Fendi drones: tech for tech’s sake or smart #MFW move?

The big story coming out of Milan Fashion Week today was of course about the Fendi drones.

Referred to as a sign of the luxury house’s commitment to “innovation and creativity”, the initiative saw four drones installed with cameras recording its autumn/winter 2014/15 show. As they flew above the runway, that footage was beamed back to those watching online at home.

“The main reason for doing this is to be able to offer impressive images and an experience that even surpasses being at the actual show,” Pietro Beccari, president and chief executive officer of Fendi, told WWD ahead of the event.

So a couple of key thoughts…

First off, Beccari also said the drones – which were powered by Parrot and in collaboration with the creative department of Google – wouldn’t be at all disruptive. “They are small, and we will increasingly get used to such technology,” he said. That might well be the case, but we’re not used to them yet, which meant most people actually in attendance in Milan focused predominantly on the bots over the collection.

Note several of the below Instagram posts, and this tweet from the FT’s Vanessa Friedman:

The audience @Fendi is entirely distracted by the drones. Everyone taking pictures of the sky, not the clothes. #mfw #FTLuxury

— Vanessa Friedman (@VVFriedman) February 20, 2014

As far as publicity goes, that’s not a bad thing of course (more on that in a minute) – fashion shows as entertainment are by no means a new concept, after all.

What should have been spot on though, was the experience for those at home. Beccari said it would be completely “immersive and unprecedented”, thus far better than watching in person from the front row – so what was expected was a high-definition, up-close view.

A dashboard on the Fendi website hosted both a classic stream of the show and the “Drone Cam” to choose from. Like Topshop has done in the past, viewers could take snapshots of whichever they were watching and then share those collection images with their Facebook and Google+ friends and followers.

Unfortunately, the quality of the drone recording was, for all intents and purposes, awful. Up-close and personal? It was not. The shapes of the pieces the models were wearing could barely be made out, let alone the finer details of the line. The snapshot tool did work, as you can see in the screengrab below (which also documents the blurry runway), but the share function didn’t; merely clicking through to Facebook, before just getting stuck.

That was both the case with the live-stream version and the on-demand recording that has been on the Fendi site since. In fact, the recording that is up there now is actually a slightly better version in terms of the drone camera used – a switch was clearly made post live event.

But back to the question in the title of this post, were the Fendi drones merely tech for tech’s sake or a smart Milan Fashion Week move? The answer, I’d argue, is both.

It goes without saying this was absolutely tech for tech’s sake. And by that I mean technology that is essentially pointless (the traditional live stream providing a far more detailed and therefore beautiful view), but is employed on the grounds of the fact it makes for a great, albeit gimmicky, story. This is how most big-budget retail technology launches currently operate.

And a great story it was. Given drones were already buzzworthy thanks to Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ December 2012 announcement, this was a topic top of mind and tip of tongue for many people, not to mention key members of the press. Fendi captialised on that (smoothly avoiding anything along the lines of privacy or security concerns), and won key coverage in everything from The Guardian to Bloomberg as a result, with New York Magazine’s The Cut, The Times and Fashionista inbetween. The only angle otherwise hyped was the Karl Lagerfeld doll that model Cara Delevingne carried to both open and close the show – and even that also had a Big Brother camera in it.

Let’s not forget this is a big coup for Milan Fashion Week – hardly the epicentre of fashion and tech stories any prior season. Fendi, under the creative direction of Lagerfeld, is also not the first brand you’d think of to lead in this space. Burberry maybe. Diane von Furstenberg perhaps. Even Dolce & Gabbana at a push, but not likely Fendi.

Beccari referred to the company’s investment in the development of its digital content as a bid to speak to a younger customer base. One thing’s for sure, there’s a whole raft of tech (and journo) types who have at least now heard of that brand called Fendi. And on that basis, yep, it was a pretty clever move too.

Remember that time when…

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Twitter Mirror arrives at fashion week with Matthew Williamson

Matthew Williamson is introducing the Twitter Mirror backstage at its London Fashion Week show this season.

Already becoming a regular feature of events such as The Grammys, The Oscars and even NBA games, this is a tablet usually positioned off-stage that enables celebs to snap selfies and autopost them to the event in question’s Twitter feed.

This will be the first time it is used at a fashion week. Williamson will have it set up for models to interact with in the build up to Sunday’s show. Each shot will be placed in a bespoke frame by the designer that reflects the new autumn/winter 2014/15 collection and its inspiration.

According to the brand’s head of digital, Rosanna Falconer, the aim was to give fans of the brand access behind-the-scenes in much more of a natural way than ever before. In previous seasons, Williamson shows have seen Vine used to reveal the details of the collection in real-time. Without intending to be, the best ones have always been when the models wearing the looks have been a little cheeky.

“This time we wanted to strip away the camera and the photographer, so it was just the models left, and see what we ended up with,” said Falconer.

Vine will be used during the show itself, with three posts revealing key pieces in full narrative – from sketch, to beading and final look. The brand will also continue its #ohmw campaign, handing out props branded with the hashtag to encourage attendees to similarly tweet and Instagram photos of themselves.

2013: a designer meets digital year in review

What a busy year it’s been…

From 3D printing taking its first trip down the New York Fashion Week catwalk, to the launch of Vine and Instagram videos, not to mention the continuing debate about the role of bloggers as influencers, the increased focus on the potential market size of wearables, and Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year as ‘selfie’, one thing after another has rapidly impacted the role of innovation in this niche fashion x digital space.

Below then, are 10 of the posts you loved the most on F&M this year. It’s an interesting collection, nodding to familiar ideas like storytelling and crowdsourcing, as well as higher quality content, and a general reassessment of what it is that actually works in this space. Video content does of course also have its place, as does the continuing power of celebrity.

Thank you for reading and see you in 2014!

• Why and how fashion brands should be on Vine: Meagan Cignoli creative interview

• Press may have pushed “tech” angle of new H&M store, but less than a week since launch, nothing seems to be working

• Literal window shopping with Kate Spade Saturday’s digital, touchscreen storefronts

• Latest Topshop innovation will see #LFW content shared via sound

• Robert Pattinson’s Dior Homme film storms in 24-hours, #diorrob hashtag takes off

• Net-a-Porter calls for shopper content with #TheNETSet social campaign

• Burberry and Google bring emotion to digital with virtual kissing campaign

• Dolce & Gabbana: #MFW’s social media winner

• All the interactive elements accompanying John Lewis’ #bearandhare Christmas ad

• Live streaming fashion week: is it worth the cost?

• And a bonus post as a thought-starter for the New Year: An inspirational note, fashion needs to take risk

Digital snippets: Selfridges, Prada, Victoria’s Secret, Gap, Asos, Lancôme, Valentino

A highlight of the top stories surrounding all things fashion and digital of late: 

• Drive-through Dior? Coming right up at Selfridges London [CN Traveler] 

• Wes Anderson debuts latest Prada feature [Fashionotes] 

• Victoria’s Secret creates 3D-printed angel wings for fashion models [Huffington Post] 

• Gap rolls out “reserve in store” service [CNBC] 

• Asos plans China launch with ‘culturally relevant’ marketing [Marketing Magazine] 

• Behind the Lancôme digital experience [L2 The Daily] 

• Valentino jumps in on China’s high-tech runway revolution [JingDaily] 

• Under Armour looks to take a bite out of FuelBand success with MapMyFitness acquisition [BrandChannel] 

• Nasty Gal is opening a brick and mortar store [Hollywood Reporter] 

• Pinterest opens API to retail partners [TechCrunch] 

• Google’s Eric Schmidt invests in retail tech designed to help personalisation and data measurement [WWD] 

• Here’s why ‘The Internet of Things’ will be huge, and drive tremendous value for people and businesses [Business Insider] 

• Why companies desperately need to make wearables cool [Wired] 

• How brands get shoppers to volunteer their personal data: transparency and better experiences [PSFK] 

• Social media drives less than 1% of shopping sessions, study says [Fashionista] 

• Fashion retailers are still failing to optimise email marketing for mobile [Econsultancy] 

• What retailers can learn from mobile commerce in the UK [Shop.org] 

• 15 stats that show why click-and-collect is so important for retailers [Econsultancy] 

Note: Look out for a separate holiday-specific digital round-up later this week, featuring all the top retail campaign stories as well as insights into the biggest innovations being pushed for the festive season. 

Press may have pushed “tech” angle of new H&M store, but less than a week since launch, nothing seems to be working

H&M’s deserted digital catwalk in its new Times Square store

I’ve been looking forward to visiting the new H&M store in Times Square since it opened last Thursday off the back of the tech innovation it’s supposed to house. As per the headlines that ran:

• H&M opening high-tech flagship in Times Square [WWD]
• Don’t let Lady Gaga and the spinning mannequins distract you from tech-tastic H&M store [Upstart Business Journal]
• H&M embraces tech, Gaga in Times Square launch [Bloomberg TV]

I finally got there last night, but unfortunately was sorely disappointed.

Don’t get me wrong, from the moment you walk in the space feels fantastic; it’s high energy and it looks beautiful. Three floors and 42,000 square feet of great design, only enhanced by the huge volume of fluorescent signage throughout. But the technology story that’s dominated the press, well… none of it was working.

In the first instance, there are mannequins with screens in front of their faces supposed to play videos, display photos and showcase special deals. Screens that on a busy Tuesday night the week before Thanksgiving in the US, were switched off (as pictured below). All of them.

Then there’s the fitting room checkouts. Not a high tech initiative, but certainly a forward thinking one to help bust queues in a store that’s on one of the most trafficked corners of New York City – 42nd Street and Broadway. Again, closed. And the store was busy.

The blank digital screens in H&M’s new Times Square store

It was the mezzanine level with its dedicated DJ booth supposed to “spin music continuously”, and digitally-enabled runway, that I was most looking forward to. There, shoppers should be able to pose for a series of photos in pieces from the H&M line, and then see themselves displayed on one of the other LED screens around the store (there are 7,000 square feet of LED screens in total, including two 30-by-20-foot ones on the outside of the building).

As per WWD: “Shoppers choose an outfit in the nearby dressing rooms, enter their e-mail address into a computer and await the signal: ‘Walk’ on a red flashing sign. Each ‘model’ is told what time his/her image will be on view on the screens inside and out. Images sent to shoppers’ e-mail accounts can be used on social media.”

When I arrived on that level at about 5.30pm last night, there was no one to be found, not even the DJ (as the top picture shows). A lone sales associate clearing up behind the desk said she hadn’t seen anyone on the catwalk all day so she presumed they weren’t using it. I asked another on the ground floor who said she wasn’t sure but assumed they just had it turned off for the day, and another who said it was broken so she thought they weren’t able to use it. None of them were 100% confident about what was going on.

The computer next to the runway also displayed an error message regarding potential damage to its battery life if left plugged in (as pictured below). I was in the store for about an hour and nothing changed, though I didn’t overly expect it to as the story was the same on Monday night when a colleague of mine also visited.

The disappointment of all this for me is nothing to do with the fact a few glitches mean things aren’t working right now, but more that it’s such a sign of what retailers are achieving at present across the board – aiming too high and delivering too low. No wonder there’s constant push back from senior management about ROI.

There’s a huge amount happening with in-store technology, and a lot of it really exciting stuff that garners an enormous amount of press coverage, but does it really mean anything at all if it doesn’t work merely a few days after the big launch party when most of the journalists have walked away? A classic tale of smoke and mirrors.

I’ve had other experiences recently where I know something is working in a department store but it’s supposed to be a guided experience and without a sales associate on hand to demonstrate it to me I can’t participate in it. That’s essentially the same issue; an attempt at tech integration failed at the first hurdle, that being enabling the consumer to even use it.

There are a lot of arguments about the pros and cons of retail technology these days – from making it feel seamless to the shopper rather than gimmicky and unrelated to the persona of the brand, to ensuring staff are rightly trained to use and demo it – but I would argue the most important thing of all, and I think you’ll agree, is that there needs to be a commitment toward it working for longer than just on opening night.

The empty mezzanine level of H&M’s new Times Square store

H&M’s empty DJ booth in its new Times Square store

An error message on the digital runway screens of H&M’s new Times Square store

An error message on the digital runway screens of H&M’s new Times Square store

A blank digital screen in H&M’s new Times Square store

H&M’s new Times Square store

SHOWstudio captured and remixed the sound of four SS14 collections being made

I’m somewhat obsessed with the idea of the fashion industry working out how to nail audio branding. I’m not talking about just straight up music partnerships or even the sounds associated with a brand when being in-store, but the noises that personify the clothing or accessories in particular and whether they have the potential to subsequently be owned by an individual label. Food for thought…

It’s for that reason though that I love this initiative from SHOWstudio called The Sound of Clothes: Studio Sessions. The creative editorial site founded by Nick Knight, captured the sounds of Mary Katrantzou, Sibling, Piers Atkinson and Matthew Williamson’s collections being made ahead of their spring/summer 2014 shows this past September.

From the noise of the knitting machines and crochet needles being used, to beads and gems rustling, jersey being ripped, the pattern cutters in action, zips fastening and even models’ heels clicking during fittings, everything was collected, edited and then remixed into four musical tracks (as below) said to give “a unique audio take on the collections and capture the diversity of London Fashion Week”.

Sound artist Stu Sibley worked on the initiative, stretching and manipulating certain sounds so they seem like beats or instruments, while leaving others exactly as they were recorded. Each track is accompanied by abstract 3D visuals based on the runway collections themselves. Concept and direction was by Lou Stoppard and Neal Bryant. 

There’s also a wonderful essay by Maria Echeverri alongside the project that charts the history of sound through dress: “The various instances of sound in dress ranging from the Renaissance to present day hint at the untapped potential of resonant dress, for ultimately, the act of making and hearing noise is implicit in the experience and interpretation of clothing. And by understanding the enlivened dexterity of sound through its past, we can begin to imagine, and hear, its future.”

Chloé provides access and interaction in #PFW show experience

Chloé launched a dedicated microsite for its Paris Fashion Week show yesterday, providing followers with multiple camera views as well as personal moodboards.

It might not a big, digital innovation, but there’s a lot to be said for the fact the experience was one of the most seamless I’ve seen this season.

Importantly, the initiative ticked the boxes for pre- and post-content.

It kickstarted on September 24 with a series of teasers that could be shared across social media sites. They ranged from detailed images and animated GIFs to short videos and quotes from creative director Clare Waight Keller. A heavy focus was seen on the Baylee bag, telling its story from inspiration to runway.

Yesterday, viewers could then follow three different live cameras in the build-up to, and during, the show. They included guest arrivals outside the Lycée Carnot venue, backstage with the models, and on the runway itself. This all worked via mobile too.

As the event unfolded, so too did different albums under a moodboard header, including one for the collection looks, one for accessories, another for the guests, and one from backstage. Users could click on individual images and share them via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest or Weibo, or heart them to add them to their own personal moodboard page.

“[We] are excited to see how you direct your own Chloé show,” read the invite.

All in, the initiative was a progressive one for such a traditional Parisian brand. Let’s not forget, as suggested by Fashionista last week, this is access to what remains a rarefied world.

Some assets from Chloé are posted below, (top image via Elle UK).

Thank you for watching the SS14 @chloefashion runway, pick and share your favourite looks at http://t.co/kjbm1sklMg #chloeLIVE #pfw

— Chloé (@chloefashion) September 29, 2013

Digital Marc Jacobs ads invite users to reserve SS14 collection

While the majority of designers are pushing their current season collections through online banner ads at present – Diane von Furstenberg, Etro, Valentino, Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton included – Marc Jacobs is focusing on spring/summer 2014.

The US brand is taking advantage of the fact content on sites like the New York Times’ style pages this month is based on fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Rather than pushing for direct conversions therefore, its campaign showcases a shot from its recent show (and next season’s line); beneath it inviting consumers to reserve the look.

Its a clever move to encourage clicks, and ultimately capture consumer data, including email addresses.

The banner leads through to a lookbook on the MarcJacobs.com site featuring the entire show in still shots and in video form. Each of the looks can be shared over social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, The Fancy, Svpply and Google+), as well as reserved – opting to do so calls for users to fill out a form that will notify them when the item they’re interested in is available to buy.

Screenshots below show the path of the initiative:

DSquared2 wins with turnaround of #TikiGirl show video

 

I recently wrote a piece for Mashable about the value that exists for brands in live-streaming their fashion week shows.

One of the key learnings was that the content surrounding such an initiative needs to be given just as much attention as the collection it is showcasing. Said Dan Clifford, a former VP of marketing at Victoria’s Secret. “We need to be as careful with the content as we are with the product. That’s what reaching the individual that doesn’t have the luxury of being there is about,” he said. “Too many brands isolate the runway as a moment in time and don’t consider the pre and post opportunities that they could be harnessing and leveraging across the whole season.”

It’s for that reason I wanted to highlight the video DSquared2 released less than 24-hours after its runway show in Milan this week. Rather than just your typical 10-minute look at a catwalk show, it opens with two-minutes of content dedicated to setting up its 1950s #TikiGirl theme. Models dance for the camera shaking maracas, quick peeks are provided backstage as well as close-ups on the collection and its accessories, and a killer soundtrack plays over the top. Even designers Dean and Dan Caten both feature before the show itself begins.

Check it out above.

Anya Hindmarch unveils astrological #whatplanet campaign at #LFW

Anya Hindmarch launched a cute digital campaign alongside its London Fashion Week show today tied to the collection’s planetary theme.

“What Planet Are You On?” allows fans to create personalised charts based on their date of birth. The resulting content (as per the below sample), features astrological facts and quips ranging from your ruling planet to your age in dog years or the amount of energy the candles on your next birthday cake would produce. It also says how many seconds you’ve lived for, which celebrities you share your birthday with and what date you were conceived.

“Boldly go on an astro-biological journey to discover your universal truths, astro-facts and space oddities,” reads the write-up.

Guests at the show were each presented with their own chart, while online followers are invited to visit whatplanetareyouon.com to create one too. The content is being shared over social using the #whatplanet hashtag.

The initiative follows on from last season’s Anyagrams campaign, which invited fans to generate anagrams from their own names.