fibona, an open innovation program led by the Shiseido Research Institute, is based on the idea of a “fusion of diverse knowledge and people.”

On September 16, fibona, celebrating its third anniversary, held fibona Open Lab 2022 at the Shiseido Global Innovation Center (S/PARK) to introduce all of its co-creation processes and products to date.

From fibona Open Lab 2022, which was a great success with the gathering of fibona's co-creation partners and related parties, we report on the opening and the heated discussion at the symposium, "What is Open Innovation for Creating a Beautiful Society?”

What is the future of beauty? The keywords empathy and altruism emerged from the talks by the speakers.

Creating a "beautiful society" through dialogue and social implementation

There are four major activities that support the current fibona. The first is “Co-Creation with Startups,” a collaboration with startups in Japan and abroad. As announced in Shiseido’s news release, the fourth startup call is being implemented in China.

The second program, “Co-Creation with Consumers,” involves direct communication between researchers and consumers to give shape to what consumers want. The third is “Speedy Trial,” in which the results are implemented in society.

The fourth, “Cultivation,” standing on the fact that all these activities are carried out by people, has considered how to stimulate people's enthusiasm and ideas with diverse range of knowledge and people related to beauty.

Nakanishi said, "For the past three years, we have been challenging ourselves step by step to create a beautiful future through dialogue and social implementation. I would be happy if through this symposium, we could receive knowledge to continue to take on our challenge for the next five or ten years," she concluded her opening message with high expectations.

Specialists in movie, music, and the body face on co-creation

Professor Takashi Kiriyama of the Graduate School of Film and New Media, Tokyo University of the Arts, has been working to create innovations utilizing visual images as a core member of “COI-NEXT,” an industry-academia collaborative project based at the university that promotes research and development to realize a vision of what society should be in the future. Film director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, winner of the 2022 Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for his film “Drive My Car,” is a graduate of the institute, which has also introduced new talent to the world in the fields of animation and games.

Akiko Sakamoto, a chief researcher at the Human Science Research & Development Center of Wacoal Corporation, has been studying the body for more than 30 years since joining the company in 1990. She is an expert in body measurements, measuring the bodies of more than 1,000 people each year. Ms. Sakamoto led the development of the "Gravity-resistant Bust Care Bra," an underwear product developed under microgravity, where the effects of gravity are minimal, based on changes in bust shape due to aging. The novel approach was highly evaluated and won the Frontier Award for Consumer Science in 2021.

Beauty can be interesting without definition

What then is the relationship between beauty and society?

Nakanishi:
Shiseido is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year with the message, "Beauty is to wish happiness to others.” What do you think about the relationship between the power of beauty and society?

Kiriyama:
The big concept of beauty is very hard to define, but I think the good point of beauty is that you can be interested in it without defining it. For example, our team is currently researching the contribution that art can make to loneliness and isolation, and one of the key words is beauty. We are exploring whether there are hints for revitalizing communities by utilizing beauty that works on the mind, and we feel that the actual work of "measurement" plays a major role in connecting images and society.

Sakamoto:
I measure 1,000 people a year, and I believe that measurement is the base of our research, connecting consumers and researchers, and also is a tool for people to look at themselves in society. Our company has developed “Gravity-resistant Bust Care Bra,” but on the other hand, we do not believe that it is right to resist aging. The changing body cannot be stopped. In this era, we are required to accept this fact and how we live our lives.

Sakamoto:
I think that “Gravity-resistant Bust Care Bra” does not rebel against gravity, but rather eases the anxiety of change. After overcoming the changes, everyone can enjoy their lives very much.

Kiriyama:
I believe that what is important in the creation of visual images and artwork is that people leave the venue or theater with a different feeling than when they arrived. To achieve this, it would be nice if we could create beauty that touches people’s hearts. I believe that it will move people, and it will also be a catalyst for change in society.

Dialogue accelerates when you learn the “language”

Kiriyama:
We are also faced with the need for open innovation, and we are indeed facing the difficulty of doing so. There is the difficulty of having different approaches and languages to begin with. For example, just as people who create animation do not necessarily read music scores, when people from different backgrounds interact with each other, there are always barriers that must be overcome. Still, there is value in overcoming those obstacles. No matter how advanced AI becomes, I believe that overcoming barriers is something only people can do.

Sakamoto:
We have just launched the "Body Culture Research Project" for the year 2021, and we are in a trial-and-error process of open innovation. We have gathered people who share Wacoal's focus on the concept of a "beautiful demeanor," and are starting what we can do step by step while continuing the conversation. As you said, now we often worry about collaborating with people who speak different languages, but we hope to use the activities of fibona as a reference.

Nakanishi:
We are also keenly aware that innovation cannot be achieved by a single company alone. Shiseido cannot achieve a "beautiful world" through the efforts of Shiseido alone. However, once a different language is mastered, the speed of development accelerates from there. I feel that what cannot be created through internal dialogue can only be created through collaboration with others.

The key words for the future of beauty are empathy and altruism

Sakamoto:
We conducted a survey asking, "What do you admire in a nice person?" Many people, regardless of gender, responded that they sympathize with a person's casual gestures and personality. We live in a world that is connected to society, so I feel that increasing empathy for beauty will lead to the realization of a kinder world.

Nakanishi:
Beauty is often thought to be something that lies within the individual, but there is certainly beauty not only in the visible aesthetic, but also in the invisible areas such as demeanor. Open innovation for altruistic feelings may also be necessary.

Then, do universal beauty and wellness really exist? At the end of the symposium, a major question was posed in light of the drastic change in society's values after the pandemic.

Kiriyama:
In the early days of the spread of COVID-19, after a period of not seeing anyone for a long time, I made a small discovery when I met people in person for the first time in a long while. I found that the people who said, "I was perfectly fine not going out at all," had one thing in common: they had their own world. For example, there was one person who said, "I was immersing myself in it all the time during the stay-at-home period," and he spoke vividly about the world of games. I feel that we are living in an era where the advantages of having one's own world are clearly evident.

Kiriyama:
Also related to the measurement mentioned at the beginning of this session, a method of capturing images in four dimensions, including the time axis, is being developed, and I believe that this will lead to a new way of showing beauty that connects the virtual and real worlds.

Sakamoto:
I believe that no matter how times change, what is important is our connection with others and society. There is great value in having a healthy mind and body and then being able to connect with others.

Nakanishi:
Being focused on yourself and interested in your own interests as well as being altruistic with empathy for others. Both are types of beauty and may be complementary. I feel that empathy and attachment are also forms of beauty.

Sato:
I have not had the opportunity to talk openly with anyone face-to-face in a very long time, and I realized that there are many things that can only be realized in person. Music is the same way; it becomes music when everyone works together, not just one person. We amplify our power by cooperating with others who are different from us. I feel that that is already wellness, and beyond that, there is also the value of beauty.

The challenge of open innovation continues

During the Q&A session, participants in the audience asked the question, "What did you do when conflicts arose in the process of open innovation?" Below are Mr. Kiriyama and Ms. Sakamoto’s responses.

Kiriyama:
I have had many experiences of being embarrassed because I was too ignorant before the issue of a confrontation. If you continue to work diligently and produce even one result, the other person may suggest, "Then why don't you do this?". My experience has been that once you get floundering along the way, the end result will be better.

Sakamoto:
Even if understanding is difficult, it is important to not be discouraged. If we can continue to have dialogue and overcome the barriers, we can have a common purpose beyond that.

It is interesting to note that through discussions from various angles, "altruism" emerged as a keyword for beauty in the future. fibona Open Lab 2022 brought together colleagues who are working on open innovation beyond industry boundaries. The symposium was an intense 90 minutes of deep reflection on the possibilities of beauty and the significance of its implementation in society, extending beyond the boundaries of the individual to others and to society.




Text: Hanae Abe
Photos: Yuko Kawashima
Graphic recording: Maiko Iide
Editing: Kaori Sasagawa