Technology was the word of the day as London fashion week opened on Friday, with the chairwoman of the British Fashion Council, Natalie Massenet, singing its praises and lauding the opportunities for designers to engage with their audience.
Digital elements offer the chance to follow, engage and take part in shows from the comfort of the sofa and with the kettle on standby – and without the pain of high heels.
Star in the flagship London Topshop store window
The well-loved British high street store is aiming to create “its most socially accessible fashion show to date”, with a helping hand from fans and social media firms Facebook and Instagram.
The Topshop Unique show is a hot ticket among the fashion pack – 861 is the maximum venue capacity, but 5,300 tickets had already been requested by Thursday afternoon. Fear not: Topshop is sharing looks from its spring/summer 2015 collection on Facebook as soon as the show ends.
If you want to star in a piece of fashion week then grab a friend, take a picture, upload it to Instagram with the #Topshopwindow hashtag, and you’ll pop up in its flagship Oxford Circus store window.
Watch the Burberry show live
The Burberry Prorsum show on Monday will be firmly noted in every fashion editor’s diary. Past shows have seen Cara Delevingne and Jordan Dunn walk the runway while the likes of Anna Wintour, Bradley Cooper and Harry Styles hit the front row.
As well as streaming the show live, the brand are giving customers the chance to buy exclusive nail polish colours worn by the models on the catwalk. Nail varnish isn’t too exciting - but the launch of Twitter’s “buy” button is, and Burberry’s willingness to try it out is another clear declaration of the brand’s bid to weave digital innovation into their shows.
More than 90% of shows on the LFW schedule will be streamed live on the official website.
Take to social media for highlights
Camera phones are everywhere at LFW, and uploading and hashtagging pictures of shows, models, celebrities and venues is as prevalent as bottled water and goodie bags.
During the autumn/winter 2014 LFW shows in February, there were more than 300,000 mentions of #LFW and nearly 100,000 images tagged on Instagram, according to the BFC.
You can follow fashion insiders to watch the action unfold on your feed, and if you want to contribute, tweet with the official hashtag and the best tweets and Instagram photos will appear on the LED Screen on the exterior of the BFC courtyard show space at Somerset House.
While you’re on Twitter, check out the instant highlights from the Hunter show on Saturday at 2pm. The brand known for the luxury wellies beloved by Kate Moss has partnered up with real-time video start up Grabyo, with different 10-45 second clips shown to users according to where there are, and what the weather’s like. Look out for the hashtag #Beahunteroriginal.
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