Digital luxury at London Fashion Week
London-based luxury brand Burberry has announced an official partnership with Apple for its runway show on Monday afternoon. The California tech giant’s new iPhone 5S will be used exclusively to capture the show footage as well as all the behind-the-scenes action.
“This collaboration celebrates our relationship and shared foundation in design and craftsmanship. We have a mutual passion for creating beautiful products and unlocking emotive experiences through technology, which has made it intensely exciting to explore the capabilities of iPhone 5s,” said Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s Chief Creative Officer. “We’re inspired by what this could mean for the future as we continue to explore the merging of physical and digital experiences.”
The brand is well-known for pushing the possibilities of tech and blurring the line between the digital and luxury spheres. One of the first labels to offer open access live-streams of their shows, Burberry also offers an innovative ‘Runway Made to Order’ service which allows fans of the brand to pre-order personalized versions of the catwalk looks in real time.
Topshop also has some exciting digital developments lined up for Fashion Week. Expectations will certainly be high at the Topshop Unique show on Sunday in London, which has previously featured immersive runway and behind-the-scenes experiences powered by Google’s augmented reality spectacles Google Glass.
“Each season, we set ourselves the challenge to innovate and excite in a different way with the UNIQUE show; not only in terms of our Collection and show space, but also how to engage with and involve TOPSHOP fans worldwide,” said Topshop boss Sir Philip Green.
This year the brand has decided to “Let the Clothes do the Talking” and will be working with Chirp, a new platform which uses electronic birdsong to send coded messages between smartphones.
Show guests and visitors to a special ‘Digital Garden’ in Topshop’s Oxford Street flagship will be able to interact remotely with the show as ‘Chirps’ release hidden content on their phones. Budding fashion critics will also be up for a chance to win tickets to the next show via a ‘Fashion Tweet Off’ competition, which asks fans to review the show in 140 characters or less on Twitter.
While you’ll have to wait until the spring to get your hands on the Topshop Unique clothes, if you’re a fan of the runway makeup looks, you’ll be able to buy the products in-store immediately after the show, with 50 limited edition makeup bags available featuring a print from the show.
