Social content fuels H&M’s & Other Stories launch success

If you haven’t already noticed, H&M’s new brand & Other Stories has been doing a phenomenal job of using social media to seed its launch. I first wrote about them doing so here, when content across YouTube, Tumblr, Facebook and more was being teased before much was known about the line at all. The same continued as stores opened in three European cities (including London), and its e-commerce website – also heavy with shareable content – launched just this month. The reception was reportedly “tremendous”.

In a report released today, CEO Karl-Johan Persson said: “Sales, both in stores and online, have far exceeded our high expectations… This opens the possibility that & Other Stories can expand more widely and faster than we originally planned.”

Also unveiled today was another piece of shareable content; this time one tapping into the idea of collaboration. A short film called Co-Creatives (another nice social term there), shows the personal stories of “friends” of the brand including Julia Sarr-Jamois, Valentine Fillol Cordier, Ada Kokosar and Bea Åkerlund as they style their favourite looks from the collection.

Each of them was armed with a Polaroid camera and tasked with capturing their inspirations as they went. It’s a simple short spot, but another great example of how well this team seems to know it’s consumer base…

Spring films arrive from Lanvin, Calvin Klein and David Beckham Bodywear for H&M

It’s been a bit of a week for fashion film releases, with highlights coming in from Lanvin, Calvin Klein and H&M surrounding the spring/summer 2013 campaigns.

 

Lanvin, a firm favourite every season thanks to the genius of creative director Alber Elbaz, has unveiled a spot that seems as though it’s just focusing on the print shoot in action. The models are each seen posing in beautiful surrounds very calmly, before suddenly a Skype call comes in from Elbaz who was unable to get to New York due to Hurricane Sandy.

What follows is highly amusing commentary from him on the “sick perspective” and “beautiful lighting” of the campaign. “It’s very very poetic, very chic,” he says. “There’s something very Californian about [it]… You know I’m still at the office. I feel I’m in a dream, I feel I’m in a cloud.”

 

Calvin Klein meanwhile, followed its Super Bowl underwear spot with the rest of its spring/summer campaign. Actor Alexander Skarsgård and model Suvi Koponen both star in its film, Provocations, which sees the men’s and women’s Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein Jeans brands all brought together for the first time. There are three variations of it available: 10 minutes, 60 seconds and 30 seconds (above).

Shot on location in California by Fabien Baron of Baron + Baron, it focuses on recurring elements of fire, air and water as the pair are seen in a variety of “sleek, architectural settings to dark and mysterious milieus”.

 

And H&M roped in film director Guy Ritchie to shoot David Beckham in his first video spot for the retailer. The ad sees Beckham chasing after his family car after his bathrobe gets stuck in the door. As he runs / jumps / swims through the Beverly Hills neighbourhood he continues to lose other items of clothing remaining in just the boxers from his Bodywear line.

“David makes the perfect leading man,” said Ritchie. “For me this felt more than a campaign; it was like directing a short film.”

Digital snippets: Louis Vuitton, Love magazine, & Other Stories, Nike, Caché, Hearst

Happy new year one and all! To kickstart 2013, here are a handful of stories surrounding all things fashion and digital from over the holiday period you may have missed:

• Louis Vuitton pushes spring/summer line with downloadable paper doll cutouts (as pictured) [Luxury Daily]

• Love magazine released a star-studded Fashion Nativity video on Christmas Day featuring Laura Carmichael, Pixie Geldof, Giles Deacon, Henry Holland, Abbey Clancy and more [Love]

• New video from H&M’s forthcoming & Other Stories line reveals craftsmanship of bags in its first collection [YouTube]

• Nike gamifies every day human movement with NikeFuel Missions video game [DigitalBuzzBlog]

• Fashion retailer Caché launches mobile app featuring push notifications [AdWeek]

• Hearst magazines is stealth e-commerce player [Material World]

H&M teases digital content ahead of & Other Stories line launch

There’s some nice digital content going on to seed the launch of H&M’s new upmarket concept, & Other Stories.

The womenswear line, which will include ready-to-wear, shoes, bags and accessories, was teased through a one-minute video on Vogue.co.uk this week (as below).

The “Shoes & Other Stories” spot sees a series of polariod frames streamed one after the other as though a slideshow. It features a woman walking around Paris barefoot until she receives a delivery of & Other Stories footwear.

“Documentary-like snapshots tell the story of a day in the life of a Parisian girl while giving glimpses of & Other Stories’ concept and SS/13 collection,” reads the write-up.

There’s also a Tumblr page in action showcasing all manner of inspiration and product shots (including some from the film), as well as a couple of what looks like the & Other Stories team at work in the atelier.

Facebook, Twitter and a website have also launched, the latter inviting fans to sign-up in order to “receive tons of inspiration on a regular basis because we love to share our secrets, tips and tricks with you”.

The line aims, it says, to inspire women to create their personal style, or story. It will launch for spring 2013 in stores and online in selected European countries. Expect lots more to come…

H&M releases Lana Del Rey campaign film

In case you haven’t yet seen it, here’s Lana Del Rey’s music video for H&M’s autumn/winter 2012/13 fashion campaign. Directed by Johan Renck, it features the US popstar covering Bobby Vinton’s 1963 hit, Blue Velvet.

It appears in a full two-minute version online, as well as in 30-second spots for television.

 

There’s also a behind-the-scenes video, here.

Digital snippets: NYFW, FNO, Emporio Armani, Isaac Mizrahi, Louis Vuitton, Versace

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

• How to follow New York Fashion Week online [Mashable]

• Emporio Armani becomes first fashion brand to launch branded playlist on Spotify (as pictured) [Branding Magazine]

• Digital highlights from Fashion’s Night Out New York [Mashable]

• Isaac Mizrahi expands reach with augmented reality [WWD]

• Louis Vuitton marks launch of Yayoi Kusama collection at Selfridges with short films by Ehsan Bhatti [TheInspirationRoom]

• Donatella Versace thanks one millionth Facebook fan [Web&Luxe]

• Anna Dello Russo records pop song and video to accompany her H&M collaboration [Telegraph Fashion]

• Pose, 1M users strong, brings its fashion photo app to the iPad [TechCrunch]

• Turning pins into purchase on Pinterest [AdWeek]

• And a bonus link: I want my clothing to be smarter… [Elapsed Time]

Teaser videos: Maison Martin Margiela for H&M

By now, you will have all heard H&M has confirmed the rumours Maison Martin Margiela is the next designer set to collaborate with the store. It’s perhaps an unlikely pairing, as reported by Fashionista, but one H&M’s creative advisor, Margareta van den Bosch, expects to be a “great and memorable fashion moment”.

The collection doesn’t launch until November 15, but in the meantime, there were also a couple of very cute teaser videos revealed today, one for womenswear and one for menswear showing sketches of a darted sweater, and a car coat respectively. Check them out below:

 

Video: Anna Dello Russo announces H&M collection

This is a great video interview with fashion icon Anna Dello Russo in conjunction with today’s announcement of her forthcoming accessories collection for H&M.

Set in her private home, it simultaneously provides an intimate look at her own enormous collection of clothes and accessories (which she refers to as her “fashion bibliothèque”), and amusingly touches on her self-opinion as a fashion victim.

 

The H&M line will include jewellery, sunglasses, shoes and bags, and launch on October 4.

“I am excited by this collaboration: this is the first time H&M involves a fashion director in a special project. This is the sign of an important evolution in fashion, and I am both thrilled and humbled to be the one chosen to lead it. I wanted to create precious accessories that are impossible to find.  As a stylist I know accessorization is essential: it is the personal touch to any outfit. With these pieces everybody can have fun, turning an ordinary day into a fantastic fashion day,” she said.

Infographic: UK retail’s earned media mentions in February

Harvey Nichols proved one of the highest mentioned retailers in the UK during London Fashion Week thanks to its exclusive launch of the Victoria by Victoria Beckham collection, according to a new barometer released by Gorkana looking at earned media trends in February.

Topshop and Asos were also present, alongside the perhaps more surprising PC World and Curry’s; the result of a designer dress made from 500m of electric cables.

Overall, the lead retailer in both mainstream and social media mentions during the month, was Tesco, with 11,180 and 99,07 references respectively. Other grocery stores including Asda and Sainsbury’s also feature on both lists, an interesting comparison with the fashion industry, which saw mainstream media focusing more on department stores including Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and House of Fraser, compared to social media’s reference to Asos, Topshop, Primark and H&M.

Other big subjects mentioned in February included Valentine’s, of course, as well as David Beckham for his new Bodywear line at H&M.

See the full infographic with all the stats below:

Digital snippets: NYFW, F-commerce, Christian Louboutin, Louis Vuitton, Marni, Nike

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

• Jason Wu, Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors prove most “talked” about in online space during NYFW [WWD]

• Retailers shut their Facebook stores; is this the end of F-commerce? [Mashable]

• Neiman Marcus launches social media challenge for Christian Louboutin’s 20th anniversary [Luxury Daily]

• Louis Vuitton sets short film series on major cities, starting with Hong Kong (as pictured) [WWD]

• H&M celebrates Marni launch with Instagram competition [FashionablyMarketing.me]

• Nike introduces Nike+ basketball sneaker with high-tech sensors [AllThingsD]

• Sølve Sundsbø’s The Ever Changing Face of Beauty installation becomes interactive iPad App [The Business of Fashion]

• Google to start selling glasses that will project information, entertainment and ads onto the lenses [NYTimes]