Burberry personalising new collection with embedded digital content

This article first appeared on Mashable

Personalisation just got a whole lot smarter thanks to a new initiative from Burberry, which is launching as part of its London Fashion Week show on Monday.

The British heritage brand is embedding digital chips that will unlock bespoke content in its new season’s coats and bags in a bid to entice consumers to pre-order them immediately after they hit the catwalk.

The chips will activate short films (as demonstrated below) to bring the product in question to life, telling the story of its creation, from sketches to runway edits. They will also show video of the customer’s name being engraved on metal nameplates — also new this season — that are stitched into the lining of the coats and bags.

Users will be able to see the videos when their items are put in contact with smartphone or tablet devices logged into Burberry.com thanks to a new technology the company will reveal more information about at the delivery date (expected within nine weeks). For consumers in London who are able to visit the brand’s digitally integrated Regent Street flagship store, the same chips will prompt the videos to appear on its large-scale mirrors, which turn into screens.

While this “Smart Personalisation” concept demonstrates how technology can benefit Burberry shoppers, the brand also has plans to connect with its broader fanbase using social media. On the day after the show, Burberry will invite followers to tweet with the hashtag #madefor, so they can receive personalized images of their own bespoke nameplate, for example.

The show will also be live-streamed within Burberry’s Twitter feed for the first time, as well as online and in the Regent Street store. Additional access will be provided through two Instagram accounts: @Burberry will share images from backstage, the red carpet and the runway, while @Burberry_Live will take more detailed images of the collection to feed into Burberry.com’s dashboard.

Where Topshop launched a model cam for its show on Sunday, Burberry is also promoting backstage interaction with its models. The “Burberry Beauty Booth” will share images taken by models with the brand’s followers in real-time, when they tweet with the #BeautyBooth hashtag.

Vine, Google+ take center stage at London Fashion Week

This article first appeared on Mashable

Twitter’s new video-sharing app, Vine, took off in a big way at New York Fashion Week. Designers and editors alike logged in to Vine to capture and share six-second scenes from the shows.

London Fashion Week (LFW) attendees are poised to pick up where New York left off. Design houses including Burberry, Jonathan Saunders and Paul Smith, as well as the British Fashion Council, are all expected to use the app to bring followers behind the scenes and front of house.

It’s Matthew Williamson’s feed, however, that’s the must-see. The designer, known for his intricate, handcrafted garments, will use Vine to showcase details up close during Sunday’s show. As the looks hit the runway, backstage shots by photographer Sean Cunningham (of Burberry Tweetwalk fame) will be posted to Twitter, magnifying the embellishment and beadwork in a bid to bring followers a more detailed view than those available to the front row.

The initiative takes its inspiration from Williamson’s #MatthewMagnified campaign on Facebook, which makes use of the Pic Jointer app to show catwalk images alongside close-up detail shots of the fabric work. Vine will see them in motion, as introduced by the designer below:

Introducing #MatthewMagnified live. Get closer than the front row this Sunday at 6pm vine.co/v/brBOwTl0FJm #LFW #FirstVine—
Matthew Williamson (@MWWorld) February 14, 2013

Rosanna Falconer, head of digital for the designer, referred to the idea as “Cinéma vérité,” a French term for true-to-life documentary filmmaking. “I love the way it’s such raw footage. Rather than being a final polished campaign image, it’s about what’s going on right now, live from backstage,” she says. “We’re trying to give our followers better-than-ever access with a real, up-close quality. In many ways, it’s like a digital version of the go-see, which are the appointments made by press and buyers after the show to view the collection in greater detail. It’s the beadwork, the detail and the craftsmanship of the product right there.”

Up close and personal

This idea of a digital go-see, or bringing fans and followers even closer to the Fashion Week action, is also part of Topshop’s plans for the season. As part of a partnership with Google, the British retailer will be providing viewers with live access to every aspect of its show using dozens of cameras, capturing fittings, “red carpet” arrivals and the show itself from multiple points of view. The aim is to offer the experience of what it’s like to be the model, the buyer, the makeup artist or even the designer.

Central to this is its model-cam, which will see Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Rosie Tapner and Ashleigh Good all wearing real-time, HD micro cameras so followers can see 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 satellite broadcasting company, SIS Live, and make use of the “Hawkeye” technology from major sporting events like Wimbledon.

Justin Cooke, Topshop’s chief marketing officer, says he expects it to steal the show. “The models will become the protagonists. Viewers will search for ‘Cara on the runway,’ and their content will get propelled around the world,” he says.

In addition to Topshop, a new partnership between the British Fashion Council and YouTube will serve up live streams of 20 shows through the LFW channel at youtube.com/lfwtv. A further 13 will also be streamed at londonfashionweek.co.uk/live.

Topshop is adding to its event with pre-show coverage also live-streamed through a customized YouTube page. Hangouts will air from the red carpet, backstage and the front row. “We’re using it as a live broadcast, like the Oscars, like a live behind-the-scenes documentary,” says Cooke.

Catwalk countdowns and live Q&As

Last season saw a big focus on visual diaries in the build-up to London’s shows, and the same goes for the Autumn/Winter 2013 shows.

Julien Macdonald returned to London Fashion Week following a two-season break, and in so doing shared preparation images over Facebook, Twitter and Instagram leading up to his show on Saturday. There was also a time-lapse video of the show space being constructed.

Peter Pilotto, meanwhile, who arrived on Twitter just last week, is likewise posting images in the buildup to his Monday show in what he’s calling his “Catwalk Countdown.”

Back at Topshop, the four aforementioned models will all be featured in a “Road to Runway” digital diary on Google+, documenting everything from their first fittings to the moment they hit the catwalk. There’s also 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 their finishing touches.

Expert Q&As are also a go-to for the British Fashion Council again this season. Twitter sessions will this time be held with British Vogue’s Alexandra Shulman, designers Manolo Blahnik and Henry Holland, and blogger and DJ Bip Ling, using the #AskLFW hashtag.

Personalization meets pre-orders

There’s much in the way of shoppable activity set for London this season, too. House of Holland has developed a capsule collection exclusively for eBay.co.uk, comprised of a dress, an oversized slogan t-shirt, an iPhone cover and a pair of tights, each emblazoned with the signature House of Holland Autumn/Winter 2013 “rave wave” print. The micro-line is available for purchase until Sunday, Feb. 24, with all proceeds going to Cancer Research UK.

Burberry, meanwhile, has rebranded its “Runway to Reality” shoppable concept as “Runway Made to Order.” Still a pre-order service for early season delivery on coats and accessories, it will also offer fans a personalization element with nameplate engravings available on each item. The rest of the brand’s show plans will be announced closer to showtime on Monday.

Topshop is enabling followers to buy straight from the catwalk again too, offering items from the collection for pre-order as well as makeup and nail polish for instant delivery. Its “Shoot the Show” and “Customize the Catwalk” initiatives from last season are continuing also, this time refined and modified according to people’s behaviors, i.e. how they interacted with the features during the Spring/Summer 2013 show.

In addition, Topshop and Google have developed a “Be the Buyer” app on Google+ that will allow fans to create moodboards of their favorite items from the runway while seeking video advice from Topshop’s own buying experts, as well as those from department stores Selfridge’s and Browns. The results, says Cooke, will help feed data back to Topshop on what items or colors are the most popular, cleverly shaping its decisions about what to put in store.

Such movements are proving that digital innovation at LFW aren’t solely about gaining fans and building awareness of current collections, but are an opportunity for getting consumers to help determine what will actually hit the shop floor. It doesn’t get much more personal (and for the retailer, efficient) than that.

Chanel launches microsite documenting its history

It might not be the industry’s most exciting story, but it’s great to see Chanel not only announce something digital-related, but do so with an exclusive on a tech site – Mashable.

The French fashion house launched a new miscrosite dedicated to the history of its founder and its legacy products on Friday.

Inside-chanel.com currently features a timeline of the brand from Coco Chanel’s birth in 1883, to its direction under Karl Lagerfeld in present day, as well as a section focused on the No. 5 fragrance.

“Chapter One”, as the latter is referred to, looks at how “a revolutionary scent created in 1921 continues to be the best-selling and most famous fragrance in the world,” according to the company’s Facebook page.

It includes chronological ads (print and TV) as well as a short film called For the First Time, as shown below.

According to Mashable, additional sections accompanied by films will be introduced to the site over time.

“Telling our history on the web and making it accessible to as many people as people is yet another way of marking our difference, reaffirming our values and forming emerging markets by enabling them to discover a world to which until now they had little — or no — access,” a Chanel spokesperson said. “We have always been an innovative brand — that is what we wanted to get across.”

Mashable adds: “Chanel, it’s worth pointing out, only sells its fragrance and beauty collections online, but the company has upped its investment in online content over the past couple of years, particularly in the development of short films.”

A couple of other examples worth checking out include Valentino’s digital archive, and Dior’s online magazine. Check out the No. 5 film below, as well as a number of images from the Inside Chanel site…

London Fashion Week: your digital preview

This article first appeared on Mashable…

Once again, London Fashion Week is aiming to prove it has just as much muscle in the digital department as its counterpart in New York.

Innovation kicks off at Topshop. Newly installed chief marketing officer Justin Cooke, formerly vice president of public relations at Burberry, has developed an interactive, shoppable livestream experience for its Unique show on Sunday afternoon.

On Topshop.com, viewers will be able to browse product shots and color options for certain apparel and accessories as they come down the catwalk. Viewers can then place orders for delivery in six to eight weeks. Beauty products worn on the catwalk will likewise be available for purchase with delivery in 48 hours. And each look will be instantly shareable with Facebook friends thanks to a “shoot the show” feature developed in conjunction with Facebook engineers.

Jonathan Saunders is similarly offering fans the chance to pre-order his collection, this time on social platform Motilo, which allows users to shop together through live video and chat.

Ten of the looks from Saunders’s Spring/Summer 2013 line will be made available immediately following the livestream, which is being hosted in a specially-created hub on the Motilo site.

Visual diaries

The British Fashion Council (BFC) will be hosting livestreams of 47 shows at londonfashionweek.com/live this season, including those showing apart from the main catwalk venues, such as Christopher Kane, Mulberry and Paul Smith. The BFC’s in-house team will also be narrating the LFW story with behind-the-scenes snapshots on Instagram via the “BritishFashionCouncil” account.

Meanwhile, designer Anya Hindmarch, taking inspiration from Oscar de la Renta‘s bridal and spring shows, is working with the BFC to bring fans all the live action of her show via Pinterest.

Her experience throughout London Fashion Week, as well as of her show itself on Tuesday, will be pinned to the BFC’s board, providing a real-time visual diary for fans to engage with. Inspiration shots, backstage prep, even seating plans and invitations — not to mention the collection as it hits — will all be included. The Osman show on Monday will also be live-pinned.

The recently relaunched Net-a-Porter Tumblr promises to give a comprehensive overview of Fashion Week from both the front row, the street and, increasingly, backstage. The e-commerce site’s Fashion Fix blog meanwhile is equally as strong, hosting all manner of daily video insights and editorial content about trends.

Blogger, illustrator and photographer Garance Doré is also creating a series of videos for Net-a-Porter from each city, introduced in New York with an inside look at her prep for the week, and continuing through London with a second release on Tuesday.

Expert commentary

For those looking for some more expert analysis and professional insight on the collections, the place to head is SHOWstudio. Here, an exciting dose of live commentary and conversation is taking place alongside the livestreams on a number of key shows.

Hosted by SHOWstudio’s Lou Stoppard and writer Camilla Morton, you’ll find panel discussions with fashion experts including journalists, stylists, buyers and image-makers. “It’s about communicating fashion in a raw, unedited and honest way… and bringing the excitement of the front row to a broader audience,” the team explains.

SHOWstudio founder and director, Nick Knight, adds, “There is so much potential to cover the fashion shows in an entertaining way that can involve and excite a huge range of people. Sport events, for example, are always explained to their public by a panel of ‘experts,’ whereas fashion is just presented as if its only audience is the industry. Fashion coverage is also so inoffensive; everyone is too scared to rock the boat. Any art form benefits from a strong and robust critical forum — including fashion.”

Whistles CEO Jane Sheperdson, writer Colin McDowell, filmmaker Ruth Hogben, artist Daphne Guinness and more will all be featured. The initiative is occurring throughout fashion month (so New York, Milan and Paris too) from the company’s headquarters in London. LFW will see three shows covered: Burberry, Christopher Kane and Fashion East.

The BFC is looking to Twitter as always too, continuing its #AskLFW conversations from @LondonFashionWk with guest tweeters this season, including New York socialite Olivia Palermo, designers Matthew Williamson and Roksanda Ilincic, and Grazia magazine’s style director (and soon-to-be fashion director at Harvey Nichols), Paula Reed.

Geo-tracked transport

And finally, Vodafone is set to help LFW VIPs get about the city more easily throughout the week, thanks to an innovative bespoke app.

Each of the Mercedes-Benz cars VIPs travel in will include a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet pre-loaded with “fleet management technology” so they can track their progress in the city. In other words, they’ll be able to view their location and speed — similar to how you would on an airplane — in relation to the press and photographer buses, helping them judge how long they have until the next show begins.

As Rosanna Falconer, digital marketing executive at the BFC, explains, “It lets them know how quickly they need to be there, and whether they have time to stop off for that all-important cup of coffee.”

The app also includes a calendar of the show schedule, a list of PR contacts, a Twitter feed displaying relevant hashtags and a stream of post-show videos from YouTube. The initiative helps ensure those all-important attendees remain as on the ball so as to keep providing content for the rest of us.

Despite being a city largely comprised of young, independent designers — with therefore decidedly low budgets — London’s support network sees it once again upping its game for Spring/Summer 2013, cementing itself as a true contender in the digital space. Of course, we will have to see what Burberry has planned for us on Monday.

Kenneth Cole inspires with word-based Instagram contest

Kenneth Cole has assembled a team of “culture mavens” to act as curators and judge its new contest on Instagram, which invites fans to submit photos based on inspirational words.

The initiative celebrates the launch of the brand’s higher positioned line, Kenneth Cole Collection, and this week focuses on the word “impact”. Lauren Indvik, associate business editor of Mashable, will choose her favourite image. Previous words have included “provocative” and “empowering”.

“Join the collection of voices,” reads a post about it from Kenneth Cole. “Speak through style. Express through image. Make a statement through Instagram.”

To enter, users need to follow @KennethColePRD on Instagram and tag their pictures with #KCCVoices and #impact. Above the brand shows its own idea of impact in New York City.

Wearable tech: infographic

There’s an incredible Infographic on Mashable today looking at up-and-coming wearable technology from head-to-toe. Check it out below:

Beyond Burberry: how London Fashion Week is ramping up digital

Burberry might be the hot ticket when it comes to pioneering digital initiatives during London Fashion Week, but that doesn’t mean a wealth of other British brands aren’t giving it a go as well…

Read the rest of my Mashable piece, here – Beyond Burberry: how London Fashion Week is ramping up digital

Mashable: how to follow #nyfw online

With New York Fashion Week less than 24-hours away, be sure to head over to Mashable for this guide on how to keep up with all the action online.

How London Fashion Week is going digital

London Fashion Week, which kicked off Friday, is showcasing an increased commitment to all things digital this season. Designers and retailers are giving consumers around the world better access to shows and events than ever before through live, online showcases and digitally enhanced retail experiences…

Read the rest of my Mashable piece, here: How London Fashion Week is going digital

Follow #NYFW online

And so the SS12 fashion week season begins…

Check out Mashable’s piece on how to follow all things New York online via live-streaming, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and more, here.