine to interior design. The collection also included four finishes, with punched and quilted options adding extra reflection to horizontal applications.

In 2022 the design team unveiled the innovative White Pearl Cascade pattern: this design featured white pearl pigments applied during the traditional paper-making process. This contemporary pattern had a subtle sparkle with shimmery ribbons that ensured each piece had a one-of-a-kind effect without repeat patterns. 

So, today we have learnt that metallic sparkles can add that much needed radiantly uplifting mood to a design, but, please, fashion and design students out there, note how Lorraine Elton moved from the cracks in the concrete floor of an industrial plant as inspiration.

Can you find in urban environments surrounding you any interesting cracks that can inspire you textures, surfaces or even knitwear concepts?Try and spot them in the most unlikely places around you while walking around and try to imagine how they could be transformed with metallic accents. Last but not least, don't forget to ponder on how to recreate shiny and dazzling effects with eco-friendly materials.

The Sea as a Muse & Changes as Inspiration for a Fashion Collection

Florida recently experienced record-breaking ocean temperatures, with the surface temperature around the Florida Keys reaching 38.43°C – potentially a global record for ocean heat. The high temperatures are unusual for this time of year, with normal temperatures ranging between 23°C and 31°C, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

The extreme heat poses a significant threat to marine life and ocean ecosystems. Heatwaves are increasingly affecting the world's oceans, causing damage to kelp, seagrass, corals, and marine life. A research conducted in 2019 revealed that the frequency of ocean heatwave days has tripled in recent times.

The rise in the frequency and intensity of severe weather, both on land and in oceans, is a clear indication of the global climate crisis driven by human activities. Current heatwaves are expected to persist through August, exacerbating the ongoing challenges.

You don't need to go to Florida to experience a rise in sea temperatures: earlier this month, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported that global sea temperatures have been hitting monthly record highs since May (partly also influenced by an El Niño event).

It is the same along the Adriatic coast in Italy, where the temperatures have risen and it is not unusual to see fish leaping out of sea in search of oxygen as if they were trapped in a fish tank (a habit that actually started a few years ago). While in the past you would still shiver when walking into the water and take a few tentative steps before diving in to get accustomed to the temperature, now you get the impression that the water temperature is similar to that of a hot tub.

The seas are therefore currently undergoing dramatic transformations and changes can serve as an inspiring theme in different ways. Consider for example standing on a beach and observing the mesmerizing rhythm of the waves crashing at your feet, witnessing the ebb and flow of the sea rearranging the sand and shells with each crash. What if this natural yet captivating cycle became the central theme for a fashion collection?

How could you transform so quickly a design with the same transformative power of the sea with its ever-changing rhythm? Perhaps you could use innovative fabrics that shift and adapt with the wearer's movements, mimicking the dynamic nature of the waves? Or maybe you could incorporate technological features that allowed garments to change colors, patterns, or shapes in response to external stimuli or the wearer's preferences?

While exploring these creative possibilities and the shape of water, let's not forget to respect the sea, especially if we are currently spending our holidays in a seaside location. Nature's beauty is a great source of inspiration, and it is essential to appreciate and protect the environment that serves as our muse.

Ultra-Hot, Reflective & Metallic, What Else Do You Need to Know to Turn the LTT 9779 b Exoplanet into a Fashion Inspiration?

Earlier on in this scorching July on planet Earth, scientists revealed that there is an ultra-hot exoplanet in the universe acting like a mirror.

The European Space Agency (ESA)'s CHaracterising ExOPlanet Satellite (Cheops) mission discovered the ultra-hot LTT 9779 b, an exoplanet orbiting a star about 262 light-years from Earth, with an albedo (reflectivity) of 80%. This makes it the shiniest exoplanet ever observed, surpassing even Venus, which has an albedo of 75% (thanks to its reflective cloud layer), and Earth with its 30% albedo.

Most planets have a low albedo, either because they have an atmosphere that absorbs a lot of light, or because their surface is dark or rough. The planet was first spotted by NASA's planet-hunting TESS mission in 2020, but it's only recently that ESA discovered how shiny it truly is.

A scientific paper describing the new research ("The extremely high albedo of LTT 9779 b revealed by CHEOPS: An ultrahot Neptune with a highly metallic atmosphere", 10 July 2023 - Download The_extremely_high_albedo_of_LTT 9779 b), and published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, shed a light on the planet.

LTT 9779 b, a planet about the size of Neptune and five times the size of Earth, holds the title of being the largest "mirror" in the known Universe due to its highly reflective surface. Its remarkable reflectivity that makes it the shiniest planet outside our solar system is attributed to its unique metallic cloud cover, composed primarily of silicate and metals like titanium.

The planet's surprising reflectivity posed a puzzle initially, as its temperature reaches around 2,000° Celsius. Temperatures above 100° Celsius are too hot for water clouds to form. Therefore the planet shouldn't have any clouds. However, researchers likened the cloud formation to condensation in a bathroom after a hot shower, where oversaturation with silicate and metal vapors allows the formation of metallic clouds, even under such extreme heat and help the planet survive.

LTT 9779 b's uniqueness doesn't end there; its size and temperature classify it as an "ultra-hot Neptune," and it resides in what is known as the "hot Neptune desert."  Planets of this size and mass are not typically found orbiting so close to their stars and they shouldn't exist as their atmosphere should be blown away by their star. All previously discovered planets that orbit their star in less than a day are either gas giants similar to Jupiter with a radius at least ten times larger than Earth's – or rocky planets smaller than two Earth radii. In this case the planet is a remarkable 4.7 times larger in radius and 29 times more massive than Earth, and a year on LTT 9779 b takes just 19 hours.

Yet, despite its extreme conditions, the planet does not evaporate probably because its metallic clouds play a crucial role in preventing it from getting too hot and help it to survive stopping the planet from being blown away by the star's intense radiation.

By utilizing Cheops' mission, scientists successfully examined the properties of LTT 9779 b through observations made when the exoplanet moved behind its host star. Typically, when an exoplanet orbits its star, its passage in front of the star causes a noticeable dimming of the star's light.

Surprisingly, a similar dimming effect occurs when the exoplanet moves behind the star. This phenomenon arises because, when the exoplanet is to either side of the star, the light it emits and reflects contributes to the overall brightness of the system, resulting in observable variations in the emitted light. This valuable data, combined with insights from other instruments, contributes significantly to our comprehensive understanding of this distant exoplanet.

So, why should we care about this planet in fashion? Well it's obvious: ultra-hot, reflective, metallic - there is enough to be inspired in these adjectives or in the words "exoplanet" and "albedo". They could help you coming up with ideas for clothes and accessories or to build an amazing narrative, a vision of a ultra-hot burning world with heavy clouds of metals floating aloft, raining down titanium droplets, that you could use as the mood for a runway show. Always remember that science is an friend and an ally for those fashion designer willing to delve into it; it is an endless source of inspiration and not an inscrutable and scary discipline. 

Besides, the future of exoplanet research will be trending in the next few years: Cheops is indeed the first of a trio of dedicated exoplanet missions. Plato, launching in 2026, will focus on Earth-like planets in potentially habitable zones, while Ariel, set to join the fleet in 2029, will specialize in studying exoplanet atmospheres. These missions will open up new possibilities for exploring and understanding distant worlds beyond our solar system, so start studying them to create fashion collections that can go "to infinity and beyond"!

He Dreamed of Machines, But Will the Fourth Plinth in London Be Dedicated to Code-Breaker Alan Turing?

Almost exactly nine years ago, on July 23rd, 2014, Pet Shop Boys with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Singers performed the world premiere of "A Man From The Future", their musical tribute to computer pioneer and Enigma codebreaker persecuted for his homosexuality Alan Turing, at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The concert was divided into eight sections - "Natural wonders every child should know", "He dreamed of machines", "The Enigma", "Other ranks", "The memory and the control", "The trial", "Only in his death", "A man from the future" - narrated by actress Juliet Stevenson, and featuring the voice of former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown in the last section. Chrissie Hynde also appeared duetting with the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant.

The Pet Shop Boys started working on this project inspired by Alan Turing in 2012 influenced by a television documentary and by Andrew Hodges's biography, "Alan Turing: The Enigma" that inspired the film "The Imitation Game", directed by Morten Tyldum (2014).

Since then Alan Turing was honoured with a tribute on the £50 note (in 2021), but not much else was done in his memory. Then, last week, UK Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace in the House of Commons proposed to dedicate him a statue on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth, a prominent platform known for contemporary art commissions.

The proposal came in response to an independent review concerning LGBTQ+ veterans who served under the pre-2000 ban on homosexuality in the armed forces.

An LGBTQ+ armed forces charity, Fighting With Pride, announced its support of the proposal, highlighting the significance of recognizing Turing's contributions while acknowledging the adversity he faced due to his sexual orientation.

Born in 1912 in London, Turing studied mathematics at King's College, Cambridge, from 1931 to 1934. In 1936 he published a paper entitled "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem" (Download Turing_Paper_1936) that laid the foundations for computer science, introducing the concept of a universal machine capable of computing anything that is computable.

After studying mathematics and cryptology at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, Turing returned to Cambridge.

During World War II, Turing worked at Bletchley Park, the GCCS wartime station, where he cracked Germany's secret military communication codes, including the Enigma encrypted signals (with the bombe, an electromechanical device), contributing in this way to the Allied victory.

In the mid-1940s he began collaborating with the National Physical Laboratory, leading the design work for the Automatic Computing Engine, creating a blueprint for store-program computers and addressing the issue of artificial intelligence in a paper written in 1950.

Two years later Turing was arrested, tried and convicted for homosexuality, then a criminal offence. This resulted in the removal of his security clearance and his inability to continue working for the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ). Given a choice between prison and chemical castration he opted for the latter and received hormonal treatment for libido reduction.

He passed away in1954: the official verdict stated he took his own life by biting into an apple dipped in cyanide, possibly a reference to his favorite story, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", but no motive was established for the suicide at the 1954 inquest, and for this reason some believe it was an accidental poisoning. 

Turing's contributions to science and technology were later recognized when he received a posthumous royal pardon at the end of 2013, acknowledging the injustice he had faced.

The fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square currently serves as a platform for temporary artistic installations, thanks to the London mayor's Fourth Plinth Commission. The plinth at the moment features a sculpture by Malawi-born artist Samson Kambalu, but previous commissions include Marc Quinn's sculpture of pregnant Alison Lapper, Yinka Shonibare's scaled-down replica of HMS Victory in a glass bottle, and Heather Phillipson's sculpture The End. While this is an important platform for artists, the plinth was originally left empty for a statue of Elizabeth II on horse that should have been commissioned after her death.

The idea of a statue for Turing won support especially following the apology to LGBTQ+ service veterans for historical mistreatment, but also sparked debate because it would mean to lose a platform to show contemporary art on rotation. Yet this platform may be lost all the same to an unnecessary statue of the Queen, so, in the end, if the plinth had to be occupied by a permanent statue, it would actually be more logical to give the space to Turing and commission the statue to an artist from the LGBTQ+ community.

In the age of Artificial Intelligence and in our socially complex times, Turing could be a symbol of technological advancement and a reminder of what happens when individuals are denied their rights and their sexuality.

One track from the Pet Shop Boys' "A Man From The Future" mentions "science and sex" as the two things that allowed Alan Turing to break free from the social constraints of his time.

"Science and sex" offer us two intriguing perspectives to ponder about Turing's pioneering researches, mathematical logic, machine building, and his life.The themes of science, technology, and sexuality present indeed fascinating avenues for contemplation and exploration also for a fashion collection dedicated to the code-breaker.

In the end the Fourth Plinth may or may not be dedicated to Turing, but celebrating his achievements through fashion could also be a great way to honor his immense contributions while paying homage to a brilliant mind that shaped the course of history.

Sunday Inspiration: An Idyllic Holiday Picture from 1957

Are you stuck in town, working away even on weekends while the sweltering heat leaves your brain feeling like it's melting? Well, why not cool down and escape to a world of nostalgia by flipping through vintage magazines?

In 1957 Life captured the allure of the American winter tourists flocking to the Caribbean. At the time the magazine registered and increase in affluent tourists who spent their holidays relaxing on golden beaches, basking in the warm azure waters and indulging in aquatic activities such as snorkeling and deep-sea fishing, spending lazy days playing canasta and socializing.

The magazine highlighted they loved dressing informally, but in "the best-cut playclothes from all over the world". According to the article, even the men opted for colourful wardrobes, but there was one key item that was a favourite among both men and women – all the tourists were indeed "addicted to picturesque straw hats".

One image accompanying the article perfectly encapsulated this fascination: an elegant lady, seated at a table, engrossed in a letter wearing a pale blue cloche straw hat and a cotton shirt in the same shade.

The ensemble can be inspiring especially in case you're tired of the pink surrounding us because of Barbiecore (but remember that, originally, for children it remained popular to use pink for boys and blue for girls, as suggested in the June 1918 Ladies Home Journal, and confirmed in 1927 by Time magazine; things radically changed in the '40s when American consumer culture brought a major change and manufacturers settled on pink for girls and blue for boys...). Yet the most intriguing thing about the picture is the fact that the hat not only shielded the lady's face from the sun's rays, but also provided a sense of privacy, protecting her from prying eyes, creating the perfect idyllic holiday picture. Have a great Sunday!

The Corner as a Human Reflector

Have you ever felt cornered? Physically cornered in a confined space or metaphorically pressured without enough options to address a problem or make a decision? Cornered by anxieties, by fears; cornered by a mental paralysis or by depression? Or by indecision, maybe, and therefore unable to find a solution to something and feeling helpless or vulnerable? Possibly. Probably. Yet, sometimes, it is in that limited space, claustrophobic and reduced that you can find an inspiration.

Photographer Irving Penn made of the cornered perspective a way to experience the soul of the people he portrayed. Quite often he stripped his subjects of their selves and posed them against bare walls and in corners. The strategy of confining them in a corner allowed him to focus on them and on their pose.

"Cornering the subjects like this had the effect of keeping them from wandering off the set - mentally, that is. The corner acts for them as a sort of 'human reflector'," he explained.

The portrayed personalities - all of them daring creating minds and talents - posed in an abstract and artificial space that was also symbolical: the images were taken at the end of the '40s, a time of changes, of new beginnings.

So Penn filled one corner with a New York Ballet society quartet that included four principals, Corrado Cagli, Vittorio Rieti, Tanaquil Le Clercq and director Georges Balanchine, posing like a sculptural group, with Le Clercq standing looking like a muse in a simple yet perfectly draped tunic and with the three men sitting on the ground at her feet, all dressed in formal suits.

English playwright, composer, director and actor Noël Coward posed with apprehension, the corner encasing his figure, almost trapping his shoulders; Marlene Dietrich, looked defiant and empowered, her hands casually resting around the belt of her skirt, almost adopting a more masculine pose (imagine a man with his thumbs into the belt hoops).

Charles James was pictured languidly lying on the floor and resting on one elbow with one of his evening gowns on a dummy standing next to him, in the double role of creator of the dress, but also of a devout worshipper of high fashion.

Wallis Simpson, the duchess of Windsor, wearing a black ensembled cinched at the waist by a bustier belt, impressed Penn as "wearing history as coolly as she wears her impeccable clothes", while Igor Stravinsky assumed a listening attitude "when he was asked to imagine that there was a mouse across the room."

Even though restrained by the cornered perspective, Penn's subjects still managed to express their feelings and reveal viewers something about them.

So, if you're looking for an idea for a fashion collection, try experiencing with the cornered perspective; try to feel trapped in a limited space, physically and metaphorically; try to have a limited number of options and materials that restrict your choices, using this confined space to avoid distractions and achieve maximum focus on your designs.