Our friends at Dezeen share a wonderful story on the cheeky/smart creations from Central Saint Martins graduate Keyi Chen. Chen has reinterpreted everyday desk accessories into stress-relieving devices called Inte-rest-ing that encourage people who work long hours to play at their desks. The whimsy and real emotional shifts these products generate are AI we can get behind.

Who doesn’t love some good glitter?? But did you know most sequins are made from a petroleum base, and are therefore essentially shiny landfill? Enter Elissa Brunato, fashion designer and winner of the Green trail, Maison/0 Prize, the Mills Fabrica Material Innovation Prize, 2019 MullenLowe NOVA Award Runners Up and the 2019 Creative Review Innovation Award. Her work: ‘Bio Iridescent Sequin’, finds an answer to this problem in the research of bio-technologies that are capable of harnessing naturally abundant materials, such as wood, to create shimmering structural colors. The material remains lightweight and as strong as plastic, yet it is compostable. All the shimmer, none of the shame!

So far, it looks like roughly $300 million. From gamers, to ‘Grammers, the concept of buying virtual clothing is starting to become a real thing. This next level marketplace includes a recent purchase by tech executive Richard Ma (a $9500 virtual dress for his wife) to Gucci-made ‘wheels’ that the brand is paying popular gamers to clothe their avatars. Citing sustainability (no landfills!) to safety (cool kicks that are theft-free) to the freedom to test without samples, cutting edge designers seem excited to embrace this ephemeral trend. Emperor’s New Clothes or the Next Big Thing…. You decide??

Lady Gaga joins the ranks of celebrities launching make-up lines.

Gaga has partnered with Amazon, which will launch Haus in nine countries (including US, France, and Japan) simultaneously. This is the first major beauty brand sold exclusively on Amazon, which recently just launched its own in-house skincare line, Belei, in March. Her brand, of course, is ALL about inclusivity. As she shares in her riveting launch video: “No message of self-acceptance, no deal,” she told BoF. “I have a platform in the world. God gave me this voice for a reason, I don’t know why, I ask myself that question all the time, but I’m sure as hell not going to put out a beauty brand that is going to drive insecurity and fear into people. This is about liberation.”

Mixed media artist Miss Bugs unveils a sickly-sweet new installation: Do No Harm, in London this week. This stunning exhibit consists of 900 candy colored resin ‘popsicles’ containing a range of pharmaceuticals – with the intent of skewering society’s need to anesthetize themselves with the ‘echo chamber’ of social media. Gorgeous, provocative and compelling!

Ahhh, New York, where anything can happen, and it usually does! This week, author Mary Carr posted a video of two subway riders engaged in a full game of ping-pong while riding the 6. Twitter exploded into rage. This seems to be the tipping point for weary New Yorkers in the heat of the summer….

Insanely gorgeous masks and headpieces for those days when you just want to be someone else….