When Akash Ambani, son of Mukesh Ambani, one of the richest men in the world, decided to host a pre-wedding event in February 2019, he chose St Moritz in Switzerland. While St Moritz is a popular ski destination for the international jetset, it was not a prominent holiday destination for Indian elites. But through my...
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From Gucci to Supreme: Fashion Brands Are Tapping into Disney’s $60 Billion Merch Machine
Disney is not just for kids. That seemed to be a clear takeaway when Gucci sent a $4,500 plastic purse in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head down the runway at Le Palace in Paris as part of its Spring/Summer 2019 collection. As it turns out, the appearance of one of Disney’s most well-known characters...
John Galliano’s Newspaper Print is Getting the Fast Fashion Treatment 20 Years Later
Twenty years after John Galliano first turned newspaper printed textiles into garments under the name of his Paris-based eponymous brand, as well as that of Christian Dior, Pretty Little Thing (“PLT”) decided to try its hand at it. The result? The Manchester-based fast fashion retailer – which has built a thriving business thanks to an...
2019 Came to a Close With Developments in the Cases Against Emily Ratajkowski, Kendall Jenner Over Fyre Fest
Months after the dust settled on Fyre Festival, the “luxury” music festival gone awry, and after the failed-festival’s attendees had lodged their individual multi-million dollar lawsuits, citing everything from negligence to fraud, a handful of new lawsuits were filed in conjunction with the bankruptcy filing of Fyre Festival LLC. In a quest to recover the $16 million-plus...
‘She’ Goes Missing from Presidential Language
Throughout most of 2016, a significant percentage of the American public believed that the winner of the November 2016 presidential election would be a woman — Hillary Clinton. Strikingly, a new study from cognitive scientists and linguists at MIT, the University of Potsdam, and the University of California at San Diego shows that despite those...
AI for #MeToo: Training Algorithms to Spot Online Trolls
Researchers at Caltech have demonstrated that machine-learning algorithms can monitor online social media conversations as they evolve, which could one day lead to an effective and automated way to spot online trolling. The project unites the labs of artificial intelligence (AI) researcher Anima Anandkumar, Bren Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, and Michael Alvarez, professor...
New Research Shows Live Chats Can Increase Sales by Nearly 16%
Live chats between sellers and buyers can increase purchase probability of tablets by 15.9%. Sellers with low feedback scores benefit more from live chat conversations than sellers with high scores. Popular products sell even better after a live chat. Consumers are more likely to initiate a live chat conversation when the perceived risk of purchase...
Highlighting Women’s Achievements Makes Them Want to Be the Boss, Research Shows
Highlighting female achievements in the workplace makes capable women significantly more likely to want to be the boss, a study shows. Public feedback about a woman’s performance can significantly increase her willingness to lead, even in male-dominated environments, according to the research. The teams led by these women are subsequently more likely to perform well....
Report Builds Framework for ‘Digital Political Ethics’ in 2020
With the 2020 elections looming and amid continuing concerns over social media’s role in U.S. politics, four top universities have published a comprehensive new report recommending how candidates, tech platforms and regulators can ensure that digital political campaigns promote and protect fair elections. The report, Digital Political Ethics: Aligning Principles with Practice, was developed by Johns Hopkins,...
When College Students Post About Depression on Facebook
When college students post about feelings of depression on Facebook, their friends are unlikely to encourage them to seek help, a small study suggests. In fact, in this study, none of the 33 participating students said their friends told them they should reach out to a mental health professional to discuss their problems. Instead, most...