As fashion weeks transform into digital weeks, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and blogs are the new showstoppers. With style embracing technology in a big way, the virtual-real blend is ruling the ramp and fashion week-fashion portal tie-ups have made a deep impression on the design realm. Fashionistas on row one may be discussing new necklines, colours to flaunt, patterns to embrace, fabrics to go for and accessories that will grab eyeballs, but online is the line of the season.
The Jabong Stage (earlier called Stage One) at this year’s Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) showcased promising, young designers. The popular e-commerce platform had collections of select designers available on its site for fashion lovers to sport creations straight off the ramp. The portal also launched Germany-based brand Tom Tailor and Miss Bennett London at the fashion week, both of which will be available exclusively through Jabong.
Karan Berry and Leon Vaz of Karleo, two prominent names to grace the Jabong Stage this season, say, “I think these portals are a good way for designers to connect to a larger audience on a global platform. It is a faster way for people to know your brand. E-commerce websites are so well designed that you don’t miss going to stores to see and feel the product, because these websites offer almost the same experience.”
If Jabong was the associate sponsor of the Lakme Fashion Week, Amazon went the whole hog with the 25th edition of the India Fashion Week-2015 being called the Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW). The five-day extravaganza wound up on a delightful note with 25 sought-after designers from the country showcasing 50 garments and walking the ramp together, with Rohit Bal doing his mandatory jig.
Talking of this collaboration, Vikas Purohit, head of Amazon Fashion India, says, “Fashion is among the top three categories at Amazon.in, and to cater to the diverse style-related needs of our consumers, we decided to come on board this much-awaited annual gala in India. It is a platform that brings designers, sellers, manufacturers, buyers and consumers together. The endeavour was to help designers reach out to people who are increasingly shopping online.”
With technology becoming the new voice of fashion weeks, established brands across the globe are finding unconventional ways to infuse digital culture into couture. Burberry became one of the first luxury labels to celebrate this new-age synthesis by live streaming a catwalk this year. At the London Fashion Week 2015, another global brand, Topshop, sent out designs from the ramp to online shops through tweets, while Versace blatantly displays this phenomenon in its Autumn/Winter-15 line with @ sequinned into the outfits. Closer home, young designer Masaba Gupta set a new style record recently, when her fans watched her colourful collection ‘Sugar Plum’, presented at LFW, live from the comforts of their homes through Instagram. Amazon.in’s AIFW page buzzed each day with a lot of real-time activity while the show was happening. There were reviews, front row access, designer interviews, behind-the-scene footage and Google hangouts.
According to Vikas, “E-commerce has enabled brands to reach every corner of the country, as a result of which fashion is no longer restricted to the large metros, but is also capturing the imagination of people in tier-two and tier-three towns, who now have access to thousands of national and international brands, and even to high-end labels through our newly-launched Designer Store, at the click of a button. More than 50 per cent of the orders we receive are from cities outside the metros. We see that there is a large interest and market for ethnic and fusion wear.”
More and more brands and designers are taking the virtual route to allow stylistas to shop for looks straight off the catwalk – an invaluable source of information for designers wanting to know the style mandate of the seasons to follow.
“With such easy accessibility to consumers and wider reach, this medium is undoubtedly the way forward for the industry,” point out Karan and Leon.
The collaboration has clicked well for fashion portals too. Many of them are constantly exploring ways to enhance customer experience and strengthening their brand-building exercise. So, as technology does a catwalk, fashion takes on new shapes.
