Digital snippets: Oculus, Luxottica, Wren, Asos, Nike, Birchbox, Tom Ford, Kenzo

The big tech story this week has of course been about Facebook’s purchase of virtual reality headset company Oculus VR. But there were lots of others to know about too. Read on for an edit…

• Google deal with Luxottica will bring Glass to Ray-Ban, Oakley [WSJ]

• How Wren made a viral video of strangers kissing and increased sales by nearly 14,000% [Business Insider]

• Asos and Nike celebrate 27 years of Air Max with first Google+ shoppable hangout [Marketing Magazine]

• Birchbox, seller of beauty products, steps out from web to open New York store [NY Times]

• Tom Ford joins the world of e-commerce with sexy new web store [Fashionista]

• Kenzo’s virtual aquarium highlights the danger of overfishing [PSFK]

• Chanel releases new Coco Mademoiselle Keira Knightley ad – She’s Not There [The Inspiration Room]

• Lancôme ramping up digital initiatives [WWD]

• How Yoox became the Amazon of the fashion world [Telegraph]

• Why in-store tracking might not be as bad as it sounds [CNNMoney]

• The Shazam of fashion is here, introducing ‘ASAP54′ [Styleite]

• Silicon Valley never talks about the real reason you don’t own a smart watch or ‘wearable tech’ [Business Insider]

 

Digital snippets: Wren, Gucci, John Lewis, Lord & Taylor, Kenneth Cole, Sephora

A bit of a catch-up post today in light of several weeks of travel… here then all the latest stories to know about surrounding fashion and tech from the past fortnight or so:

 

• “First Kiss” film (as above) goes viral with 63 million views – is ad for clothing label Wren [NY Times]

• Gucci launches own Spotify music hub to promote short film ‘The Fringe’ [The Drum]

• John Lewis looks to digital innovation as next big thing in retail with ‘JLab incubator’ [The Guardian]

• Lord & Taylor now accepting bitcoin [CNBC]

• Kenneth Cole challenges consumers to do good deeds and prove it via Google Glass [Creativity]

• Sephora launches ‘Beauty Board’ social shopping platform [USA Today]

• Bergdorf Goodman makes Instagram shots shoppable at SXSW with 52Grams [5th/58th]

• Dolce & Gabbana crafts love story around perfume to appeal to consumer emotion [Luxury Daily] 

• adidas launches gaming platform powered by social media starring Lionel Messi [Marketing Magazine]

• Can Instagram save ageing teen retailer Aeropostale? [CNBC]

• Which big brands are courting the maker movement, and why – from Levi’s to Home Depot  [AdWeek]

• How beacon technology could change the way we shop [Fashionista]

• On Instagram, a bazaar where you least expect it [Bits blog]

• What Google’s wearable tech platform could mean for the fashion industry [Fashionista]

• Smartphone payment system to be unveiled in UK [FT]

• Alibaba ramping up efforts to sell US brands in China [WSJ]

• What does WeChat’s new e-credit card mean for luxury? [JingDaily]

• How the top 10 US retailers use Pinterest [Econsultancy]

• The NYC start-ups you need to know [Refinery29]

• Op-Ed | Are camera phones killing fashion? [BoF]

Jingle all the way at Kmart with #showyourjoe Christmas ad

In the running for best Holiday campaign 2013? I’d say so:

Anna Wintour sparks #voguestagram meme

This week saw what must be the most fashion-fuelled meme of all time. Enter #voguestagram, the Instagrammed shots of individuals copying Anna Wintour toting her September-issue (all 902 pages of it), as above.

There’s been some 1,700 posted reportedly, with everyone from Oscar de la Renta to Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein joining in. Check out 15 of the best, below – Nacho Figueras wins it for me.

@oscarprgirl: Oscar’s #voguestagram #theseptemberissue @voguemagazine xoxo 

@calvinklein: Costa’s Cover. #theseptemberissue @voguemagazine #voguestagram #franciscocosta

@choupettesdiary: Who says the #fashion set don’t work out? We lift the @VogueMagazine #SeptemberIssue #Voguestagram

@voguemagazine: Vogue.com caught the #voguestagram bug. #theseptemberissue

@jcrew: Just catching up on some light reading. #voguestagram #TheSeptemberIssue @voguemagazine

@rebeccaminkoff: Essential reading @voguemagazine #theseptemberissue #voguestagram

@nachofigueras: @voguemagazine #theseptemberissue #voguestagram + @ralphlauren Romance @delfinablaquier and me on horses

@cfda: Look who we caught flipping through #theseptemberissue of @voguemagazine… @stevenkolb #voguestagram

@esteelauder: Reading the September issue with Estée. #voguestagram #theseptemberissue @voguemagazine

@cocorocha: I’m in 3 pages out of 902. Spot me if you can. #voguestagram @voguemagazine

@zac_posen: Showroom reading before a fitting. #voguestagram #theseptemberissue @voguemagazine

@houseofherrera: #carolinaherrera #spring2014 fitting distraction #voguestagram #TheSeptemberIssue

@bryanboycom: Just boarded my flight. Bon voyage with #theseptemberissue #voguestagram

@laforcestevens: The things we do for @VogueMagazine! #theseptemberissue #voguestagram

@carosieber: back from honeymoon and reading all about a certain wedding . Thank you @voguemagazine it looks fantastic #voguestagram #TheSeptemberIssue

Burlington wins with adorable #backtoschool ads

US discount retailer Burlington Coat Factory has launched a fantastic campaign for the new back-to-school season, focused on what kids are thinking about as they look in the mirror and get ready for their first day back.

Being aired on TV as well as viewable on YouTube, the Cramer-Krasselt-created series is both terribly cute and laugh-out-loud funny.

The unicorn and the ninja are particularly stand out…

 

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: Dove, Versace Versus, Hussein Chalayan, DKNY Jeans, Google Glass

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

• How those Dove ‘Real Beauty Sketch’ ads went viral [Business Week]

• But… Dove’s got a new viral video, is it enough to sell soap? [AdAge]

• And… the perfect parody of Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches… for men (as above) [AdWeek]

• Versace aims for younger, digital-savvy consumers with Versus rebrand [Luxury Daily]

• Hussein Chalayan debuts line on a holographic catwalk [PSFK]

• DKNY Jeans expands social media presence [Fashionotes]

• Robert Scoble review: I just wore Google’s glasses for two weeks and I’m never taking them off [Business Insider]

• The click clique: the ladies behind Moda Operandi [WSJ]

• Farfetch’s new retail plan could revolutionise e-commerce [Fashionista]

• What the heck is P-commerce? [Mashable]

Kmart #shipmypants ad goes viral

 

If there’s one brand grabbing the viral video headlines at present, it’s Kmart. The US retailer has released an ad that plays on the phrase “Ship my Pants” to tout its new free shipping service for loyalty members when items are out of stock in store.

The 30-second spot, created by agency DraftFCB Chicago, sees a series of characters situated in store stating the fact they can “ship my pants”, “ship my drawers”, “ship my nightie”, and “ship my bed”. Say that a few times over and you get the joke. Accordingly it has nearly 13m views on Youtube in the week since it was released. One in nine viewers are reportedly sharing it. It’s also being pushed with the hashtag #shipmypants.

The ultimate ingredient for viral video success is proven once again to be comedy.

Despite a handful of protests toward it being inappropriate, overall response to the ad has been extremely positive. The Huffington Post called it “puerile and pure gold”, while Mediapost.com’s Barbara Lippert says you should “never underestimate the power of a doody joke“.

It might be true schoolyard humour, but we’re all in on it.

Digital snippets: Peter Som, Bergdorfs, Prada, Jean Paul Gaultier, American Eagle

There’s been a lot happening in the fashion and technology space over the past couple of weeks, ranging from Proenza Schouler’s new site to Net-a-Porter moving into the beauty space. News of Pinterest’s new analytics platform and Facebook’s planned integration of the hashtag have also hit. Here are the rest of the highlights sourced from around the web…

Don’t forget to check out this wrap-up report from SXSW Interactive as it applies to the fashion industry too.

 

• Behind Peter Som’s 3.3 million Pinterest followers [BoF]

• Insider Access: Q&A with Cannon Hodge, Bergdorf Goodman [Fashion’s Collective]

• Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola made a Prada film (as per above trailer) [Fashionista]

• Jean Paul Gaultier launches responsive web design [Web&Luxe]

• American Eagle spoof video pokes fun at skinny jeans trend [NY Daily News]

• Neiman Marcus launches fashion contest on Pinterest [WWD]

• Justin Bieber plays drums in adidas NEO interactive lookbook [MTV Style]

• Aeropostale launching new tech for teens [Business Insider]

• Puma seeks to celebrate individuality with Worn My Way lifestyle campaign [Marketing magazine]

• 3D printing clothes at home could be reality by 2050 [PSFK]

• Google Glass app identifies you by your fashion sense [NewScientist]

• Zalando concept car spots fashions, transforms into changing room [Gizmag]

• China entering e-commerce and mobile “golden age”. So why are fashion brands lagging? [Jing Daily]

• What real-time branding means for luxury brands [Luxury Daily]

Brit models do the Harlem Shake in style backstage at Topshop’s #LFW show

After a bit of light fashion week relief? Then take 30 seconds out to watch models Jourdan Dunn, Cara Delevingne and Rosie Tapner performing their version of viral video sensation the Harlem Shake backstage at Topshop Unique. I defy you not to put it on repeat…