Necessity is not just the mother of invention but of adaptation to new paradigms. Historically, fashion’s big events have been assigned to major cities in which models showed off the latest creations of top brand names to a live audience. Now that event is being redefined for individuals who cannot be there in person.
What is emerging is not just a fashion show on a screen but a new kind of experience that allows a designer and brand to engage directly with thousands more than can be packed into a live show for a fraction of the cost.
The model from Shanghai
The precedent was set in March with the first purely digital fashion week that replaced the traditional kind in Shanghai. It has been hailed as a great success both in terms of participation and revenue.
The precedent was set and is now adopted by all the key cities in Europe with fashion weeks scheduled through August embracing the new opportunities enabled by digital transformation.
British Fashion Council (BFC) announced that London Fashion Week will launch on June 12th on a digital-only platform that will be accessible to both trade and consumer audiences.
The announcement included a statement from Caroline Rush CBE, BFC Chief Executive:
“It is essential to look at the future and the opportunity to change, collaborate and innovate. Many of our businesses have always embraced London Fashion Week as a platform for not just fashion but for its influence on society, identity and culture. The current pandemic is leading us all to reflect more poignantly on the society we live in and how we want to live our lives and build businesses when we get through this. By creating a cultural fashion week platform, we are adapting digital innovation to best fit our needs today and something to build on as a global showcase for the future.”
That global showcase is intended to help designers connect with more people and share their stories even if they are not showcasing new clothes. In the words of the announcement, “Bringing the fashion community together, the platform will host exclusive multimedia content from designers, creatives, artists and brand partners, enabling collaboration and bringing together fashion, culture and technology.”
The upside of that is extended possibilities for sales on two fronts: the general consumer who can purchase from current collections and retailers who can review what’s the next season’s offerings and place their orders. More exposure at wholesale and retail level is great for marketing.
Digital enables and reflects changes in fashion
Pondering the significance of the digital shift in fashion weeks, Vogue Business gathers insight from the likes of Derek Blasberg, head of fashion and beauty at YouTube. “Fashion week has evolved to be less about sales and more about marketing.”
It’s not just about showing the products one can purchase but also the “mood or feeling,” Blasberg insisted. It’s the opportunity for telling “a story of brand identity.”
Vogue also cites Matthew Drinkwater, who heads London College of Fashion’s Fashion Innovation Agency. He noted how digital can more accurately reflect the lack of set boundaries that defined fashion seasons in the past: “Seasonality has been disappearing for some time, and now more than ever, it’s time for us to finally say goodbye to that and allow the creative expression from designers to sit within their timeframe or what feels right for their consumers or their audience – not to what the industry dictates it should be.”
Let’s get phygital
Writing for GQ, Dana Thomas went with the headline: The Fashion Show As We Know It Is Over (For Now). Thomas spoke with Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori who was looking forward to presenting a new collection in what he calls “phygital” format. That’s the term for a “high-tech format that blends cinematography, digital technology, and live models.”
It’s not meant to be a 2-dimensional substitute for the live show rendered on video, which Sartori dismissed as “a fake fashion show.” Instead, he aspires to a new paradigm that combines “real and digital,” which is why he likes the term “phygital.”
For the viewer, it would be a superior experience: “You can watch it on your device and zoom in on details, accessories—whatever you want. You will see so much more of a garment than you do on a runway.”
The Zegna brand is slated to present that “phygital format” at Milan’s first digital fashion week, which is set for July 14 to 17. It’s not the only design seeking to use technology to advantage.
Evelyn Mora, founder of Helsinki Fashion Week told WWD that their show will match up fashion designers with 3-D designers to showcase creative collaboration. That show is set for July 27 to August first. The week before that is time for collaboration what was originally to take place in person but has been shifted “to the digital sphere with an interactive, game-like approach.”
As fashion shows move off the catwalk and into the digital realm, there are new creative avenues to explore and new ways to extend and deepen a brand’s relationship with audiences. It’s a wonderful opportunity for marketing.