Digital snippets: Nike, Bloomingdale’s, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Armani, Sephora

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

• Holographic ad gives live demo of Nike shoes on the street [PSFK]

• Bloomingdale’s installs body scanners to help you find jeans that fit (as pictured) [Mashable]

• Michael Kors releases limited edition sneakers to celebrate reaching 500 million fans on Facebook [Web & Luxe]

• Marc Jacobs to dress famous Japanese holograph, Hatsune Miku [Fashionista]

• Armani touts brand personality in latest Frames of Life eyewear campaign [Luxury Daily]

• How Sephora differentiates in digital [Digiday]

• The Business of Fashion is nominated for a Webby Award [BoF]

• This Bond No. 9 ‘digital fragrance’ is only sold via QR code [Styleite]

• Tavi Gevinson creator of The Style Rookie is the next big media mogul [AdWeek]

• Menswear e-tailer FreshCotton creates drug cookbook to promote Stüssy’s spring line [Campaign]

• Fashion e-commerce flowers in the Middle East [BoF]

• Japanese luxury market evolves to keep up with digital generation [Japan Daily Press]

#SXSW Interactive: Fashion’s greatest challenge lies in realigning production with communications

“If I were the CEO of a major fashion brand today, my focus would be on trying to compress the production cycle so it realigned with communications,” Imran Amed, founder and editor of The Business of Fashion, said at SXSW earlier this week.

Speaking on a panel called Who needs a fashion cycle? I’ve got social media, he explained that we’re at the beginning of a seismic change in the way consumers communicate with each other, make decisions, and ultimately purchase.  It’s only by changing the operational side of what we do, he said, that we’re going to be able to catch up.

As we all know, the internet has revolutionised this industry. Where once fashion shows were private trade events, now they’re more consumer facing than ever before, highlighted Michelle Sadlier, global digital communications consultant for Karla Otto International, and moderator of the session.

Designer collections used to only be seen by the public when they hit shop floors six months later – or the pages of the magazines just before. Now they’re viewable in real-time. The likes of Twitter and Instagram, not to mention bloggers and live-streams, mean consumers have the same level of access, at exactly the same time, as those invited to the catwalk presentations.

The issue of course, is that the operational side of the process is still the same. Rather than speeding up alongside, production has remained a lengthy and complicated system. The user is subsequently seeing something online, that isn’t available to buy for a further four to six months.

This gap, said Chris Morton, founder and CEO of fashion discovery site Lyst, means brands are missing out on capturing that “intent to purchase at the point of inspiration”.

He referenced a handful of companies attempting to address this: Burberry’s Runway to Reality initiative – where viewers can shop straight from the catwalk for delivery in just eight weeks – for example, as well as start-up Moda Operandi, which offers a similar solution across a variety of brand names.

Lyst itself launched a Runway Tracking service last September, which at least reminds consumers of the items they liked, by sending them a notification once they’re available to buy.

Amed however, said while each of these ideas is attempting to work around the issues, they’re not actually solving the problem. This is the industry’s biggest challenge, he added, and there’s no easy solution.

One of his suggestions was to create two separate events around the shows. One small and quiet for trade to see the season ahead, and the other a big, all-out affair for consumers, timed so it’s in sync with the actual season. So in other words, shifting the position of the fashion show as we know it today, so it sits at the end of the cycle rather than the beginning.

Of course to do so, would mean skipping a season, something Natalie Massanet, founder of Net-a-Porter, first suggested to Amed in an interview in 2010. No mean feat to pull off…

Which takes us back full circle to the very first line of this post. At the end of the day the company that masters how to realign the production cycle with the communications one, will be the one that finds success. And the likeliest way of achieving that right now, is by focusing first on compressing operations.

Watch this space.

Digital snippets: Oscar PR Girl, Daphne Guinness for Printemps, Narciso Rodriguez, FashionStake

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

• Oscar PR Girl joins Pinterest (as pictured) [Pinterest]

• Here’s why Pinterest works better than Google+ [ReadWriteWeb]

• Daphne Guinness to play virtual mannequin at Printemps using cutting-edge three-dimensional scanning technology [WWD]

• Narciso Rodriguez to create exclusive line for online retail store Rent the Runway [PSFK]

• Why brands including Tiffany & Co, Puma and Burberry are using Instagram [AdAge]

• New e-commerce business models, including personal subscription, social merchandising, mass customisation and collaborative consumption [BoF]

• Fab.com acquires FashionStake after seven months of rapid growth [All Things D]

• Women’s Wear Daily launches on iPad [Mashable]

Digital snippets: Jimmy Choo, The Sartorialist, Target, Jamie Beck, New Look, Polyvore

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

 

• Behind-the-scenes on Nan Goldin’s photo shoot for Jimmy Choo’s Icons collection (as above) [YouTube.com/OfficialJimmyChoo]

• The business of blogging: how The Sartorialist makes bank [The Business of Fashion]

• Target website issues continue; “plagued by glitches” [AdAge]

• Profiling From Me To You’s Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg: how a blogging duo is changing fashion photography with animated cinemagraphs [Mashable]

• New Look launches first iPhone app, designed for use in-store [New Media Age]

• Polyvore creates monthly magazine [AdWeek]

• Is Amazon the new Asos [Daily Mail]

• Publishers say tablet business is picking up; $10m for Condé Nast and Hearst not far off [WWD]

Dolce & Gabbana launches e-commerce site

Dolce & Gabbana is set to open its online store tomorrow in partnership with e-commerce website Yoox.

Dolcegabbanastore.com will be available in seven languages across computer, mobile and social networks, offering both men’s and women’s apparel and accessories.

“We’re fascinated by the idea of opening a boutique that’s available to the entire world. We’ve believed in the power of the web right from day one. Now, even people not living in large cities will be able to experience the Dolce & Gabbana world,” said Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

The aim of the e-store is to offer the product within the narrative of the brand, meaning a strong editorial focus will surround the merchandising.

“Shop by look” pages will provide the feel of a magazine, while photos will be viewable in 360° and videos will accompany each look.

Delivery on the site will be free for the first three months.

Meanwhile, there’s a great post on The Business of Fashion today featuring a video interview with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana talking about their digital strategy for the first time.

“[They] speak candidly, not only about the way they use digital technology in their business, but also how it has impacted their own lives, and how this has changed the way they work with each other, and with their teams,” reads the accompanying text.

Check it out below:

 

A quick look at Dolce & Gabbana’s digital history:

- 2004: Dolce & Gabbana opens its mobile channel, a step ahead of the smartphone wave
- 2005: The first fashion shows available in live streaming via the internet
- 2007: Dolce & Gabbana becomes a digital publisher, launching its magazine Swide.com
- 2009: The D&G e-store opens in partnership with Yoox
- 2009: D&G is the first to invite fashion bloggers to sit in the front row at its fashion shows
- 2010: Pre-show press conference with Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana via YouTube. Snack videos are posted, previewing the collection themes
- 2010: Stefano Gabbana opens a Twitter account, riding the personal branding trend
- 2011: Stefano Gabbana opens his own Tumblr account

BoF: From fashion curation to faux shopping with Lyst

There was an interesting post on The Business of Fashion last week which looked at the rise of a new generation of niche social curation sites.

Included were the likes of virtual pinboard Pinterest (love) and “Tumblr meets Amazon” platform Svpply (need to learn more about). The focus however was on Lyst. “Fashion has emerged as one of the most popular categories on these sites and even sparked specialist services,” writes the BoF’s managing editor, Vikram Alexei Kansara.

Accordingly, inspired by the likes of Last.fm and Pandora, Lyst is designed to enable the discovery of fashion online.

“Right now it’s hard to [do this]” said Lyst’s CEO Chris Morton. “The space is becoming increasingly fragmented: every day there are new online retailers, designers and blogs, making it even harder to sift through all the noise.”

Users can create their own lists of content as well as following those of their favourite designers or stylists.

The site also works with retailers in real-time, adding products or inventory as it becomes available. As a result, the service in effect is based around driving sales, therefore equally beneficial for the brand to get involved.

What I loved about this article however is the idea of “faux shopping” in fashion. “This is when a user goes to a site like Net-a-Porter, puts together an amazing shopping cart, but instead of checking out, just sighs wistfully and closes the browser. We were conscious that users were effectively creating rich content and expressing their style, but then destroying it afterwards. With Lyst, we wanted to build a service where users could keep those items for as long as they liked and share their style,” said Morton.

Read the full piece, here: Fashion 2.0 | Social Curation Start-ups Target Fashion Industry

BoF – top 10 fashion films of the season

The Business of Fashion has revealed its top 10 fashion films of the season, with Prada’s spring/summer 2011 campaign leading the charge.

Also featured is Tom Ford’s spring 2011 show; Chanel’s robots in Here Comes The Beauty Pack; Gareth Pugh’s film from Pitti Immagine created by Ruth Hogben; and Seven Henrietta Street by Kate Spade New York.

Anatomy of Change for House of Mugler Menswear takes the number six spot – featuring tattooed “zombie” Rick Genest, with a soundtrack by Lady Gaga.

And rounding off the top 10 is Vanessa Bruno’s Miracle; Spying on Kate Moss, a film from on the set of the autumn/winter 2010/11 Balmain campaign featured on NOWNESS; Miu Miu’s The Powder Room; and Net-a-Porter’s Bag Guide.

Check them all out alongside the BoF’s full write up, here.

1. Prada S/S 201

Some thoughts on Web 3.0

I recently attended the IAB’s Annual Leadership Meeting in La Quinta, California, where the key focus of conversation was on the increasingly personal web – also referred to as “Web 3.0” or “Ecosystem 3.0”.

It’s a controversial subject given the privacy concerns that come attached, but the industry is trying to convert such connotations of data to reflect instead feelings of opportunity and ultimately value for both the consumer and the brand involved.

Here are some choice thoughts from the event:

• Web 3.0 is being facilitated by consumers becoming increasingly used to sharing their information, according to Doc Searls, senior editor of Linux Journal, a fellow with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto.

• Handling privacy worries comes down to showing consumers they can be in charge of their own data, he said, introducing his theory of vendor relationship management (VRM).

• It’s about consumers getting to a point where they’re more willing to enter into something because they know and understand what’s happening to their data when they do.

• Omar Tawakol, CEO of online data exchange company Bluekai said we need to simplify things so people can visually understand what happens to their data.

• According to Rik van der Kooi, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) group, it should no longer be about people versus data, but instead people and their data. “If we continue to see data as privacy rather than property, we will continue to postpone the opportunity that presents itself here,” he explained.

• Tawakol said transparency is what will facilitate a move away from the conversation of privacy as one of fear, towards the notion of sharing as beneficial to the user. It’s in having a complete picture of consumers that we will be able to achieve more trust and stronger bonds, resulting in better value for everyone involved, he said.

It was interesting to also read The  Business of Fashion’s post on Web 3.0 this week.

This next phase of the internet, it says, will create an exciting opportunity for fashion retailers.

“In a world where people constantly share personal information, it’s becoming increasingly possible for retailers to analyse this information to better understand the specific context of the individual — her interests, personal style and other parameters — and deliver content and products that are personalised to her needs and desires. Simply put, “Web 3.0” will enable personalised experiences built on the data created by Web 2.0.”

An interview with Silicon Valley strategy consultant, author and entrepreneur Sramana Mitra follows. In it, she says the fashion industry could become more financially successful by utilising personal data: analysing it and designing and merchandising accordingly.

Read the rest, here: The Long View | Sramana Mitra on Web 3.0 and the Science of Personalised Shopping

BoF – AW11, the season that was

Imran Amed of The Business of Fashion always provides a great overview from an industry point of view on the catwalk season that was.

Just a week post Paris, and his autumn/winter 2011/12 round-up is in.

With the Galliano story dominating headlines around the world, both within fashion circles and out, it’s unsuprising Amed’s intro starts with somewhat of a “bitter” note. “Looking back, several of the most salient themes from this round of fashion weeks involve unsavoury behaviour, gossip and highly unprofessional comments from some of the industry’s most important figures,” he says.

He does however go on to highlight  the clothes (focusing on outerwear and prints), the growth of consumer participation and high profile clients in shows, the role of immediacy versus exclusivity (one of my personal favourite debate points at present), and the growing intensity of street style “paparazzi”.

“Think before we tweet”, is a particularly relevant point for this blog. It reads:

It seemed like just another fashion month, and then, with the high-profile meltdown of John Galliano, everything changed in a matter of hours. Soon, the fashion gossip mill was in a frenzy, turbocharged by Twitter which made the whole situation more ugly as the days went by and speculation about Galliano’s successor intensified after he was first suspended, and ultimately dismissed by LVMH.

A tweet by Derek Blasberg from backstage at the Katy Perry concert in Paris, citing an anonymous source which ‘confirmed’ the widespread rumour that Riccardo Tisci would be named Galliano’s successor set off further speculation on websites and blogs, who sometimes took Mr. Blasberg’s comments as though they had come straight from an official Dior press release. I found at least one website that took the Tisci rumour and reported it as fact, without any mention of the source at all.

But Mr. Galliano wasn’t alone. Rumours about the futures of Stefano Pilati, Hannah McGibbon, and Christophe Decarnin dogged designers and lit up the internet throughout Paris Fashion Week, creating a virtual feeding frenzy of immense proportions. We were an industry feeding on ourselves.

So dear fellow members of the fashion Twitterati, let’s think before we tweet. Careers and businesses can be impacted by what may seem like an innocent bit of speculation on Twitter, but can quickly turn into boldfaced headlines on major fashion websites, a hugely destabilising force at the most critical moments during the fashion calendar. We are all still learning how to use this powerful tool responsibly.

Check out the rest of the BoF post, here: Autumn/winter 2011 – the season that was