Retail concepts

Guest post: Social-commerce at NYFW and LFW ensures Fashion Week is a democracy for everyone to enjoy



Guest post by occasional DRG contributor, Alison Bishop

First we had Google+ Hangouts partnering with online curation site Lyst for New York Fashion Week, then we saw snippets of Diane von Furstenberg’s show process, firsthand, through her Google Glass video. On Saturday we saw House of Holland live streamed on eBay’s Style Collective blog, boosted by celebrity and consumer commentary (plus the chance to shop an edit of House of Holland AW12 on eBay.com). (more…)



Buy it now: J.W. Anderson for Topshop



As you may have noticed, I’m quite fascinated by the growing commercialisation of Fashion Week. More than anyone, Topshop has been instrumental in making Fashion Week accessible to all, via its sponsorships and collabs with LFW designers, it’s unsurpassed social media LFW coverage, its just announced Facebook hook-up and most recently, its pop-up shops at the LFW sites. (more…)



Ebay launches House of Holland online pop-up shop



Last season Topshop took the chance to turn London Fashion Week into a shopping opportunity. This season, Ebay is jumping in with an online pop-up shop to support Henry Holland. As part of the British Fashion Council’s Fashion Forward initiative, Ebay is supporting Mary Katrantzou, Louise Gray and House of Holland with sponsorship, as well as live-streaming their SS13 shows on its Style Collective blog (where – ahem – you can also read some of my fashion musings). As a logical tie-in, it’s also selling an edited selection of House of Holland AW12 on Ebay.co.uk from today until 18th September, with each purchase sent out with a pair of Henry Holland’s phenomenally popular tights.

Gotta say it, this is a great example of 360° thinking; a neat way to bring the buzz of LFW directly to fashion-hungry shoppers while driving sales to Ebay and House of Holland. OK, you can’t buy the SS13 collection straight off the runway (to my knowledge) but maybe we’ll get that by next season.

Will you be buying?



Why has Cocosa opened a physical store?



Flash sale websites are raising their game as competition between them increases. Which is good news for the consumer. Cocosa has already stepped up its offer with a beauty section (which is quite impressive with regular sales from some of my favourite brands including Cowshed, This Works,  and Super by Dr Perricone), and from today opens its first bricks-and-mortar store. The four-day pop-up shop will give customers up to 80% off international menswear and womenswear brands including Halston (above left), Issa (above right) and Missoni.

But why a pop-up and why now? “The pop-up shop experience is designed to raise the awareness of Cocosa to new audiences and enables both new and existing customers to experience Cocosa live, where they can browse and buy incredible designer brands at up to 80% off,” says Cocosa’s Head of Operations, Andrew Miles. And the timing is no coincidence. “The pop-up shop is centred in one of the most fashion forward cities of the world just as fashion weeks across the globe start to kick off,” says Miles. “It’s perfectly positioned to display our ethos to consumers and that’s simply handpicked designer fashion at incredible prices.” For all the hoopla about online shopping, it seems that a physical presence is still a plus when it comes to raising brand visibility.

Cocosa’s pop-up is at The Oui Rooms, 40 Eastecastle Street, W1 from 11-15th September.