Fashion Week goes techy for SS16

One of the hottest trends this SS16 fashion week season isn’t whether florals are hitting the spot over prints, or whether the colour palette is bold or filled with sugary pastels, it's more about the collaborations between the fashion and technology worlds and a number of London Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week designers used digital initiatives to enhance their collections.

Burberry has been a front-runner when it comes to being a digital pioneer, they’ve used Twitter to sell their collections as soon as it has hit the runway, they partnered with Apple to livestream the show using just iPhones and this season they partnered with Snapchat to reveal its new collection to fans the entire evening before the editors and buyers saw it hit the catwalk. A clever approach to target those younger consumers, as Snapchat is predominately used by those under 25 years old.

While Burberry was partnering with Snapchat, Hunter decided to go with Twitter’s live-streaming app, Periscope to launch its #BeaHeadliner mobile sessions campaign, which not only showcased the heritage brand’s new collection and behind-the-scenes activity, but also three up-and-coming musicians that it is championing.

Hunter creative director Alasdhair Willis said: “We saw this as a huge opportunity to speak to new audiences at such a key time on the fashion industry calendar and for the brand, in particular extending our reach to a broader audience that might not traditionally engage with London Fashion Week.

“Using Periscope, we are able to present Hunter Original and our relationship with festivals in a new and innovative way that reflects who we are as a brand.”

Hunter’s tech tie-up is going to continue post fashion weeks too as they plan to use Periscope as a platform throughout the 2016 season to provide access to musicians on their way to the biggest festivals around the world.

LFW designers Burberry, Hunter, House of Holland and Topshop turn to technology

Twitter was also the platform that NYFW designer Tommy Hilfiger used to showcase his new collection to the social media masses, instead of Periscope the designer used Twitter’s new multi-camera device, Twitter Halo that can capture 360-degree videos that can be shared in real time via the social media website.

Hilfiger commented: “We’ve become increasingly energised by digital technology and innovation, which has transformed the show experience for us and our audiences. For our Spring 2016 fashion show, we’ll build on this energy as we premiere first looks from the collection using the new Twitter Halo.”

This isn’t the first time that Tommy Hilfiger and Twitter have collaborated to enhance the catwalk show experience, for autumn/winter 2015 the designer used a Twitter mirror backstage that took photos each time the screen was tapped, and for spring/summer 2015 the label used a Vine booth to capture 360-degree, 6-second video loops of what the celebrity guests were wearing.

Ashley Vinson, head of brand strategy at Twitter, said: “Fashion and Twitter go hand-in-hand, and Tommy Hilfiger is one brand that’s consistently ahead of the curve when it comes to implementing creative uses of Twitter.”

Technology partnerships are often about driving e-commerce and one of the most commercial partnerships this season had to be Topshop collaborating with Pinterest to launch ‘Pinterest Palettes’, a tool that scans and identifies colour trends based on either a user’s individual boards or those curated by Topshop surrounding what’s being seen on the streets of New York, London, Milan and Paris. These results then come with shoppable recommendations from Topshop.com, and personal shopping appointments for those in the flagship Oxford Circus store.

Sheena Sauvaire, global marketing and communications director at Topshop, explains: “We recognise that the power of colour on our customer is huge; it has the ability to inspire, excite and drive purchases, so we’re delighted that our partnership with Pinterest has enabled us to explore the impact of colour, whilst engaging our customers in the excitement of London Fashion Week.”

House of Holland introduces wearable payment technology to catwalk

The concept of wearable technology has been building for a number of seasons with smartwatches being at the forefront, well House of Holland merged the worlds of fashion and commerce with its partnership with Visa Europe by showcasing wearable payment technology on to the catwalk for the first time.

Henry Holland designed bespoke bug-shaped rings enabled with near-field communication (NFC) technology, which allowed his celebrity guests including Alexa Chung and Daisy Lowe to step up at the end of the show and buy items straight off the models on the catwalk. The collection contained a tag linked via Bluetooth smart technology to a virtualised terminal to Visa’s payment network and with 500 pounds pre-loaded on the ring they were able to purchase their favourite pieces, which were then handed to them as they left the show. However, this was just a concept launch and the wearables will not be available to purchase.

Other interesting fashion technology collaborations included Zac Posen teaming up with Google’s Made With Code team to launch a little black dress ‘coded’ by girls as part of his Zac Zac Posen line. The LBD featured LED lights across it that displayed different moving patterns and was created to inspire young girls into trying computer science.

Even the British Fashion Council got a little techy by announcing that technology giant Intel would become a patron of London Fashion Week in a deal that would see the two working together to encourage British designers and retailers to “weave the latest smart products into garments, designs, accessories and retail environments.”

Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC, said: “It is important for the British fashion community to drive forward sales and increase their profiles on the global stage. Innovating with wearable technology and smart garments is a fine way to achieve this.”

Images: Burberry, House of Holland, and Topshop