It’s easy for people to overlook ‘fashion month’ – the collective name for global fashion weeks in September across New York, London, Milan and Paris – as design houses showcase their trends and releases for a season, months ahead.
But, with the global fashion economy estimated at $2.3 trillion, it’s an industry worth taking note of; particularly in the way it adopts to the ever-changing world of digital.
While online shopping may have seemed like the biggest digital change to affect the fashion industry and its retailers – whether high end or high street – each fashion season in recent years has introduced a new way for brands to connect with their audiences.
Online streaming
Brands such as Burberry and Topshop Unique, who both show at London Fashion Week, began live streaming their shows so fans could watch along with the celebrities and fashion editors on the FROW (front row, yup it needed an abbreviation).
See now, buy now
Historically, the September fashion weeks highlight trends for the following spring/summer season, while the February fashion weeks focus on the upcoming autumn/winter – allowing plenty of time for glossy print publications to write up their show notes, pick out their key trends and work with the brands on features in upcoming issues, as well as giving the consumer time to plan their seasonal wardrobe.
Of course, with journalists now needing to file online copy immediately and cover shows live, the consumer is fully bought into a trend months before it is even available. The ‘see now, buy now’ model adopted by brands such as Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger means department stores receive brand new collections immediately for the diligent shopper and fashion fan to buy before the season has even begun.
Instagram stories
One of the more recent social media developments is Instagram Stories – introduced to the photo sharing platform in 2016 – giving audiences immediate access to catwalks, behind-the-scenes and journalist feedback. Arguably the most popular social media platform for a fashion focused audience, Instagram, and particularly its stories feature, is taking consumers direct to the designers and beauty teams live on show-day.
So, while fashion mightn’t be your industry, or even anywhere close, can your business embrace technology and digital advances to better communicate and serve your audiences? Whether it’s making them feel exclusive online, giving them a solution to a problem they didn’t know they had or showcasing your personality via social media even more to connect with them.
If you’re stuck on how to better communicate with your audiences online or how to create digital campaigns which drive results, come say hello to us.
(Image sourced on Pixabay)
