Innovative digital initiatives and tie-ups with online retail stores are helping designers connect with a wide range of consumers. Technology like RFID is helping visitors post live updates and selfies on social media accounts. Divya Kaushik reports
So what if you couldn’t attend a fashion week, it is not difficult to get a glimpse of what the designers are showcasing and decide on your pick or catch up on the activities happening on spot. Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), Wills lifestyle and designers are coming up with interesting digital initiatives to promote fashion week and give a chance to those who could not be there to experience it.
For the first time RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) has been introduced. “The technology is common in other industries but it is for the first time that we thought of introducing it in the fashion week. The last time such a technique was used at the fashion event was during the london Fashion week, years ago. You can find various hot spots on the venue of the fashion week and whenever you will swipe a badge, it will instantly update your status and pictures, selfies at the event, keeping your friends up to date in real time. The RFID also allows for automatic tagging of all the photos taken at the WIFW. The first ever-Indian fashion platform aims at syncing all the happenings at the fashion week by sharing them in real with participants on Facebook, Twitter and Google hangout,” explains Karan Kumar, general manager-marketing, lifestyle retailing business division, ITC. Another interesting feature of the RFID is that even if you are passing across the booth, the censors will help you make an auto check in and there will be a status update on your social media account. For example, if you are entering Shantanu and Nikhil show, there will be an instant update on the same.
“Such an initiative helps us reach the wider section of people. Those who could not attend the fashion week can experience it through others. It is just a way to connect with a wider audience. We have also tied up with online retail stores to help people know what is being put on the ramp and also designers reach to the large number of buyers,” says Sunil Sethi, president of FDCI. Other digital initiatives include live streaming of the shows across Wills lifestyle stores and Rock the Ramp Twitter campaign. “The campaign witnessed an overwhelming response from across the country. Four winners have got a chance to walk the ramp. The winners were selected basis their tweet on why you would want to walk the ramp at WIFW with a picture in their most stylish avatar,” informs Atul Chand, chief executive, lifestyle retailing division, ITC.
Even designers are collaborating with online retail stores for their shows. Rahul Mishra, who recently won the International Woolmark Prize, tied up with Myntra.com for his show. Designers collaborating with online chains to promote their collections is not new. “Thanks to online platforms, social networking sites that the consumers today are more aware and fashion conscious than what they used to be until a few years ago. This has been of immense help to the fashion industry,” says designer Gautam Gupta.