Fashion shows are meant to be “private” events. Hard to believe that just a few years ago we had to wait for WWD or the Wall Street Journal to give us a recap on what happened at the shows, but with digital media such as Twitter, Facebook, UStream, and LiveStream, the fashion runway show is no longer just for the elite as we saw with Louis Vuitton and Oscar De La Renta recently. Its now for the fans, the consumers, the admirers, the bloggers, and of course still for the buyers.
But, Burberry did something monumental over the weekend. Its Prorsum Menswear Spring Summer 2011 Fashion Show actually sold clothes. No, it didnt sell clothes during market week that will be in stores next March 2011, but it actually let people who watched the live streaming show create a look book of their favorite runway looks and allow them to purchase the looks directly from the Burberry site. And… it gets better. Facebook and Twitter widgets allowed viewers to chat during the show with other fans or share with their networks. After the show, the items in the look book would be available for immediate purchase and will be delivered in 6-8 weeks, rather than wait 6-8 months for them to be in retail stores.
Burberry has done a first for the fashion industry. It actually bridged the gap from runway to consumer and it if this proves viable it could pave the way for many more brands to follow in its foot steps. Here are 4 trends to look forward to from Burberry breaking the barrier.
- Integrated social shopping – social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare will be incorporated in all shows, and fashion ecommerce sites allowing consumers to do their own brand promotion and get feedback from peers
- Fashion Buyers might not have the final say as to what belongs in stores – Currently buyers go to market and choose what pieces from a designer’s line belongs in the stores. Buyers “predict” what consumers will want to purchase in the upcoming season. However, with Burberry’s look book capabilities fans & consumers can drive what they want to
buy and don’t necessarily have to rely on a buyer. Consumer’s voices will be more valued if 1,000 people like or put the harem pants in their look book, even though a buyer claims the pants won’t “sell”. - Could eliminate fashion seasons as we know them – With the ability to purchase clothes straight from the runway, this could pave the way for fashion seasons and runway shows to be in real-time and instead of having the Fall/Winter collection in February but not in stores until the following September, it could be in that same year’s fall and winter months.
- Provide almost instant gratification – For consumers this means no more gawking over runway shows and waiting months and months to see if your favorite item makes the cut. You could enjoy your favorite creations in less than two months.
Through various digital media, Burberry has made its runway a reality. After all, isn’t a runway show’s purpose to sell clothes? Now it “really” can. For more details on Burberry’s digital fashion marketing efforts check out Mashable.com.