Vogue's Annual Forces of Fashion Event | November 16-17, 2020

It's time again for Vogue's annual Forces of Fashion event, November 16-17, 2020. The event goes virtual this year, but promises once again to offer thought-provoking conversations on everything from creativity and sustainability to social responsibility and fashion's role in our rapidly changing world.

Far Out Architecture | Pearl River Tower

Our latest crush on far out architecture is the Pearl River Tower in Guangzhou, China. It features a stunning design but also some of the most advanced cost-saving, high performance, and sustainability features in modern architecture. Designed by international architecture, engineering, and urban planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) it is yet another inspiring accomplishment in their tradition of design excellence, innovation, and sustainability.

Beautify Your Balance Ball

Finally! A solution for the blah balance ball. myBall has created a line of balance ball covers that give that boring balance ball in your life a full on makeover. The covers offer great design and full-on functionality with the ability to use the balance ball in its full range of activities but also wash the cover whenever needed. Best of all, the covers are made from recycled microfiber so they are truly sustainably and stylish. Put this on a balance ball that contains no phthalates and you are good and green to go.

The BMW Guggenheim Lab

The BMW Guggenheim Lab is a mobile community thinktank and lab that has been traveling the world since 2011. The Lab started in New York, visited Berlin in 2012, and will soon set down in Mumbai through January 2013. The idea behind the Lab is to engage communities in creating innovations for urban living. The theme for the Lab through Mumbai explores how urban environments can be made more responsive to people’s needs, how people can feel more at ease in urban environments, and how to find a balance between notions of modern comfort and the urgent need for environmental and social responsibility. Plans are underway for the Lab to move to other cities as well.

BMW i to Debut in 2013

The long-awaited BMW i just got a little closer to being on the market. In June 2012 the BMW i Store opened in London to showcase the BMW i3 and BMW i8 as they approach their release in 2013. The concept cars will take a year-long seven city world excursion in the BMW i Born Electric Tour that will finish up Shanghai in 2013. We're certainly excited about the electric vehicle, but we must be honest...we're even more excited about the design.

Below you will find the tour teaser:

Radio Designed to Recycle

This cardboard radio is the production model inspired by the project Environmentally Sound, created by Irish designer, Chris McNicholl. You can get one here. The design of the radio harkens back to early AM/FM radios and its case is as chic as it is eco-friendly.

As it is made of cardboard, the case is entirely recyclable (maybe even compostable) so it cuts down on the waste from discarded consumer electronics that clutters up the world.  BP

Fab Facets | M114's 'Green'

This faceted and oh-so-stackable chair, Green, by designer Javier Mariscal for Barcelona's Mobles 114 is exactly that and more. Green in that it is made of both recycled and recycleable materials and more in that it offers great futuristic design and utillity.

Hex Watch: Wooly Walls

Our hexigon crush continues. Born of a fantastic collaboration between Träullit and design studio Form Us With Love, these lovely hexagons are a perfect combination of form and function. Comprised of a recyclable material made with wood wool, cement and water, the Dekor form a sort of multi-tasking material for adorning walls. The material is moisture-regulating, heat-accumulating and fire resistant (just to name a few!) and because the hexagons are also sound-absorbing, they are ideal for helping improve acoustics in residential and industrial spaces. Here's to the future of modern, sustainable design!

Take a peek below for time lapse video of the installation at Form Us With Love offices.

Träullit Dekor Hexagon by FORM US WITH LOVE from FORM US WITH LOVE on Vimeo. - Kim Nowakowski

Fast Future - Physalia

Belgian designer Vincent Callebaut has provided one of the most provocative conceptual designs we've seen in a long time. Collebaut's recent project, Physalia, is part ship, part lounge, and part water filter. The idea is that Physalia will cruise the waterways of Europe cleaning the water while offering a space for scientific research, a garden, a party, or a museum. With its systems thinking and far out lines, we think Physalia is a shining example of 22nd Century sustainable design.

Nature Conservancy Inspired Design

New York's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to produce Design for a Living World, an exhibit that demonstrates how designers can use sustainable materials to both honor the origins of the materials we use and reduce our impact on the planet. From knitted wool floor tiles to Isaac Mizrahi's salmon skin dress, to vegetable ivory, the designers have outdown themselves in both style and substance.