Reinventing Retail with London Fashion Week

As we approach 2017’s first London Fashion Week on February 17, speculation surrounds the future of the runway, especially after September’s shows were lauded for their experimentation and reinvention. The ‘runway to retail’ initiative, debuted by Burberry during September 2016 at London Fashion Week, revaluated the traditional catwalk concept. For the first time in history, several runways are becoming shoppable, resembling walking shop-windows designed for consumers. Instead of making consumers wait 6 months before their collection graced the stores, Burberry flaunted a ‘season-less’ collection with select items available for purchase immediately after their catwalk unveiling, dubbing it ‘see now, buy now’.

This reinvention of retail is well and truly underway and set to flourish at London Fashion Week this year as more brands are tipped to follow suit by experimenting with this new consumer-led initiative on the runway.

The ‘see now, buy now’ model

At London Fashion Week in September 2016, Burberry’s ‘see now, buy now’ model was the biggest topic of conversation. Fast turnarounds have long been the norm for affordable, high-street retailers as companies replicate in-store versions of designer items debuted on runways as soon as 3-6 weeks after Fashion Week. But it was interesting to see it adopted immediately by the high-end, designer retailers that have traditionally stuck strictly to the runway schedule.

In both London and New York 2016, Topshop Unique, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren ditched the traditional runway in domino effect, repurposing them as platforms to sell to customers, as opposed to events for industry experts. The results spoke for themselves. By noon, the day after their London Fashion Week show, several of Burberry’s sellable items on the catwalk had sold out, meanwhile searches for the brand on designer ecommerce platform Lyst increased by 400 per cent on the previous week. Meanwhile, three of Topshop’s Unique’s fresh-off-the-catwalk items sold out. Whilst experimentation with this model garnered much attention at the time, it will be interesting to what happens at London Fashion Week later this month.

The ‘see now, buy now’ is expected to grow, with optimistic plans for further adoption in London, as well as in Milan and Paris thereafter. Jacqui Markham, Topshop’s Global Design Director spoke out in September claiming Topshop’s goal for 2017 was to “offer a 100 per cent fully shoppable” retail collection for consumers. Whether their goal has been achieved will soon be revealed.

To remain successful in retail, it’s important to adapt and react to the customer’s needs. We can expect more brands to try this during this month’s Fashion Week. The ‘see now, buy now’ model is a new and innovative reaction to the growing consumer demand for immediacy that has infiltrated all areas of retail industry. Linked closely to this trend of immediacy is the rise of social media and virtual reality that has transformed fashion shows into digitally engaging, consumer facing marketing events. Retailers were missing out on huge sales opportunities with the outdated six-month long lag between seeing and buying. This reinvention of retail with its more accessible, personalised runway now instils a further sense of emergency in consumers and builds on this sense of excitement.

Impact on Production, the Supply Chain and the Environment

However, although great for the consumer, the new runway to retail initiative is up for debate due to the significant logistical implications it has on the supply chain. For the initiative to succeed, supply chain communication and agility is key. Additionally, production processes must be quicker and supply chain dates and deadlines pushed forward. Typically, the supply chain kicks in after the collection’s runway debut but now, this needs to happen before the show. Christopher Bailey, Burberry chief creative officer stated that now Burberry must work collaboratively with the supply chain to provide clear deadlines for shipment to retailers. For the model to work, everything needs to be in sync.

Releasing products straight off the catwalk means retailers have no time to forecast the level of demand for the collection. Volumes are pre-ordered from suppliers before there is time to gauge consumer reaction, so there’s a high chance that too much or too little stock will be produced if supply or demand outweigh the another. This risks pricey, large-scale wastage with leftover stock placed in landfill or burnt, especially because discounting is a less than favourable option for most designer retailers.

Although it has its sceptics, the ‘see now, buy now’ model shows no signs of slowing and both Burberry and Topshop Unique are set to do the same again this year. Clearly, the retailers that embrace it and continue to innovate on the runway will be the ones that reap rewards, providing they can get the execution right.

Guy Chiswick is Managing Director of Webloyalty, Northern Europe. He has 17 years’ experience in marketing and advertising and has worked for some of the industry's biggest brands as well as emerging start-ups.

Guy leads a diverse team of experts focussed on client development and category growth, and has spearheaded Webloyalty's retail and multichannel client engagement strategy since joining in 2010.

Webloyalty is a leading provider of online savings programmes designed to help companies build stronger, more profitable relationships.

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