How to follow #NYFW online

In case you didn’t already see it, and now that New York Fashion Week is a go, be sure to check out this piece from Mashable on keeping abreast of it all from home: How to follow New York Fashion Week online

KCD’s Digital Fashion Shows open to the public

The Digital Fashion Shows initiative launched by PR agency KCD in 2012 as an invite-only online catwalk series for press and buyers, will be open to the public for the first time this season.

Kickstarting for autumn/winter 2013/14 during New York Fashion Week, the virtual runway shows aim to provide fans with the same “front row experience” as industry insiders. A slicker version than live-streamed affairs, however, they incorporate a pre-recorded catwalk presentation, high res images ready for download, detailed notes about the collection, and even beauty shots.

“The log-in response from non-invitees was tremendous and as it continued to grow with each digital show it became necessary to respond to our client’s request to open the platform’s doors wider for greater exposure,” said Rachna Shah, KCD’s digital managing director.

Accordingly, the now open nature of the platform will also enable users to share each show via email and social media for the first time this season, as well as invite friends to watch.

Designers Peter Som and Pierre Balmain have already announced participation, hosting their runways on the site on Wednesday, February 13 at 9am EST, and Friday, February 8 at 9am EST, respectively.

Som said: “The eye goes through an added process designing for the digital runway. You see the looks more dimensionally and more cinematically which is an inspiring new challenge.” He explained that the format will provide “an opportunity to try out a new platform that can reach a lot of people. The show will tap right into the digital and online presence of my brand and it will allow me to try something new creatively.” It is being shot at Made at Milk in New York and wil feature eight models.

Pierre Balmain meanwhile is using DFS for the second season, previously with a show recorded in Beijing, this time in Paris. Menswear brand Alexander Plokhov will also show on the site on Saturday, February 9 at 10am EST. Further announcements will follow for Paris.

Digital snippets: Chanel, Hugo Boss, Warby Parker, My Flash Trash, CES

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

 

• Gamines and a godson star in Karl Lagerfeld’s new Chanel film [Telegraph Fashion]

• Hugo Boss bolsters runway live-streaming via mobile, Spotify [Luxury Daily]

• Warby Parker’s latest annual-report infographic is a sight for sore eyes [AdWeek]

• My Flash Trash wins second round of investment [Professional Jeweller]

• 12 fashion forward tech accessories from CES [Mashable]

• What can we learn from the top five retail brands on Twitter? [Econsultancy]

• Hearst to host technology event during NYFW [WWD]

• UK retailer woes laid bare as web prompts fashion foray [Bloomberg BusinessWeek]

• Fashion, innovation and lessons from Silicon Valley [Brand+Commercial]

And as bonus, here’s an incredible deck on social, digital and mobile stats from China. It’s bulky, but well worth the read: [We Are Social]

British Fashion Council announces series of digital initiatives for #LondonCollections: Men

The autumn/winter 2013/14 catwalk season kickstarts on Monday with London Collections: Men, the second season of a dedicated menswear event in the British capital. We’ve already heard about Topman’s planned interactive 360° live-stream experience, now, and as expected, comes news of a flurry of digital activity from the British Fashion Council once again…

The aim, it says, is to “unite fashion and digital innovation, encouraging engagement with the menswear showcase through social media, live streaming and digital presentations”.

One particularly participatory initiative is its crowdsourcing of street style content again using the #ManAboutTown hashtag. Fans on Twitter and Pinterest can contribute to an ongoing online archive of menswear looks housed on a dedicated pinboard as well as in a Facebook album. The result is designed to present the best of British Men’s Style.

Also on the BFC Pinterest page will be diary-like contributions from menswear designer Lou Dalton and journalist Charlie Porter. Dalton is showcasing inspirations and preparations ahead of her show already, followed by backstage shots and catwalk looks as they hit the runway on Monday. Porter meanwhile, will be creating an online moodboard of his favourite collection looks, street style shots and inspiring moments.

For those in attendance at The Hospital Club in London, the home of LC:M, there are also digital windows to experience. Referred to as a life-sized catwalk installation, they will feature daily video highlights from all the shows when users scan the display with their mobile phones thanks to another partnership with augmented reality app, Aurasma.

In addition to all that, the BFC will also be showcasing behind-the-scenes images over Instagram, live-streaming all the shows from The Hospital Club via www.londoncollections.co.uk/live. and screening a variety of digital presentations and fashion films. Finally, it will also be continuing its Twitter conversations throughout the event – live Q&As will be held on the @BFC account with Tinie Tempah, Toby Wiseman, editor of Men’s Health, and model Oliver Cheshire, using the #AskLCM hashtag.

Topman live-stream to offer fans 360° augmented experience

Topman Design spring/summer 2013

Topman is set to launch an interactive 360° live-stream experience for its London Collections: Men autumn/winter 2012/13 show on January 7.

The UK menswear brand will enable fans to scroll left or right, up and down to view the catwalk from any angle in a bid to make it feel ever more like they’re actually present. They can also interact with select industry insiders and celebrities in the front row, whose tweets will appear above their real location in an augmented addition to the live-stream.

As with the company’s Topshop Unique show in September, fans will also be able to “shoot the show” to instantly share images with their friends across social channels. The hashtag being pushed is #Topman360.

“Having streamed the Topman Design show for several seasons now and commenting separately via our social channels we really wanted to try and achieve a multi-faceted live stream experience which amalgamated all in one and make the experience as personal and unique for each viewer,” said Jason Griffiths, marketing director at Topman.

The initiative launches with a Facebook App from today that invites consumers to win a pair of front row tickets to the show as well as other prizes. It will also showcase the live-stream on January 7 alongside Topman.com and the brand’s digital magazine, Topman Generation.

Topshop show generates over 200m exposures

The Topshop Unique show held during London Fashion Week yesterday promised to offer consumers a social, customisable and shoppable experience through its live-stream on Topshop.com.

The result? A reported 2m people tuning in from over 100 countries across multiple platforms and devices.

Here’s a summary of some of the rest of the facts and stats from the event:

• A total of 200m people were said to be exposed to images and content from the show, in the main because of its “shoot the Show” tie-up with Facebook, which allowed consumers to share images straight from their video stream

• #TOPSHOP and #UNIQUE both trended globally on Twitter thanks to live-streaming through the platform for the first ever time, and a “tweet-off” invented by Topshop asking for followers to send in 140-character reviews

• Topshop also partnered with Elle magazine for a Tweetwalk that saw images shared live from backstage over Twitter on both accounts moments before they hit the runway

• The result saw Topshop.com clicked on by over 120 countries

• More traffic was generated to the site from the USA on one day than in its entire history. This was highlighted as particularly exciting in a week were the brand has opened 15 new stores in the country through a partnership with department store Nordstorm

• The “Customise the Catwalk” shoppable element of the initiative resulted in pieces selling out from the new collection within an hour

• Make-up products were also purchased during every minute of the show

London menswear shows to benefit from multiple digital initiatives

London’s first dedicated menswear fashion week is focusing on engaging with consumers via digital, thanks to multiple innovations backed by the British Fashion Council.

London Collections: Men, which kickstarts Friday and runs through Sunday, will incorporate everything from live-streaming to pinning, as well as a film programme and augmented reality-enabled windows.

Here are some of the highlights:

Pinterest
Leading industry figures such as Jeremy Langmead, editor-in-chief of e-commerce site, Mr Porter, will share their moments from the week’s events by pinning onto the British Fashion Council’s newly launched Pinterest page. The public is also invited to participate by using the hashtag #ManAboutTown. The request is for menswear street style photos, whether taken at the event or anywhere else around the world. The resulting images will be collated on a dedicated pinboard and in a Facebook album in a bid to “provide a crowd-sourced visual collection of the best of British men’s style”.

Twitter
On Twitter, @BFC is not only pushing conversation around the #londoncollections hashtag, but hosting a series of Q&A sessions with members of its Fashion 2012 Menswear Committee, including Alex Bilmes, editor of UK Esquire magazine, and designer Richard James. The live interviews can be followed via #AskLCM.

Interactive image gallery
In celebration of The Prince of Wales officially launching the event at St James’s Palace tomorrow, the BFC has published an online image gallery dedicated to his style. Within it, users can explore outfits ranging from highland tartans to Savile Row suits, discovering the origin of each and learning more about the brand that made it. His preferred London labels are also plotted on a map alongside a picture of the related garments.

Aurasma
Following in the footsteps of Net-a-Porter’s Fashion’s Night Out and Karl initiatives, Mr Porter has teamed up with augmented reality technology company Aurasma, to bring the windows of The Hospital Club (the main hub for the event) to life. By scanning the life-sized catwalk illustrations with the Mr Porter Style Help app, users will be able to see the latest show footage.

Film and live-streaming
There is also a screening room within The Hospital Club that will run the BFC’s Fashion/On Film programme, sponsored by high street retailer River Island. Included will be an evening hosted by Test Presents with DJ and fashion luminary Jeffrey Hinton, who will show excerpts from his 80s film archive; as well as panel member Kathryn Ferguson discussing fashion film with female menswear designers, Carri Munden (Cassette Playa), Katie Eary and Martine Rose. Every show held at The Hospital Club as well as those at the Topman Venue will also be live streamed, both online and on mobile.

Topshop celebrates Diamond Jubilee with Meadham Kirchhoff in-store and online events

Harrods did it, so did Tatler, now Topshop is connecting with consumers via digital (as well as in-store) to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee this weekend.

The high street retailer has partnered with design duo Meadham Kirchhoff to host a “Fashion Spectacular” at its flagship Oxford Circus store on June 1. The party will feature a “special performance” at 5pm GMT that will be live-streamed on Topshop.com for all those outside London wishing to see.

Fans are also in with the chance of winning a Meadham Kirchhoff Jubilee glitter tee and a £500 shopping spree by tweeting a picture of themselves to @Topshop using the #TopshopQueen hashtag.

Other treats in-store include Meadham Kirchhoff for Topshop Jubilee face art; designer sweets handed out by Meadham Kirchhoff usherettes including multi-coloured candy floss and pink glitter popcorn; and Meadham Kirchhoff-designed glittery Jubilee paper crowns for every £60 spent.

Met Gala to live-stream red carpet arrivals

The Metropolitan Museum is planning to live-stream from the red carpet for the first time at this year‘s Costume Institute Gala.

Coverage of celebrity arrivals will take place between 6.30pm and 8.30pm (EST) on Monday May 7, and be aired online via Vogue.com, Amazon.com/fashion and Metmuseum.org/metgala.

The stream will be hosted by Vogue‘s William Norwich and Elettra Wiedemann, who will interview  gala co-chairs including Carey Mulligan, Miuccia Prada and Anna Wintour, as well as a selection of other stars.

Throughout the two hours, there will also be additional pre-taped segments featuring the history of the benefit and insights into this year’s exhibition, Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations.

Norwich and Wiedemann are also inviting consumers to send in their own questions for the A-list guests by using the #MetQuestions hashtag on Twitter. Furthermore, on the day itself, the duo will be giving fans an inside look at the prep for the gala through www.facebook.com/celebs.

Digital snippets: Burberry, Nike, ShoeDazzle, Macy’s, Elle, Trendabl

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

 

• Burberry releases sneak preview of its forthcoming eyewear campaign (as above) [YouTube]

• Nike continues tech offensive, launches e-commerce football app [The Next Web]

• ShoeDazzle scraps monthly subscription model, adds lingerie and dress lines [Fast Company]

• Macy’s looks to capitalise on tech-savvy generation [Brand Channel]

• Elle UK boosts magazine subscriptions following live stream of Kristen Stewart cover shoot on Twitter [Media Week]

• The 10 most mesmerizing fashion gifs [Fashionista]

• My-Wardrobe co-founder launches LoveHats.com, incorporates virtual try-on service [WGSN Tumblr]

• Trendabl launches; a lot like Instagram for fashion [Business Insider]