Trendspotter: Saturday January 20

Trendspotter would be the last to discourage out-of-the-box thinking but there is a point when creative types go overboard in attempting to set their products apart. Thus, this week sees the inauguration of the Trying Too Hard awards, an occasional acknowledgement of times when the envelope is pushed so far that it completely disintegrates.

The first nominee is the Kosmic steam and shower cabin from Italian company Kos, which claims to offer the occupant chromotherapy, a holistic form of “treatment”, while he or she soaps and scrubs.

The unit can be illuminated in eight different colours, to suit, or perhaps alter, the showerer’s mood.

This is topped, however, by the Inverted Shower from Austrian company Viteo Outdoors, not only for the idea but also for its marketing.

Attached to a garden hose, the floor plate shoots water 4 metres into the air when you step on a button. Fine for a rinse by the pool but what if you need to shampoo your hair? And to promote its product the company has come up with its own version of a bunny-girl, above, though the connection between showering and rabbits is a mystery.

Both designs are featured on www.trendhunter.com