This past week New York City Fashion Week was on full display in the traditional media, and could also be followed as @NYFW and #mbfw on social media channels.
The fashion shows demonstrated the new ways in which brands can interact via social media, most importantly Twitter. I was impressed with those brands that really jumped on the bandwagon and took their shows to the next level.
The Past
It used to be that NYFW was only for the key players of fashion, and to some degree, it still is. However, social media has helped to close the gap, and now the general public can be in on one of fashion’s biggest weeks of the year. As a result, all of the brands are becoming more accessible to the general public.
New This Year
Some of the ways brands used social media creatively this past week included:
- Live streaming fashion shows
- Backstage access
- Constant flow of pictures throughout the events
- Interactive events during Fashion’s Night Out
Of course there are many more ways that the fashion world interacted with its consumers this week, but these were the most engaging ones I noted.
Live Streaming
The live streaming was really impressive. Granted it’s not the same as actually attending the show, but the general public still got to view the collections at the same time as top editors, designers and buyers. According to The Globe and Mail, there were over thirty brands that streamed their shows live this season, via Facebook and YouTube.
Backstage Access and Constant Pictures
People were also able to see a lot of what was going on backstage. From pictures to videos, it’s much more raw. From models getting made up for shows to the looks hanging up backstage, these images provided real insight into a normally inaccessible realm of the fashion world. The number of “tools” needed for reporters to provide this type of material is huge. Elizabeth Holmes from The Wall Street Journal says she brings “a tape recorder for backstage interviews, a BlackBerry to keep up with emails, a Kodak video camera to shoot some video and pictures and this season I also have an iPhone for doing Instagram” (mashable).
Interactive Events
Oscar De La Renta used crowdsourcing for his Spring Collection, which means that people were able to upload images of the show in real time right to the Tumblr page, using the hashtag #ODLRLIVE. Whether you were watching from home or sitting front row you were able to upload images from this spot. This really increased the interaction between brand and consumer. By using this strategy a curtain was lifted, and a “gate” was opened: anyone, anywhere was able to watch and critique the 2012 Spring Collection by Oscar De La Renta. Not to mention there was a short backstage interview with the designer before the show.
Changes Everywhere
Because there was such a play-by-play this year throughout fashion week, it really changed the way we read about it. “In the past we had stories written in advance to run during Fashion Week, and then we’d go to shows, but we didn’t write about the collections until closer to the season
With so much going on, it’s easy to miss something you’re really interested in. But between @NYFW, @MBFashionWeek, #mbfw, and the individual brands themselves on Twitter, a fashionista like me was safe. Twitter is without a doubt the best way to share and discover what is happening right now.
Impact
Brands like Oscar De La Renta (@OscarPRGirl), Donna Karan & DKNY (@dkny), and DVF were a few that really used social media outreach well this particular fashion week. These designers, who streamed their shows live and tweeted and posted pictures and hosted interactive events, made their brands more accessible, making them seem more attainable instead of something you would normally just see in a magazine spread. Social media made it possible to breathe a little more life into these “haute couture” brands.
If You Don’t Have Twitter, Who are You for Fashion Week? | Change Conversations http://ow.ly/6zxLP