Digital snippets: Tumblr, Versace, Club Monaco, Chanel, Abercrombie, McQueen

A round-up of recent stories from around the web surrounding all things fashion and digital:

• Is a Yahoo-owned Tumblr more attractive to brands? [AdAge]

• Versace transforms Versus line into a ‘digital brand’ (as pictured) [Fmag]

• Club Monaco creates all-blogger look book (and launches it on Tumblr) [DisneyRollerGirl]

• Keira Knightley stars as Coco Chanel for new Karl Lagerfeld film, Once Upon a Time [Fashionologie]

• Video takes aim at Abercrombie & Fitch for “exclusionary” policy, spurs homeless campaign [Hollywood Reporter]

• Alexander McQueen and McQ websites get new look [WWD]

• Why Victoria’s Secret and Burberry win in social media — and other fashion brands fail [Business Insider]

• The seven species of social commerce [Mashable]

• YouTube jumps into retail with shoppable videos for brand channels, first client is Unilever’s Tresemmé [BrandChannel]

• Wearable technology market set to explode, could reach $50 billion, says Credit Suisse [BoF]

McQueen’s futuristic vision carries through to new campaign film

 

When the models at Alexander McQueen came down the catwalk wearing plexiglass visors in a vision of the brand’s “beautiful future” theme, it was instantly a shoe-in for one of our favourite campaigns of the season.

Lo and behold, a film by David Sims has been released to accompany the print ads from earlier this month (shown below). Featuring Finnish model Suvi Koponen on loop removing the metallic visor, it’s a psychedelic, surreal and dramatic two-minute spot.

As phrased by Fashionologie: “Surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colour, dressed in overblown shapes, and stood on a set that looks like it was borrowed from Superman, Suvi embodies an extra-terrestrial beauty that is befitting of the visuals and the collection’s design.”

Check it out above.

McQueen unveils website redesign, incorporates McQ line and digital scarf boutique

Alexander McQueen has relaunched its website to incorporate contemporary label, McQ, in its own branded area, and offer the largest breadth of shoppable McQueen product anywhere online.

The redesign focuses on large, rich imagery to showcase the craftsmanship of the collections, as well as content to tell the story behind them. New dynamic lookbooks are fully shoppable across women’s, men’s and accessories, while a ‘More McQueen’ tab offers additional runway video, ad campaigns and access to pre-collections. Meanwhile, a separate experience area also houses info on special projects such as 2011′s Savage Beauty exhibition at the Costume Institute in New York.

A highlight feature also lies in the ‘digital scarf boutique’, which offers consumers multiple colour combinations of the brand’s iconic skull scarf, as well as exclusive prints.

Users can also curate their favourite items (from products through to campaigns) and save them under the ‘My McQueen’ header, and from there, share them across their social networks.

The relaunch also sees McQueen expand its e-commerce business from just the US and UK, across the EU.

Costume Institute’s McQueen exhibition microsite

The web is awash today with the beautiful images of everyone at the annual Met Costume Institute Gala last night in celebration of the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition. My favourite? Diane Kruger.

But so too has the event drawn my attention to the microsite set up especially about the exhibition. At blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen users can find all manner of images, videos and commentary.

Included are snapshots of some of the items included in the show, as well as short films of some of the late designer’s catwalk presentations. There is also a full rundown of the different areas that can be seen throughout the museum.

The retrospective of McQueen’s extraordinary contributions to fashion is open to the public from May 4 – July 31, 2011. It celebrates his work from 1992 when he was at Central Saint Martins, through to his final collection shown after his death in February 2010.

Approximately 100 outfits are on display as well as some 70 accessories. They were drawn primarily from the McQueen Archive in London, with some pieces from Givenchy in Paris, as well as private collections.

For iPad users, there is also an app available, created by Vogue. It features never-before-seen videos, pictures, interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, including a personal tribute to McQueen from Vogue ed-in-chief, Anna Wintour.

From May 6, there will also be exclusive celebrity coverage from inside the gala made available on the app. Read more, here.

UPDATE: You can also see a video tour of the exhibition and an interview with curator Andrew Bolton, from New York Magazine, here.