Leading industrial design and innovation agency Seymourpowell have released their latest beauty concept, Atmosphère, the third in a series of concepts which explores the intersection of new beauty behaviours and advancing technology. The series consists of a wearable collar device and a chaise longue, which invite users to immerse themselves in a ‘beauty bubble’. The devices deliver atomised beauty products via a pure vapour, providing physiological and psychological comfort in an era of urbanisation, climate change and existential crisis.
The Atmosphère Collar is a contextually aware, wearable device designed to provide environmental protection and beauty treatments on-the-go. The device harvests location-based data and combines this with the users’ personal data, such as skin type and moment-to-moment physiological needs such as access to clean air and comfortable temperature. Vents around the rim of the device give the product a sense of weightlessness, while sensors interpret the user’s needs based on their location, and adjust the levels of air filtration, humidity and active beauty ingredients (such as sun protection factor) accordingly. In addition, as the mercury levels rise in the city, the product would dispense cooling sensations, offering the user relief from excessive heat.
Meanwhile the Chaise Longue is an intelligent furniture concept for the home. As the user reclines, the device encapsulates their body with biologically nutritious air. Acting similar to a retreat or spa, the concept offers users a safe environment within which to escape the unstable air quality outside. It creates the ultimate conditions for the body’s skin, optimising temperature and air quality, to make for a truly bespoke experience. Both items come with an accompanying app which reveals the vapour at work, thus reassuring users that they are protected from unwanted pollutants such as micro-plastics. The ambition of the speculative project is to provoke discussion on how the beauty industry may evolve with new technology to create potential beauty futures.
Mariel Brown, Director of Foresight at Seymourpowell, commented, “When we project ahead, we can see that life in the urban environment is going to be incredibly tough; poor air quality, restricted resources, soaring temperatures, long commuting times, loud and uncontrollable noise. This uncomfortable reality will take its toll on our mental health and sense of wellbeing.”
“The Atmosphère concepts aim to take the heat out of the situation by essentially working the beauty/brain axis. Scarcity of water will be the cause of a great deal of conflict in the future, and with this speculative project we wanted to imagine a future where ‘water heavy’ beauty rituals might be replaced by entirely new tech-enabled sensorial experiences that allow us to feel rejuvenated and fresh.”
Throughout their research with global early adopters, Seymourpowell witnessed a new urgency around cleansing rituals as people looked to detoxify their body, mind and soul. This extreme approach suggests the need for beauty solutions that deliver reassurance along with efficacy. Through Atmosphère, Seymourpowell imagines a future where people may no longer need to apply skin care, instead new devices do the work for them.
Jonny Culkin, Designer at Seymourpowell, added, “Given the state of our ever-shifting urban environment, it is important for companies to consider the impact the environment around us can have on both our physiological and physiological wellbeing. Atmosphère seeks to explore how beauty brands can help not only to protect their customers from the changing climate, but also provide a more mobile offering and service that actively works to respond to a user’s environment.”
“For beauty brands to successfully meet the demands of future consumers, they will need to stretch their thinking far beyond a formula in a pack. Instead they should explore the rich alchemy that is possible when you combine disruptive tech with new beauty behaviours.”
