Why Google’s partnership with DVF and Net-a-Porter really matters for Glass

Lucky editor-in-chief Eva Chen with Diane von Furstenberg wearing the new DVF Made for Glass collection

The big news in the fashion and tech space today, was of course the announcement of Diane von Furstenberg’s new Google Glass frames.

The New York-based designer was the first to take Glass down the fashion week runway in September 2012, now she has unveiled her own designs – prescription lenses available in five different colourways and two sunglass silhouettes in four optional shades.

Better yet, the DVF Made for Glass collection will not only be sold on Google.com/glass but via Net-a-Porter as well. They’ll be available from June 23 and cost $1,700 for the package (Glass, a DVF optical frame, a sunglass style, a mono earbud and a case).

As Natalie Massenet, founder and executive chairman of Net-a-Porter, told WWD: ““When Google Glass walked the runway, I texted the number-two person at Google and said, ‘What’s happening?’ I think it’s fair to say that we were calling their head of marketing consistently to see what can be done.”

As WWD continues, these designs are aiming to appeal to two audiences: women and the fashion set (though Mr Porter will also carry Glass without the DVF branding). Importantly for the wearables market, this is one of the first ever times something has been designed specifically for women.

Fashionista reports: “Over the course of the last few months, Google Glass has been steadily getting more and more fashion-friendly, with the release of four new frames in January and a March announcement that it had partnered with Luxottica to produce Ray-Ban and Oakley-designed frames. Just last month, Google brought on board veteran fashion exec Ivy Ross, who has clocked time at Calvin Klein and Gap, to run the Glass team.”

Arguably focusing on aesthetics – even in a sea of additional complaints about functionality – is a smart move from Google. Doing so with a respected and aspirational brand, as well as such a leading luxury outlet, is better again.

What Glass needs is to reposition itself as an appealing wearable item and not a clunky piece of technology. It needs consumers to believe in it – but not just for the purpose of uptake, rather to help generate greater interest in the technology from a developer perspective. Like your smartphone, a wearable device such as Glass (to a degree) is only as good as the apps you have on it. I have a pair. They’re good, but they don’t do enough yet that I want to wear them constantly.

Proving there’s commercial viability for an item will mean more developers encouraged on board, further apps created, greater functionality enabled, and once again more people like to buy. A virtuous circle. In short, this move from DVF, even if the result isn’t a lasting commercial success, has the potential to be a great catalyst for the future of Glass full stop.

As Robert Scoble, author and start-up liaison for open-cloud computing company Rackspace, said at SXSW this year: “This is one of those products you know is the future, but it’s so unfinished at this point it’s frustrating. It’s three to five years away before it’s really useful.”

Digital snippets: Nike, DVF, Michael Kors, Burt’s Bees, Free People, Chanel, Tory Burch

Here’s a rather hefty highlight of stories from around the web surrounding all things fashion and digital of late:

• Nike’s new FuelBand and the age of social products [BoF]

• Diane von Furstenberg hosts first shoppable Google+ Hangout [Mashable]… and here’s another from Rag & Bone

• Michael Kors runs #WatchHungerStop animated GIF campaign for World Food Day [Fashionista]

• Burt’s Bees taps Vine in literary campaign to  promote its classic products [Brandchannel]

• How Free People is using big data and social commerce for bigger sales [Forbes]

• Chanel touts cosmetics line through insider beauty tip videos [Luxury Daily]

• How Tory Burch builds passionate customers: insights on its digital journey [Shop.org]

• Net-a-Porter joins forces with Glossybox [Telegraph Fashion]

• Ralph Lauren showcases accessories in ‘The Dog Walk’ digital video [WWD]

• Urban Outfitters preps for Holidays with mobile investments [AdAge]

• P’trique of Sh*t Fashion Girls Say joins The Outnet in LinkedIn video campaign [Fashionologie]

• Bobbi Brown uses interactive Blippar app to bring Katie Holmes to life [BeautyWorldNews]

• How Coach uses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ [Econsultancy]

• The major retailers most threatened by mobile showrooming, and how they’re fighting it [Business Insider]

DVF to launch first shoppable Google+ Hangouts

Google’s latest foray into the fashion space comes in the form of live shoppable experiences though the Google+ Hangouts on Air app.

Through a new partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America, designers and retailers will be able to broadcast a multi-person video chat while offering viewers the ability to simultaneously browse and purchase products alongside. That functionality is seen in a right hand bar featuring key products, which it is assumed would line up to the content being discussed.

Designer Diane von Furstenberg (also CFDA president) will launch the feature on October 3 at 8pm EST. Using the tool as a form of personal styling, she will talk about three current trends with five of the brand’s biggest fans – selected especially for the occasion.

Lorraine Twohill, VP of global marketing at Google referred to the initiative as a “one of a kind shopping experience”.

Of course shoppable video at large is something that’s yet to be nailed by the industry, with reasons ranging from the technology that’s enabled it to happen, to the disconnect that is seen through the lean-back nature of video compared to lean-in side of shopping. On that basis however, there’s a lot to be said for engaging the consumer when they’re already thinking about the product (in this instance often the very reason they’re tuning in), and providing the easy ability for them to convert.

The experience marries up to Topshop’s Customise the Catwalk initiative in terms of being able to order straight from the runway through the live video being shown. The difference in this case of course is that the discussion surrounds current season. Rather than encouraging pre-orders, brands and retailers can offer live product; therefore capturing intent and delivering on it immediately.

Other brands set to participate shortly include rag & bone, Rebecca Minkoff, and Rachel Zoe. Google is particularly pushing the app’s relevance for the holiday period – retail’s most lucrative time of year, representing up to 40% of annual sales in 2012. It is calling for retailers to use it to “engage with consumers directly around key items or trends they want to highlight”.

Digital snippets: Instagram video special

The big news over the past week has of course been about Instagram’s introduction of video. Here are the must-read stories on it:

• The news was broken on June 20 by Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom. The addition sees 13 new custom filters, the ability to stop and go as you record for up to 15 seconds, and the option to delete certain segments if you’re not happy with them

• While there’s been some backlash on what it means from a consumption perspective, users reportedly uploaded five million videos in the first 24 hours of the feature’s availability

• Mashable higlighted five excellent examples from brands, including Michael Kors, Burberry (as above), Lululemon, Charity:water and General Electric

• Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Spade, Gap and Man Repeller, are also worth taking a look at

• In spite of that, Vanity Fair says Instagram videos so far are rambling, uncreative, and poorly lit, suggesting that National Geographic—purveyor of all that is good and right in photography and video—has posted the only O.K. Insta-vid in existence so far

• Luxury Daily suggests the launch of Instagram video will be the death of Vine, but goes on to highlight differences between the two that may allow them to co-exist in the fashion space. Vine is more suitable to comedic posts, providing the ability to show off brand personality and lifestyle in a short moment, while Instagram’s filters and cinematic qualities are likely to work better for more artistic endeavours, it outlines.

• This piece from TechCrunch highlights their technical differences succinctly

• Advertising Age meanwhile says brands are likely to see a lot more success on Instagram than Vine because of the sheer scale of followers they already have on the platform. It highlights Nike’s 1.6m fans and Starbucks’ 1.3m – communities that have been cultivated for two years. It also says it remains to be seen whether brands will start simply uploading their 15-second TV spots rather than developing unique creative, as has been the case so far

• Vine in the timebeing went on the offensive, teasing new features including the long-awaited ability to create and save Vine drafts before sharing them

• It’s a piece called Instagram Video and the Death of Fantasy from The New York Times’ Bits blog however that’s getting a lot of attention. In it, author Jenna Wortham says there’s still a difference between the self you’re willing to share publicly and the self you’re willing to share when only a handful of people are watching… and Instagram video doesn’t get that.

Digital snippets: Gap and DVF, JC Penney, Nike, eBay and Kate Spade Saturday, Burberry

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

• GapKids launches photo filters and stickers with Aviary to promote Diane von Furstenberg collection (as pictured) [TechCrunch]

• JC Penney says ‘We’re Sorry’ and ‘Come Back’ with social media blitz [BrandChannel]

• Nike gears customised shoe campaign to Instagram users [ClickZ]

• eBay and Kate Spade Saturday to launch touchscreen store window [PSFK]

• Fashion meets music with Burberry’s new eyewear campaign [Vogue Australia]

• Condé Entertainment previews video channels for Vogue, Wired and Vanity Fair [WWD]

• Is Primark mad to ignore e-commerce? [Econsultancy]

• Making the best of a digital situation: what luxury brands can do to catch up online [Forbes]

• The best fashion/tech start-ups at NY Tech Day [Fashion’s Collective]

• Online, everyone can be a make-up critic [NYTimes]

All the winners from the 2013 Fashion 2.0 Awards

Marc Jacobs took the top innovator award at Style Coalition’s fourth annual Fashion 2.0 Awards in New York last night, an event dedicated to celebrating the best in communications strategies across digital media platforms.

Voted for by the public, the event also saw Jacobs taking the best Facebook title. Saks Fifth Avenue won two awards too: best blog by a fashion brand, and best website.

DKNY was named best Twitter for the fourth year in a row, while the Fashion 2.0 visionary award was presented to Rent the Runway founders Jennifer Hyman and Jenny Fleiss in acknowledgment of their “achievements in disrupting the retail industry and democratizing luxury fashion”.

Here’s the full list:

• Best Twitter: @DKNY
• Best Facebook: Marc Jacobs
• Best Pinterest (new category): Anthropologie
• Best blog by a fashion brand: Saks POV
• Best website: Saks Fifth Avenue
• Best mobile app: Gilt on the Go
• Best online video: DVF Through Glass (as below)
• Best fashion start-up: Of a Kind
• Top innovator: Marc Jacobs
• Fashion 2.0 visionary award: Rent the Runway

Pic courtesy of Patrick McMullan

2012: a designer meets digital year in review

Well what a year it’s been…

From designer musical chairs to the launch of the Nike FuelBand, not to mention Facebook’s overhyped IPO, the increasing use of animated GIFs in online communications, and Burberry as our ever-present tech powerhouse, one thing after another has rapidly impacted the role of innovation in this niche fashion x digital space.

Below, then, are the 10 posts you loved the most on fashion & mash this year. It’s an interesting collection, seemingly tied together by tangible experiences over purely inspirational concepts. We’re talking physical pop-up platforms, real-time shoppable integrations, heavily interactive images and of course, wearable technology hitting the catwalk.

Thank you for reading and look out for a very exciting update from us early on in 2013!

• C&A Brazil puts Facebook likes on store hangers to push Mother’s Day collection

• DVF introduces Google Glass to NYFW catwalk

• Topshop #LFW show to offer customisable, instantly shoppable looks online

• Physical Pinterest board pops up at Westfield UTC mall

• ThingLink’s interactive Twitter images could be a natural fit for fashion brands

• Levi’s launches first brand magazine on Flipboard

• Asos partners with Aurasma on scan to shop app

• Chloé launches digital archive for 60-year celebration

• Harrods launches Pinterest contest for Queen’s Diamond Jubilee windows

• Shoppable films: fad or future?

Diana Vreeland documentary can teach the fashion industry something about marketing too

In the new Diana Vreeland documentary, The Eye Has to Travel, designer Diane von Furstenberg refers to the memos written by the late editor and museum curator, as being like a blog. “[Vreeland] was, in fact, the first blogger,” she jokes.

The wit, precision and bite-sized content of those memos however, makes that idea, albeit in analog form, not too hard to imagine playing out successfully online.

Vreeland wasn’t of course around to witness the explosion of the social web, but had she been a part of it, she most definitely would have done it better than anyone else.

The film itself, is truly incredible. As the write-up reads: “Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel is an intimate portrait and a vibrant celebration of one of the most influential women of the twentieth century, an enduring icon who has had a strong influence on the course of fashion, beauty, publishing and culture.”

It continues: “During her fifty year reign as the “Empress of Fashion”… [she invited] us to join her on a voyage of perpetual reinvention and take part in the adventure of life. Through her trained and diligent eye, she opened the door of our minds and gave us the freedom to imagine. Her images and accomplishments are as fresh and relevant now as they were then, and her spirit is just as vibrant and relevant today.”

Part way through the film, one of the many high profile old colleagues, friends and family members (from Richard Avedon and Lauren Bacall to Hubert de Givenchy) featured, says: “She was about ideas, the magic of fashion.”

And it’s that that resonates.

It reminds us once again why the fashion industry can be so incredibly good at marketing: it’s all about storytelling and imagination. Or as Vreeland so aptly says in the film: “We live through our dreams and our imagination. That’s the only reality we ever really know…”

Most definitely something there to be learnt in how to approach digital strategy.

Go watch the film.

 

DVF’s Google Glass film released

As promised following her show at New York Fashion Week on Sunday, Diane von Furstenberg has released a film recorded using Google Glass, the search engine giant’s new augmented reality eyewear. Check it out:

 

DVF introduces Google Glass to NYFW catwalk

Models took to Diane von Furstenberg’s New York Fashion Week catwalk yesterday wearing augmented reality eyewear supplied by Google.

Google Glass, as the technology is known, lets users interact with the digital world through what looks like a cyborg cross between glasses and headgear, with a small square of glass functioning as a screen over the right eye.

Although still in early stages, it’s designed to offer a variety of smartphone capabilities, including effortless viewing of messages, taking pictures and recording video.

“It’s been under development for over two years now, and the goal is to really connect you to digital life without really taking you away from real life,” Google co-founder, Sergey Brin, told WWD. In a statement from Google he added that beauty, style and comfort are as important to Glass as the latest technology.

But it’s the idea of sharing that DVF particularly wanted to tap into. “Are you ready to see the DVF runway show from an entirely new perspective?” she teased over social media along with the #dvfthroughglass hashtag ahead of its start.

What that referred to was not only the fact the Google Glass eyewear would be taking to the catwalks, but also that she and team had been using it to record footage from their own viewpoints throughout. The result will be documented in a short film called “DVF through Glass” due for release this Thursday on the designer’s  Google+ page and Google’s YouTube channel.

“For the past week, we’ve been using Glass to capture the DVF creative process from entirely new perspectives. Soon you’ll get a glimpse into what it’s like to design, prepare and experience the DVF show at New York Fashion Week through Diane’s eyes and a few other views,” reads the statement.

A series of images were also posted during the show of the device in action (shown below), including it being worn by Brin with DVF herself (as above).

Although introduced as Project Glass in April, this is the first time it has been experimented with in a commercial capacity, especially within the fashion industry. Reports suggest a launch could be expected as early as 2013, with a retail price in the region of $1,500. DVF’s versions were colour-coordinated with her new spring/summer 2013 collection.

[Images via DVF, Mashable, WGSN and WWD]