Made from colored rubber, Hickies consist of a thin strip with a hook on one end and a loop on the other. The devices are fed through the eyelets of shoes designed to be laced and then securely fastened, with one Hickie being used for each row of eyelets. As they are made of flexible elastic, Hickies come in one size and can be used to replace the laces in any type of shoe or boot — although the company admits it currently doesn’t cater for wide skate shoes — allowing the wearer to slip their footwear on and off instead of tying and untying. The more fashion-conscious may also welcome the fact that the elastic clips do away with bows, which, in the brand’s own words, “break up the silhouette and lines of the footwear”. Available in a range of colors, Hickies seek to enable customers to match the clips to their shoes or customize their look by choosing their favorite shade.

It is also easy to see how Hickies could help those with arthritis, or those with other medical difficulties that mean they have trouble with the process of tying shoelaces. Shoe manufacturers: is this a development to consider in the design of new footwear?

Website: www.hickies.com
Contact: press@hickies.com

Through its new “Fashion Like” initiative, C&A has posted photos of a number of the clothing items it sells on a dedicated Facebook page, where it invites customers to “like” the ones that appeal to them. Special hooks on the racks in its bricks-and-mortar store, meanwhile, can then display those votes in real time, giving in-store shoppers a clear indication of each item’s online popularity. The video below (in Portuguese) outlines the premise in more detail:

Does your brand still maintain separate online and offline lives? Time to bring them together through an ON=OFF initiative of your own?

Website: www.cea.com.br
Contact: blogvista@trip.com.br

Spotted by: Paula Rizzo

MXP, short for “Maxi Fresh Plus,” fabric can eliminate 99 percent of the odor caused by perspiration as well as 88 percent of body odors in general, Goldwin says. Now included in the company’s line of undergarments made from the fabric are men’s underpants that have already been tested in the International Space Station, the company says. Priced at JPY 4,095 is the MX21210, for example, a standard-length pair of boxer-style shorts, while the JPY 4,725 MX21214 features a longer leg. A pillowcase made from MXP fabric is apparently available as well. The video below (in Japanese) explains the MXP premise in more detail:

Goldwin’s products are currently available only within Japan, according to its website. One to partner with for distribution in other parts of the world?

Website: www.maxifresh.jp/plus
Contact: www.goldwin.co.jp/corp/contact.html

Spotted by: H.T.

With the help of interactive artist and software developer Pedro Miguel Cruz, France-based fashion retailer Pimkie has set up webcams in the “most fashionable” areas of the three cities, the images from which are then put through a computer program. The program isolates the pixels that represent people by monitoring their motion over time – the environment stays still but people move across the image space. The color of these pixels is then logged and the data is organized and presented in an easy-to-understand way to visitors of the Color Forecast. Users can watch the live feed, see the most popular shades at different times of the day, week or month (in bar chart or pie chart form), or check Pimkie’s clothes recommendations for each city based on its most popular color. These recommendations can then be purchased through the Pimkie store. The video below explains more about the process behind the site:

The fashion industry is full of opinions on the latest trends, but the Color Forecast provides digestable information based on actual data from the street, as well as providing a unique way to engage customers for the brand. Retailers, could you take inspiration from Pimkie’s lead?

Website: www.pimkiecolorforecast.com
Contact: www.pimkie.fr/contact.aspx

Customers using the site are invited to fill out a questionnaire about their favorite styles, sizes and colors, which lets MeUndies find stock from its range of in-house underwear for men and women to match their preferences. Members can access these recommendations in a virtual ‘drawer’ and choose which items they would like to receive in the post. The site sends out one item each month at a cost of USD 16 — which includes shipping for most customers on the US mainland — unless the user decides to skip a month or pause the service. Subscribers can also choose to add as many extra items as they like, with each additional product priced at USD 16. Tapping into the vending machine trend, MeUndies is also offering its undergarments at the Confederacy Boutique in Los Angeles, with plans to expand into hotels, fitness centers and airports. Vending machine prices reflect those found online.

By cutting out the middlemen — producing its own range and avoiding brick-and-mortar outlets — the startup seeks to provide more affordable underwear on demand. With plans to expand and introduce new clothes options in the future, could this be one to partner with?

Website: www.meundies.com
Contact: support@meundies.com

The range is the brainchild of Ann Oliver, a former architect whose MS forced her into a new line of work. Oliver, who has re-trained in fashion, seeks to offer clothes created especially for wheelchair users and those who find buttons and clasps difficult to use. The range is aimed at people with MS, carple tunnel syndrome, lupus and arthritis, among other physical impairments. Where existing designs for the demographic focus on functionality, the Xeni Collection aims to feature couture-quality attire. Garments use magnets instead of zips and buttons for easy closing, and ‘free seats’ – where the fabric is cut away at the rear to make the piece easy to take on and off while sitting. The site currently features dresses, coats, trousers and jackets available for GBP 250 to GBP 550.

Oliver has also designed easy-to-wear jewelry pieces for the collection which are yet to be put into production. One to partner with to help those with physical impairments around the world?

Website: www.xenicollection.com
Contact: www.xenicollection.com/contact

Each customer visiting the brayola website is given a ‘brayola drawer’ — a virtual space where they can enter their bra size and list their favorite bras by brand and model. Searching only among members with the same bra size as the visitor, brayola then scans for other ‘drawers’ on the site containing a similar collection of favorite bras. Using these, the platform can then recommend new bras to the visitor, along with links to Bare Necessities and Amazon from which women can purchase the recommendations. According to the startup’s statistics, 10,000 women have already created a ‘brayola drawer’.

While recommendation engines have been helping customers on a wide range of e-commerce sites for some time now, brayola is targeting a particular area of the fashion industry it believes is in need of help. Now that we’ve seen the crowds used to help design garments, trade items among themselves, and recommend good fits, how else could the power of the collective brain be tapped to improve elements within the world of fashion?

Website: www.brayola.com
Contact: support@brayola.com

Spotted by: Murtaza Patel

To participate in Volga Verdi’s Exchange program, shoppers begin by referring to a chart on the site listing the size of the discount it offers for the number of friends or followers they have on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, tumblr, Kohtakte or Lookbook.nu. Twitter users, for example, get a discount of USD 7 if they have between 20 and 200 followers, or USD 15 if they have more. To get the discount, they must follow Volga Verdi on Twitter, tweet a prespecified message about the brand, and then email Volga Verdi to confirm they have taken part. Those on other social networks would need to perform similar actions tailored to the social network they are using. Volga Verdi then proceeds to issue a unique voucher code for the corresponding discount.

We’ve already seen sites that “sell” online content for just a tweet or a Facebook mention — namely, Pay with a Tweet and Social Whispers — but offering discounts based on the shopper’s social clout takes such efforts onto new ground. Other retailers around the globe: how about you?

Website: www.volgaverdi.com/exchange.htm
Contact: peter@volga.la

Located in New York, the startup has already begun working with designers such as Carlos Campos and Inigo Elizalde, who have provided initial ideas for products ranging from clothes to home accessories. Cut On Your Bias encourages users to customize these designs, choosing from a range of different materials, colors and cuts. Following a public vote, the most popular customized design will go into production and become available as a limited edition collection on the site, while users who voted for the winning design will receive a 25 percent discount on the final price. The site is updated with a new collection each week and voting cycles close every Sunday at midnight. The video below explains a bit more about the process:

We’ve seen crowdsourced fashion design before when we covered Velvet Brigade, but Cut On Your Bias differs in that it provides the public with a template to work with before they are allowed to design, ensuring a degree of quality control. At present, the online store only ships inside the US. One to emulate in your part of the world?

Website: www.cutonyourbias.com
Contact: www.cutonyourbias.com/contact

Spotted by: Louis Monoyudis

Transparency is key to Honest by’s operations and, in its own words, it is the “first company in the world to share the full cost breakdown of its products”. It collaborates only with designers willing to be open about where their materials and labor come from in order to guarantee customers a clean conscience when updating their wardrobe. The company encourages its providers to work with organic materials and avoid animal products. With an emphasis on reducing waste, Honest by is also ditching the season model by offering summer and winter items until they sell out, saving them from obsolescence.

Honest by has taken the idea of social responsibility and made it their entire business philosophy. Even if this isn’t feasible for your business, there’s plenty to be inspired by here!

Website: www.honestby.com
Contact: contact@honestby.com

Spotted by: Bec Kempster

Naked Hippie has a focus on fair trade, organic and sustainable production processes. Their range of eco tees sport simple designs with positive messages and cost USD 19 to USD 38. They hope that by investing in microloans they can help entrepreneurs in developing countries to grow their businesses, support their families and encourage economic development in the community. Naked Hippie use repaid loans to reinvest in other small businesses as well as campaign for fair trade initiatives and pesticide-free farming. They launched their eco-wristbands in September last year and currently ship throughout the US and Canada.

Naked Hippy believe they’re the only brand in the world whose success relies 100 percent on the people they help. In the shift towards more ethically-minded consumerism, could a similar model support your business?

Website: www.thenakedhippie.com
Contact: press@thenakedhippie.com

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann

Measuring only 1mm thick around most of the foot and just 2mm on the sole, the 01M OneMoment slip-on shoe was inspired by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon, who would paint the soles of their feet with natural latex for protection during the rainy season. In similar fashion, the ergonomically designed 01M OneMoment shoe is made of elastic and fully biodegradable materials that protect while adapting to the foot’s form. Featuring nonslip soles and ventilation, the unisex shoes can be rolled up for compact packing. Seven colors are available and each pair is priced at EUR 10. The video below demonstrates the OneMoment shoe in further detail:

Customization and branding opportunities will soon be available, Figtree Factory Studio says, as will kids’ versions. Retailers and brands around the globe: one to get involved in?

Website: www.onemoment.es/en
Contact: www.onemoment.es/en/mail.php

Spotted by: Raymond Neo