Topshop teams up with Google for LFW show

Topshop came out guns blazing with the announcement of its partnership with Google for London Fashion Week last night. Showcased via a very cool trailer from the team at Google’s in-house creative labs (as below), the initiative includes everything from a live model-cam to streetview access inside the autumn/winter 2013/14 show’s impressive Tanks at Tate Modern venue.

The idea is to use all of Google’s platforms to give viewers access to every aspect of the show as if they were “the model on the runway, the buyer in the audience, the make-up artist backstage, the designer fitting a look or the celebrity arriving”.

News quickly spread across the web, from Vogue to The Business of Fashion, and continued this morning on the likes of Wired and The Next Web. A headline from The Guardian, read: “Will Topshop and Google change fashion shows forever?”

Said CMO Justin Cooke: “By partnering with Google we are broadcasting the show to the consumer from every single perspective. A fashion show from concept to creation.”

So here’s the gist of it:

• Models including Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn will all be wearing real-time, HD micro cameras that will enable viewers to experience the show from their perspective. Pre-stitched into the clothes and bags, these cameras will show detailed footage from the runway as well as backstage. They have been developed with SIS Live using the ‘Hawkeye’ technology from major sporting events like Wimbledon. Said Cooke: “The model-cam will steal the show and this partnership with Google will feed that. Viewers will search for ‘Cara on the runway’, and their content will get propelled around the world”

• Exclusive access to these models will also be provided over Google+, where a ‘Road to Runway’ digital diary will feature everything from the first fitting to the moment they hit the catwalk. There will also be a Google Hangout inviting viewers to see behind-the-scenes at Topshop’s headquarters ahead of the show and ask the design team questions as they apply finishing touches

• Topshop’s YouTube page will feature a live feed on show day in a bid to broadcast the event much like the Oscars. Hangouts will air from the red carpet, backstage and the front row hosted by the likes of editor Melanie Rickey, blogger Chiara Ferrangi of The Blonde Salad, and beauty blogger Tanya Burr. Cooke said: “Our customisation of YouTube is a big deal, it’s not just Hangouts with one or two people; we’re using it as a live broadcast, like the Oscars, like a live behind-the-scenes documentary”

• Google+ will also enable fans to ‘Be the Buyer’ with a hangout app that allows them to create moodboards of their favourite items from the runway while seeking video advice from Topshop’s own buying experts as well as those from Selfridges and Browns. This will feed data back to Topshop on what items or colours resonate the most with consumers

• As with last season, every element of the show is also shopabble, from the new collection, to the make-up, nail varnish and music. The shareable Shoot the Show and Customise the Catwalk initiatives will also continue, evolved this time based on customer feedback

•  Finally, there will also be a custom designed Google+ animated photo booth in Topshop’s Oxford Street flagship. Fans can try on outfits and have their pictures instantly uploaded to the store’s interactive digital window and Google+ page

If Burberry hadn’t already put London on the digital map, Topshop just did. Watch it all from 2.30pm GMT on Sunday, February 17.

Digital snippets: adidas, Nars, Hermès, Cole Haan, Wall Street Journal, F-commerce

Some more great stories from around the web surrounding all things fashion and digital over the past week:

• adidas gives Facebook users personalised version of Ebenezer Snoop holiday campaign [PSFK]

• Nars creates a digital journey into the world of Andy Warhol [L2 Think Tank]

• Hermès launches on Tumblr and Pinterest [Hermès]

• Tumblr unveils accessories spotlight section sponsored by Cole Haan [Mashable]

• Wall Street Journal launches shoppable holiday gift guide [AdAge]

• F-commerce ‘too soon’ for retailers, says Facebook’s retail director [Marketing Magazine]

• The end of the smartphone era is coming thanks to computerised glasses [BusinessInsider]

• EyeSee store mannequins gather intelligence on shoppers [Gizmag]

• Ready to download your next pair of shoes? How 3D printing is turning bits into atoms [BusinessInsider]

• Facebook aims for luxury brands with study into how the rich use social [Econsultancy]

New start-up Tapestry gives shop floor a digital identity, signs Diesel as pilot partner

It goes without saying that mobile is set to play an ever-increasing role in the future of retail – be it for payment, loyalty and rewards, social content or more.

Enter then, Tapestry, a new start-up from the team behind London-based digital agency Guided Collective, that very nicely ties all those things together.

Launched in a pilot partnership with Diesel in the UK, this iPhone and Android app helps to provide shoppers with a 360 degree online-meets-offline experience.

Trialling at Diesel’s Westfield London store until December 21, it allows consumers to curate a collection of all the items they like as they shop by scanning existing barcodes (or by using NFC in enabled Android devices). From there, they can see information about each piece such as size, colour and price, as well as the digital content that surrounds it – expert reviews from bloggers for instance, alongside videos, runway shows and more.

In essence, it’s a physical or real-world bookmarking tool for the fashion industry.

Those bookmark sets – known as Tapestries of course – can then be shared across social networks, but better yet be bought straight from the smartphone too. There’s also the possibility for notifications on things like promotions and rewards.

Referring to itself as a mobile loyalty service, the Tapestry write-up reads: “On the one hand it links content and promotions directly to physical products via a consumer’s mobile. On the other hand it links all physical items in store to the retailer’s ecommerce site, re-shaping the retail experience both in and out of store.”

Simply put, it gives a retailer’s physical inventory a digital identity, something Sam Reid, founder of Tapestry, refers to as “joining up the dots”. Based on a cloud platform, it also does so simply and at scale, he explains. And the app is to be funded on that basis, with retailers paying a subscription fee for the service.

In addition, it gives retailers permission-based real-time access to consumer interests, and therefore data. “The user is saying ‘I’m interested in these shoes, this t-shirt and this dress. Let me know when they’re on sale, or if stock is close to selling out, or if you’ve some interesting content to share,” the Tapestry description explains.

It’s hoped more retailers will follow in Diesel’s footsteps, says Reid, suggesting others are already in talks. This makes the concept all-the-more interesting – rather than just being about one brand’s clothing items consumers might save and explore, it becomes about their entire shopping trip. Imagine being able to recall everything you’ve seen, read reviews around them, and pick and choose which ones you want to buy at a later date. It’d certainly simplify those occasions when you regret something you should have purchased and you can’t find it online.

Another interesting part for the future will be seeing this app develop alongside NFC. With this, consumers only need to tap items (hence the clever Tapestry name) to bring them up on their phone – effortless. As this technology becomes more commonplace across devices, that behaviour is likely to see a huge spike in uptake in the retail space, blurring the digital and physical lines ever more.

It’s worth checking out blogger Liberty London Girl’s exclusive link up with Diesel for the Tapestry launch too. And watching the video demonstrating Tapestry in action, below: