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]

Digital snippets: Hermès, New Look, Holt Renfrew, Victoria’s Secret, Nina Garcia

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

• Hermès brings 8 Ties digital installation to Selfridges (as pictured) [GQ.co.uk]

• New Look opens Blippar-enabled Marble Arch store [CreativeBoom]

• Holt Renfrew’s youth click: navigating social media like a teenager [WWD]

• Old-fashioned sex appeal works for Victoria’s Secret [Bloomberg Businessweek]

• The top 5 Chinese social networks [Fashion's Collective]

• Nina Garcia’s media consumption habits [AdWeek]

• Chris Anderson says the ‘Maker’ movement is the next industrial revolution [BoF]

• Online spending and in-store “showrooming” are on the rise [MediaPost]

• Retailers expect 6% of holiday sales to come from mobile [eMarketer]

#SXSW Interactive: a new must on the fashion calendar

I have just returned from the most incredible week at SXSW Interactive, where speakers varied from Al Gore and Sean Parker, to Ray Kurweil, Biz Stone and Dennis Crowley.

I’m in the midst of finishing off a piece on the key thoughts and ideas from the week – to be published elsewhere [UPDATE: if you're interested please email me for a copy].

In the meantime, I wanted to write one very short and simple blogpost that says, if you’re a fashion brand aiming to achieve anything along the lines of digital success, you need to go next year.

SXSW is the place to hear industry leaders (aforementioned and more) give expert insights; it’s the place to learn about new innovations and source fresh inspirations; and it’s the place where trends and directions for the tech world break.

But more importantly, it’s the hottest place to network with anyone and everyone also working in this space. Serendipity as Mashable calls it here. From meeting new start-ups and coordinating with established platforms, to swapping ideas with those from your own industry, it’s the perfect playing ground for getting your head both in the game and ahead of the curve.

And if that isn’t convincing enough, it speaks volumes to see which brands are already doing it. There this year were teams from Burberry, Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, DKNY, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorfs, Net-a-Porter and Moda Operandi… not to mention fashion-specific platforms including Lyst and publications from The Business of Fashion and WGSN, to Fashion’s Collective.

It was undoubtedly one of the most valuable experiences of my career to date.

I hope to see you there in 2013!

Infographic: L2 Digital IQ Index, specialty retail

I love this summary on how to navigate the future of specialty retail online:

Part of the second annual L2 Digital IQ Index: Specialty Retail report from digital think tank L2 in partnership with Buddy Media, it shows the past, present and future of everything from distribution channels to mobile strategy and visual merchandising.

So how far off from “tomorrow” are we – a vision made up of mobile wallets, geolocal content, video chat customer service and shoppable product videos?

None of those suggestions are of course that new, but by the looks of the results from the L2 study, they remain somewhat elusive to everyday practice in US retail.

Just three retailers secured “genius” status in terms of digital competency in the 2011 report – Macy’s, Victoria’s Secret and Nordstrom – compared with seven last year.

This is said to be due to mobile and social platforms taking on new levels of importance in 2011, which resulted in the likes of A|X Armani Exchange (down 32%) and Coach (down 33%) only achieving “gifted” scores.

In fact, of the 64 retailers assessed, the majority (70%) sit in “gifted” or “average”. This figure is however up from 49% from the inaugural study in 2010, proving the industry’s adoption of digital platforms is accelerating.

The retailers were evaluated across four dimensions: their website (including integration of original blog content, ease of content sharing, and interactivity); digital marketing (covering search engine optimisation, email marketing, and user generated sentiment); social media (Facebook, Twitter and YouTube); and mobile offering (defined by breadth of platform development and app features). Retailers had to score 140 across the categories to score genius.

Joining A|X Armani Exchange and Coach in the gifted category (a score of between 110 and 139) are the likes of Bloomingdales, Urban Outfitters, Net-a-Porter, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Ralph Lauren.

Average brands (a score of between 90 and 109) include Barneys New York, Ann Taylor, J. Crew and Lord & Taylor, while those challenged (a score of between 70 and 89) include French Connection and Lucky Brand. The only two with feeble rankings (below 70) are Club Monaco and Tourneau because they are yet to offer e-commerce.

“Historically, specialty retailers have differentiated themselves from low-cost peers by establishing an aspirational environment, edited selection, and top-shelf service, all mixed with traditional media spend. The offline strategy is still the right one, but the tactics and weapons have changed,” said L2 founder Scott Galloway.

“Brands that are thriving are engaging in conversations directly with their customers on social media platforms, creating new and interesting ways to purchase online, and building innovative mobile apps to augment the shopping experience.”

Check out the full report, here.