With the London Fashion Week Men’s shows coming soon – be inspired…

Online shopping was unthinkable just 20 years ago. Even in the 2000s, buying online was not the norm. The majority of consumers preferred going into physical stores to touch, try on and assess a garment before making a purchase. This has drastically changed with the advancements in technology, and the immediacy of consumer expectations.

With the London Fashion Week Men’s shows just around the corner, it is wise to be in the know about some of the valuable things brands have done in the past digitally surrounding the various fashion weeks. Hopefully some of these examples will inspire you to seize the opportunity to promote your brand or service.  With the increased influx of people coming into London, it’s one not to miss!

The Shining Examples

The heritage American fashion house, Ralph Lauren, went big for their fashion week presence in AW15. On top of streaming its New York show live on Periscope, they also upped the ante by having their show stream on one of the big screens in Piccadilly Circus. David Lauren, the VP of advertising and communications at Ralph Lauren, as well as the one of the sons of the namesake, shared his thoughts on this monumental feat – “One of the most compelling and engaging elements of social media is the shared experience, knowing that someone in Japan is seeing the same thing as someone in London or New York at the same time actually makes the world seem a more intimate place”. LG, the Korean electronics megabrand, got clever with getting exposure during fashion week in 2016. They took the chance to recognise that not everything goes swimmingly behind the curtains of the well-heeled. People had the opportunity to tweet @LGUK with the hashtag “#Save Our Style” to call for help if an article of clothing got stained. An LG truck would show up with haste and launder the item of clothing and even provide a replacement while they worked their magic. One very traditional British brand has also adapted with the times. Hunter, producer of the iconic wellington boot, also took advantage of the fruits of a digitised world. Also using Periscope, Hunter invited musical artists to live stream their journey to fashion shows in Hunter branded 4x4’s. During this time, they played music, and this acted as Periscope micro sessions that made the audience feel included in the whole experience. Alasdhair Willis, the creative director of Hunter, also expressed how this campaign perfectly reflected Hunter’s historic relationship with music festivals.

Slowdowns Fixed by Speedups

We all know by now the countless industries that rely on China’s economy. Fashion is most definitely one of them, with the mainland Chinese being one of the top consumers of luxury brands. The Chinese economy, however, has experienced a slowdown in the last couple of years, which echoed into the fashion industry. In 2015, for instance, Louis Vuitton was forced to close three of its stores in the country, while Burberry and Prada both reported that sales dipped during the same year. In parallel to this lull, consumers are getting more and more demanding. They wanted an article of clothing immediately after seeing it come down the runway rather than having to wait a whole six months for it to hit the racks. Burberry ran with this idea and altered the whole tapestry of fashion shows. Christopher Bailey, head of Burberry, pioneered the “see-now, buy-now” concept, which let viewers buy collections straight off the catwalk.  This pumped volume into sales, and soon after, Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Topshop followed a similar concept.

Seep Through

Your company does not necessarily have to be related to fashion to have it gain some momentum during LFWM this year. There are plenty of creative ways you can get involved while supporting this biannual celebration of fashion. Here are some ways companies that didn’t fit into the high fashion category got participating:

• Many high street brands like Topshop, Gap and Mango as well as department stores like Selfridges and John Lewis held in-store events. They consisted of mini workshops or Q&A session with experts in the industry.
• Hospitality establishments also got involved. The Mayfair hotel, for example, launched a pop up – the Shoe bar – in an ode to the week. They served whimsically named drinks like ‘the Stiletto’ and ‘the Peep Toe’. The Mandrake, a fairly new establishment in London’s hotel scene, has hosted a fashion week after party – attracting all the glitz and glam.
• The stores on Carnaby Street also came up with their own activities, Superga brought in an artist to paint the shoes of willing customers. Pankhurst London offered complimentary drinks. Illamasqua provided some eye candy with male models.
• Lavazza, the coffee brand, partnered with Cantonese designer Ryan Lo. His designs were on each Lavazza coffee cup that was serviced during Fashion Week, getting both his and Lavazza’s name out there.

Another Morsel of Sage Wisdom…

Everything is go go go during fashion week. No one is sat at a desk when getting connected – everyone is on the move – from an event to a show to a party. This is just another reason why its critical you have a mobile- optimised website and gear up your social media platform now. Brands are increasingly leaning towards inclusivity and being candid, which seems to be getting as many people willingly involved as possible. Cater to your evolving audience and do not succumb to stagnant habits of the past. Go digital and for more creative content ideas check out them MintTwist Content Marketing Calendar We created this free resource for marketers everywhere to make planning out timely content a whole lot easier! Bookmark or embed the calendar and get quick access to an endless list of events worldwide that you can incorporate into your marketing efforts.