VIDEO: Social media is the new press release by DKNY
This is so brilliantly executed. DKNY made a video to piggy-back on the Olympics and promote its new flagship at 27 Old Bond Street. Ever the digital pioneer, it has also created DKNYfx, which according to WWD is an augmented reality smartphone app designed to stand as the brand’s digital platform. If you’re out and about in London today or next Saturday, also look out for DKNY’s model street teams who will be distributing non-digital postcards to be swapped in-store for a free tote…
3D printing in fashion: Nike and Ross Barber
I’ve been researching 3D printing in fashion for a few weeks. Most commonly used for prototyping in industrial design, Nike has started using it for prototyping its fashion sportswear and LCF graduate Ross Barber used it to make hybrid leather-nylon shoes. When I try to explain 3D printing to people, they (understandably) have no idea what I’m talking about. These videos explain it better…
Ross Barber
Nike
Introducing Ron Arad’s £900 PQ Eyewear sunglasses
Look at the picture above. You’re looking at a pair of ‘Angel’ sunglasses from Ron Arad’s new eyewear line, PQ Eyewear. RRP between £400 and £900 which is a pretty penny to pay. Continue reading
Brands as content creators: Armani launches Tweet Talks
Latest on the ‘brands as content creators’ tip: Armani is launching a series of discussions around the fashion industry, all to take place on Twitter. Starting on June 1st as part of Armani’s One Night Only in Beijing event, the #ArmaniTweetTalks Q&A discussion will be moderated by Peter Howarth with a panel composed of Vogue China’s Angelica Cheung, ‘publisher and tastemaker’ Hung Huang, fashion critic Godfrey Deeny, Yoox’s Federico Marchetti plus Susie Lau and Tommy Ton (you know who they are, right?). Continue reading
Jimmy Choo and Look magazine launch social sharing sites
More on the street style/self-style phenomenon that only seems to be growing. Last week saw the launch of Jimmy Choo’s 24:7 Stylemakers which follows on from what Burberry did with Art Of The Trench and Armani did with Frames Of Your Life. Users of the 24:7 Stylemakers site upload pictures of themselves wearing Jimmy Choo either via the site itself or with Facebook/Instagram (using the #choo247 hashtag). Continue reading
On my radar: Tumblr editors
Ive just finished writing 2000 words on the power of the stylist but frankly 2k wasn’t nearly enough to write about this ever-changing subject. Stylists and fashion editors are now becoming overall content curators as evidenced by initiatives like Anna Trevelyan and Simon Foxton’s stints as guest curators for SHOWstudio’s Tumblr and Nicola Formichetti’s hugely popular personal Tumblr.
Latest on this phenomenon is the news that Hanneli Mustaprta has been tapped as a contributing editor to Calvin Klein’s Tumblr. Not a stylist in the traditional sense, but a ‘self stylist’ with a creative eye, this is a fresh way for brands to work with those who share their visual point of view. I quite like this new strand of content curation for the attention-deficit generation. If anyone wants to hire me as their Tumblr editor* (but pref not the naughty brand who picked my brains and then vanished without a trace) then let’s talk!
*PS: my beauty Tumblr is here
Play Sheep Invaders here
Not got enough distractions in your life? Twitter and Pinterest not sucking enough productivity out of your day? Try this ‘Sheep Invaders’ video game instead. A twist on the cult Space Invaders game, menswear brand Monsieur Lacenaire promises one of its SS12 ‘Sheep Invaders’ knits to the highest scorer by May 1st…
On Carine Roitfeld’s new magazine, Hearst’s YouTube channel and the future of fashion magazines
My take on The Future Of Fashion Magazines is generally that the collectable bi-annuals will continue and the commercial monthlies will eventually migrate to online-only. My Self Service magazines with their endless photo-editorials and long-form interviews have stood the test of time because they’re not topical (there’s no news or celeb interviews promoting their latest film-slash-beauty contracts), so the content is more ‘pure’. All the attention right now is on Carine Roitfeld’s forthcoming ‘fashion book’, CR Fashion Book (which is really a bi-annual magazine) and from this WWD article, the format looks to follow my theory. Only spreads and long form articles will be featured while the gaps between the twice yearly issued will be filled with more immediate, newsy online content.
Obviously, this switch won’t happen overnight. There’s still a huge market for print mags (evidenced by my own monthly tower of glossies), but the generation in its early teens now most likely won’t have the nostalgic connections to print magazines as we know them, so won’t continue to buy the Glamours and Grazias as we do.
And there’s another big development in magazines coming very soon indeed. Hearst’s tie-up with Youtube, a fashion channel called Hello Style launches on Saturday. I imagine these weekly digital TV shows from the likes of US Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan will have far reaching implications for the editorial industry as we know it, so I’ll be watching closely. Will you?
Danish retailer Only launches interactive, shoppable fashion film
As with a still photo shoot, there are a number of elements that have to add up for a fashion film to get my tick of approval. The casting, the clothes and the narrative are important of course, but for moving image, the acting, music and cinematography are crucial. Danish retailer Only has created a compelling five minute film with all these elements executed to perfection. But the clever part is that ‘The Liberation’ also incorporates interactive storytelling as well as shoppable and social media functionality to make this a really game-changing marketing move. Continue reading
London Fashion Week AW12: more highlights
More snippets from LFW…
London Fashion Week is famous for its surprises and its mix of commercial shows by Paul Smith, Nicole Farhi and Jasper Conran are nicely balanced by the interactive, multi-sensory theatre of other designers. Richard Nicoll chose to present a hybrid of showroom, shoot and show while McQ by McQueen’s theatrical show had an element of audience participation at the end. Continue reading
