COVID-19 brought a new agenda in order to reinvent the fashion communication practices. Fashion Weeks all over the world had to adapt and get into a new shift of paradigm, where digital is the new black.
Analysing and trying new communication strategies never been so exciting for everybody inside the fashion business. Out of the comfort zone, fashion brands and organisations decided to step up and review their past efforts in order to understand what kind of actions -in this uncertain worldwide context- will work for them in the long run and how to bring innovation for the now.
According to BOF-Mckinsey’s report The State of Fashion 2021 the word ‘digital’ is seen as a silver lining and an opportunity for a third of the survey respondent executives. Not only a buzzword but, a key element for navigating the routes from a wider digital perspective, from operations, production, retail management, communications, PR and customer relationship.
The fashion show has drastically changed in the last few decades. It has evolved from an exclusive in-house presentation of haute couture held for a select clientele, to a biannual (sometimes more if we include Pre-Fall and Cruise), spectacle of both, couture and ready-to-wear platforms, including womenswear and menswear clothing, seen and exposed worldwide as never before.
Runways, presentations, ‘drops’, collaborations, all streamed, photographed and shared in social media, blogs, websites in minutes. Digital is settling the agenda for the quick response of all PR teams and their skills to communicate faster, accurately and in a flexible way to meet their audiences.
Digital Fashion Week, is ‘Phygital’ the Future?
Press, guests, buyers, A-list celebrities and fashion enthusiasts had to stayed home during quarantine last year, unable to attend physically to the shows in fashion capitals. In fashion’s clock, that meant almost a gap of three seasons and a whole different approach decided by each brand in order to maintain relevance.
Fashion organisations around the world from New York, London to Milan and back to Paris had to rearrange their calendars and combine their expertise on delivering a great fashion moment with technology and creative ways to connect virtually with the audience.
The term ‘phygital’ can be defined as the connection of both worlds- the physical and the digital. The principal aim of this concept is to build in the area of marketing and communications ecosystem between brands and clients, respectively a dynamic between the final user and the showcased product. ‘Phygital’ merges the latest knowledge and innovations in communication technologies which are implemented in the physical environment, injecting dynamism in a faster and richer experience, pushing and experimenting visually, sensorially and generating a much deeper impression in the audience.
Think of Louis Vuitton’s digital showcase by French designer Nicolas Ghesquière, a runway hosted on the top floor of Paris’ Le Samaritaine. With physical guests, a video streaming with robotic arms and the magic of a green screen with digital images in the backdrop for online attendees but dialoguing with the mythical department store structure in real life.
Communication and Digital Tools: Top Luxury’s Favorites this Season.
-Fashion Film.
A well-known strategy for luxury heritage brands. Fashion Film has evolved into a vaster communication field combining cinematography aesthetics, brand storytelling, featuring celebrities and the virality for younger consumers. Saint Laurent’s latest hit, Summer of 21 a film featuring Charlotte Rampling directed by Gaspar Noe a complementary second part of its homerun ‘I wish you were here’ the women’s summer collection by Anthony Vaccarello. An ode to escapism and freedom in video with almost 5M visualizations in YouTube. Or Burberry designer Riccardo Tisci’s homage to Singing in the Rain with Pushing Boundaries directed by Megaforce with 3.4M views.
-Digital Festival.
With a pioneer approach to showcase a collection, #GucciFest has created a new concept of on-demand fashion presentations. Streaming online during a whole week, Alessandro Michele and cult director Gus Van Sant presented Overture of Something that Never Ended, an innovative mix of cinema, art and fashion. Featuring key people representing Gucci’s values like singers Billie Eilish or Harry Styles, actress Silvia Calderoni, philosopher Paul B. Preciado, among others.
-Physical PR materials.
‘Show in a box’, the most creative and intimate idea for presenting a fashion collection. Jonathan W. Anderson’s tactile and crafty approach had conquered everyone, both in its eponymous brand and in the luxury brand Loewe. In partnership with acclaimed graphic design duo Mathias Augustyniak and Michael Amzalag of M/M (Paris). Creating something tangible as a fashion show but in tune with how we are able to communicate right now. Inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s ‘Museum in a box’.
-Gamification
Balenciaga’s videogame Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow was designed specifically to present its Fall 2021 collection, with virtual avatars and digital clothing. The plot is armed with timeless archetypes and speculative imagery to connect with Gen-Z. The rise of video-gaming language and the immense resources that we can get in the digital world and 3D video tools are the next frontier.
Do you want to learn more about this topic? Find more in the Marketing and Communications for Fashion & Luxury Brands program.