Fashion Week Part 2: Tech Stand Out Stories
One week on from LFWSS17, we’ve had chance to take it all in and reflect on the stand out stories for next season.
Where as New York was about signature looks, London was about mixing things up. Proving once again it’s top of the tech game, with themes of augmented reality and the much talked about ‘see-now-buy-now’ show by Burberry. The shows of SS17 didn’t hold up tradition, instead they questioned the very relationship between ‘us’ and ‘them’.
Here’s a look at some of the most innovative Fashion Week moments:
Burberry: 'See-now-buy-now'
The highly anticipated Burberry show was set to define the modernisation of the fashion calendar. This year, the digitally-savvy fashion house presented their game-changing ‘See Now, Buy Now’ collection, with a pared back presentation concentrated on the clothing rather than spectacle. No effects, no stunts; the show was simply about the clothing itself, accompanied by an impressive 21-piece Orchestra performing an elaborate set list exclusively written for the show.
When Burberry announced that they would do away with the standard fashion show model, questions were asked – how will this new format work?
So far, it seems to have had a big impact. The collection launched online and in 100 stores worldwide the day after the presentation, with the Regent Street flagship store reporting a sell out of of several styles before noon. By minimising the time frame from presentation to purchase, Burberry is set to cash in on the sales potential backed by the social media buzz surrounding the show.
Oliver Spencer + VERO collaboration
Having originally shown his AW16 collection in January during LCM, Spencer picked a selection of looks to show during the traditionally womenswear focused LFW as well as some exclusive, special edition products. Whilst watching the show, the audience could simply click on a product from the runway within VERO as it flashed up on their screen and buy it instantly via Apple Pay. The show was pre-shot backstage to allow for it to be shown via a live-feed on the audience’s phone.
Martine Jarlgaard: Augmented Reality
This season played host to the first show by Martine Jarlgaard, a Scandinavian designer with a chic minimalist aesthetic. Turning down the traditional approach, Jarlgaard opted to present her collection via Augmented Reality.
Jarlgaard partnered with the Fashion Innovation Agency and Doubleme to create a presentation in which the audience wore Hololens mixed reality goggles through which they could view the clothes as life size holograms which were superimposed into the clear and minimal presentation space.
Not to be confused with Virtual Reality, in Augmented Reality images are imposed into your actual environment so that you can move around freely and explore the pieces from all angles therefore making the products instantly accessible wherever you are. It is enhancing and adding to what you would normally see rather than showing something completely different.
“We wanted to provide something very different; to step away from the passive experience where you sit down and the collection is served on a plate. With this it’s more of an exploration. It’s encouraging curiosity, allowing the audience to get in closer to explore the shapes by walking around them”
– Martine Jarlgaard
Is Jarlgaard holding up a mirror to the future world of fashion? Where we’ll compel people to explore fashion rather than sit, removed, watching from the FROW…watch this space (preferably through mixed reality goggles…)
Article update: The theme of Augmented Reality has carried through from London to Paris this week with Japenese designer Anrealage.
A digitally charged runway lead spectators on a black and white journey with futuristic head pieces and wrap around shapes. By downloading the app, onlookers could interact with the bars and make them disappear, having the option to view the clothing on their mobile screen only.
Looking to the future
Over time, it’s become clear that the rise of digital media has transformed runway shows into influential consumer marketing events, slowly doing away with the traditional format. However, It’s not immediately clear if this new strategy will work for other brands. Burberry are known for pushing the boundaries, so it will be interesting to see how this format performs in the long-term, and how it will affect the future of the ‘Fashion Show’.
The prospect of the whole ‘See-now-buy-now’ concept seems intimidating at first. It’s something that smaller brands won’t be able to take advantage of, considering the intense preparation that’s involved. However, judging the success of Oliver Spencer’s collaboration with VERO, Burberry’s game-changing, seasonless show, and Martine Jarlgaard’s innovative ‘Augmented Reality’ presentation, there is proof that perhaps ‘fast fashion’ is being redefined, and reshaping the way we look at the relationship between fashion and technology.
READ MORE: Fashion Week Part 1: Our Favourite FashTech Moments
- http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelarthur/2016/09/16/hololens-london-fashion-week/#233e131a330d
- http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/oliver-spencer-vero-show-watch-live
- www.glossy.co/fashions-virtual-reality/japanese-brand-anrealage-hosts-augmented-reality-fashion-show