- Retail TouchPoints

The Retail TouchPoints Network

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”,”serif”;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;}

Fashion Designers Tap Social Media To Make #NYFW More Interactive

Advertisement

By Alicia Fiorletta, Associate Editor

Readers of my blog posts may know that not only am I completely obsessed with all things related to mobile, social and e-Commerce, I’m absolutely a die-hard fashionista. In fact, you could even call me a “Digital Diva,” a consumer that is highly engaged with both fashion merchandise and digital technology.

With this in mind, you could imagine the excitement brewing within me as we embarked on another New York Fashion Week (NYFW)! However, there was an added level of joy this year because my passion fashion, marketing and technology effortlessly collided.

Thanks to the powers of the web and social media, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week got a lot more interactive this year. Touting a new “#MBFW Social Hub,” the main Fashion Week web site offered a central location for show attendees and fashion followers to access images, tweets and Facebook comments as the fashion shows went on.

The number of social conversations taking place during NYFW was astounding: Research findings released by Salorix, a social media marketing company, indicated that the #NYFW hash tag on Twitter received nearly 350,000 tweets. Moreover, the #MBFW hash tag garnered approximately 38,000 tweets.

Luxury fashion designers also are embracing Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to make their brands more accessible. Recently, I shared an interview that I conducted with Jon Fahrner, CEO at BumeBox, a real-time social content solution provider, in which we discussed the company’s work with a variety of notable brands and designers. This year, Donna Karan, Rebecca Minkoff, Oscar de la Renta and Proenza Schouler were among the cutting-edge designers to join the fray and implement the BumeBox platform during this season’s NYFW.

“Consumers are growing tired of tedious and chaotic social messaging from the companies they love,” Fahrner said during a recent follow-up interview. “They are looking to use their social accounts as a way to tune in to deeper experiences. Organizations in the fashion industry officially are breakout social leaders. By putting more energy into programming content and providing more robust user-facing social features, fashion designers are realizing that social media can bring many consumers closer to their brands.”

In my opinion, the video and social strategies utilized during NYFW confirms a new reality for the retail world: More brands and designers are taking note of social media’s impact on increasing awareness, buzz and loyalty. They now understand that in order to be seen — and shared — among consumers, they must provide the access and resources to encourage and enable social conversations.

Here are a few resources Retail TouchPoints has provided regarding how social media can help retailers improve their businesses:

Retailers, what do you think of these more interactive and accessible fashion shows? In what ways are real-time social sharing and publishing is beneficial to overall brand success?

Follow Alicia on Twitter: @AliciaFiorletta