Every year throws up a fresh cast of names, places and innovations worth watching, and 2020 is no exception. From boardrooms to runways, laboratories to launch pads, here is our alphabetical guide to what should command your attention over the coming twelve months.
A is for Artificial Intelligence. AI is already delivering real value through unprecedented efficiencies, and Saudi Arabia is keen to become a global player. The Kingdom will host the region's first-ever Global AI Summit on 30th and 31st March at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Centre in Riyadh. "AI is bringing us new insight and new capabilities that are reshaping the world around us," said H.E. Dr Abdullah Bin Sharaf Alghamdi, president of the newly formed Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority. "The Global AI Summit will become an international platform to discuss those changes."
B is for Boats versus Ships. Why spend a holiday trapped on an overcrowded floating mall when you can have an affordable superyacht experience? Three years ago the Ritz-Carlton began building a fleet to bridge the gap between 20-guest superyachts and 650-person cruise liners. With a capacity of around 140 guests, these smaller vessels can visit islands, bays and marinas larger ships could only dream of, and come fitted with luxuries fit for an oligarch: two helicopters, a submarine, jetskis and palatial suites. With the build running behind schedule, the 2020 cruises have slipped to 2021, handing the advantage to Scenic, which launched the 168m Eclipse last summer.
C is for Circulose. Just one per cent of the world's clothing is recycled, but that is about to change thanks to a new textile from Swedish company Re:newcell, which breaks old cotton down to a molecular level and rebuilds it into a pristine material. "The fashion scene is always changing but the industry itself hasn't," says head of brand Harald Cavalli-Björkman, who calls Circulose the world's first industrial-scale, circular, affordable alternative to fresh cotton. Re:newcell is targeting a billion recycled garments a year by 2025, which explains why H&M has taken a minority stake.
D is for Drones. They are smaller, cheaper and better, and the new DJI Mavic Mini is our pick. Not the fastest or most powerful, but at 249 grams it is feather-light, captures smooth 2.7K video and, at just 399 USD, is genuinely accessible.
E is for Electric Vehicles. Soon an electric car will be as common a sight as a traffic light, but that won't make the Porsche Taycan any less special. Built from the ground up, it boasts the legroom of a Panamera, the centre of gravity of a 918, the all-wheel drive and steering of a Cayenne, and an 800V setup that lets it shoot from zero to 100km/h like a GT2 RS. With a 450km range and an 80 per cent quick charge in 22.5 minutes, this is the most epic EV yet.
F is for Foodie Vacays. Culinary tourism — travelling somewhere specifically for its food and drink — is a big deal for millennials. A University of Florida report found that tourists aged 23 to 38 spend up to a quarter of their travel budget on food and choose destinations by the availability of culinary activities. The hot tables this year? New York, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Tokyo, San Sebastián and Salina in Sicily.
G is for the Group of 20. The G20's twenty member states together represent 85 per cent of global economic output, and the big news for 2020 is that Saudi Arabia has become the first Arab nation to take over its presidency. King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will host the summit in Riyadh on 21st and 22nd November, focusing on three objectives: empowering people, safeguarding the planet and shaping new frontiers.
H is for Hydrogen Cell. EVs may not be the future of clean transport, according to Toyota, which has been developing hydrogen technology since the 1990s. Its preferred option is a fuel-cell electric vehicle running on compressed hydrogen combined with atmospheric oxygen to generate electricity, leaving only water as a by-product. The second-generation Mirai, on sale in 2020, delivers a 640km range and refuels in three minutes — provided you can find a hydrogen station.
I is for Inclusion. The fashion world once had a vast blind spot around body types and religious beliefs, but there has been a welcome pushback. Universal Standard produces garments in sizes 00 to 40, while figures such as Rihanna have upended notions of an ideal body type. The hijab, meanwhile, is being embraced by Nike, Gap, Banana Republic and even Dolce & Gabbana, which launched a capsule collection aimed at conservative Muslim fashionistas.
J is for Jetting into the Future. Electric planes have existed as prototypes for decades, but commercial viability is nearing. Airbus, Rolls-Royce and Siemens are developing a four-engine prototype that will swap one engine for a two-megawatt electric motor this year. Zunum Aero — backed by Boeing, with JetBlue signed on for up to 100 aircraft and Safran developing its engines — is proposing the hybrid-electric ZA10, seating up to 12 passengers and flying more than 1,100km, the equivalent of London to Nice.
K is for Kaia Gerber. The daughter of Rande Gerber and Cindy Crawford turned 18 only in September yet is already a veteran, having signed with IMG at 13. She walked her first runway at 16 and waited until 18 to grace magazine covers, but is among the hardest-working models in the business, appearing in 25 fashion week shows in 27 days last October. Kendall may have been 2019's highest earner, but Kaia is six years her junior and it is only a matter of time before she takes that title.
L is for LVMH. The best-performing EU stock of 2019 had a strong year for both the house and its owner, Bernard Arnault. The group acquired Tiffany & Co. for 16.2 billion USD, opened a third Louis Vuitton factory in the United States and ended the year 82 billion USD up in market value. Expect more of the same in 2020.
M is for Mars: The Next Frontier. A permanent human colony on Mars is a necessity, say the likes of Buzz Aldrin, Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk. We have the technology to get there; we have no idea how to stay. So France-based Interstellar Labs has proposed a Mars simulator in California's Mojave Desert — a closed-loop, environment-controlled village serving as a hospitality and science centre for astronaut training, agricultural analysis and tourists keen to learn life under extreme sustainability.
N is for Nootropics. These cognitive enhancers are set to surpass 6 billion USD in sales by 2024 — by comparison, Viagra generates "only" 2 billion USD a year. Silicon Valley is all over this form of biohacking; one company, HVMN (pronounced "human"), counts Zynga co-founder Mark Pincus and Kabam chief executive Kevin Chou among its backers.
O is for Off the Worn Path. This is the year to visit Scotland. Beyond the history, scenery and world-class hotels of the Highlands and Speyside, Macallan has opened a new Visitor Experience Centre that took six years, 8,000 tonnes of steel and 189.2 million USD to build, transforming a windswept barley field into a modern architectural marvel.
P is for Patek Philippe. Patek already makes coveted watches, but it now enjoys the halo of having created the world's most expensive: its one-off Grandmaster Chime fetched 31 million USD at auction last November. The Ref. 6300A — with two dials, a reversible case and 20 complications — originally sold for 300,000 USD, with proceeds benefiting research into Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Q is for Quest by Oculus. The 400 USD Quest is Oculus' (and therefore Facebook's) fourth consumer VR headset, and the one to own. A standalone design needing neither phone nor PC, it is built for gaming, bundled with dual hand controllers and studded with four wide-angle tracking cameras that let you walk around a sizeable space.
R is for Regenerative Beauty. Victoria Beckham launched her beauty range only in January 2019 but is already making waves, having partnered with regenerative-medicine expert Professor Augustinus Bader on her first skincare product. The Cell Rejuvenating Priming Moisturizer builds on Bader's TFC8 technology with papaya enzymes, micro-algae, black tea ferment and avocado oil to renew skin from within.
S is for StockX. The sneaker-trading platform that wants to be the "stock market of things" hit a 1 billion USD valuation last June after a 110 million USD Series C led by DST Global, General Atlantic and GGV Capital. It leans on vast data to show pricing histories, trade ranges and volatility, and is now working with brands to "IPO" products into existence.
T is for Truffles, Always in Season. If truffles are the food of the gods, then Chez Bruno is the altar at which they are presented. Found in the Var, near the old town of Lorgues in the South of France, this Michelin-starred restaurant runs a year-round truffle menu — summer truffles from May to August, richer black truffles over winter — selling 4.5 tonnes to 36,000 patrons a year.
U is for Under the Radar. That the Mandarin Oriental chose Canouan in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for its first Caribbean resort is reason enough to pay attention; that Aman and Soho House are following suit means you should visit before the secret is out. Roughly the size of Rome but home to just 1,700 people, the J-shaped island has miles of white sand and crystal-clear water — "a place where billionaires go to escape millionaires".
V is for Virtual Reality. Beyond gaming, VR has yet to set the world alight, but Black Box, the world's first VR gym, offers an intriguing twist. Combining trendy fitness with video games, three 30-minute weekly workouts deliver a science-backed dose of exercise that burns almost 400 calories a session. Memberships cost 200 USD a month, with two US locations so far, in San Francisco and Boise, Idaho.
W is for Workwear. In the Middle East, summer temperatures can hit 45°C, taking a toll on migrant construction workers. CE-Creates, part of UAE-based Crescent Enterprises, has developed Shamal, the world's first industrial clothing designed for outdoor labourers in hot environments, using tech-fabrics from Coolmax, 3M and Cordura. Chief executive Samer Choucair cites reduced garment weight and improved thermal comfort, though, as one traditional maker noted, technology must be paired with air-conditioning stations, midday breaks and electrolyte drinks.
X is for X Marks the Spot. The Aston Martin DBX will be the talk of the luxury SUV sector when it arrives in the second quarter of 2020. With 72 per cent of existing Aston customers already owning an SUV and the segment still growing, the marque is confident of selling 5,000 units a year — pitting its 542bhp, 700Nm, 200,000 USD first SUV directly against the Lamborghini Urus.
Y is for Yeezy. Launched by Kanye West in 2009, the Yeezy line surpassed a billion dollars in sales in 2018 and hit 1.3 billion USD last year. To reach a decacorn valuation it would need to clear 3 billion in sales, a feat only Nike's Air Jordan empire manages. Either way, the success has been transformative for West, who owns the brand outright and takes a 15 per cent wholesale royalty from Adidas, pulling himself from 53 million USD in debt to the highest-paid figure in hip-hop.
Z is for Generation Z. The first truly digital generation has never known life without the internet or social media. While brands spent the last decade chasing Millennials, experts say the thrifty, disloyal and image-conscious Gen Z — those aged 23 and under — will have an even more profound impact on the economy. Brace yourselves.
Words: Nicolas Shammas & Karim Mounib
