Melinda Oliver discovers how the happy marriage between fashion and new media was tested at Air New Zealand Fashion Week this week.
When it comes to the new media phenomenon, Air New Zealand Fashion Week (ANZFW) managing director Pieter Stewart is very much an accidental hero.
Despite admitting that communication forums such as Twitter, Facebook and Youtube “are not really my thing”, she is leading an event which has embraced these platforms with full gusto.
“The girls in the office are all over it, but I’m too busy organising the week,” she shrugs.
Those in the online fashion community however – including some 2000 fans on ANZFW’s official Facebook page – were ravenous for information in the lead up to and during the event, which draws to a close tomorrow.
Organisers endeavoured to feed them, with an official writer “tweeting” up to the minute details of designer shows and trade events on Twitter. A Facebook page featured catwalk images, chat forums and opinion polls, while a dedicated blog fleshed out the details.
As with previous installments, the event’s official website and e-newsletter also kept the industry in the loop.
Stewart says social networking websites allow consumers to feel they are part of ANZFW, regardless of the fact it is pitched at a trade audience.
“It is not designed to get more people to the event but it is to get information out there about the designers and what is happening.”
The online surge also extended to attendees, with many writers requesting front row access for fashion blogs and fashion websites. Therefore, Stewart’s team was forced to sift the great from the good when it came to preferential seating.
“We tightened up on that side of things this year,” she admits. “Everyone has a blog these days. There are so many bloggers from so many fashion publications who want to come to the catwalk shows, but we can’t let everyone in.”
One online expert with top-level access was Bridget Saunders, a former newspaper gossip columnist and appointed “Twitterer” for ANZFW. “Official ‘Twit’ doesn’t sound too good, does it?” she jokes.
Saunders admits she was surprised when asked to take on the role as she didn’t expect ANZFW to use the format, but was keen to take part. “Fashion is about here and now and so is Twitter,” she says. “Nothing is faster.”
Saunders believes her key role is to inform and excite, mixing industry facts with a little bit of revelry.
“Who is wearing what, what is hot, where to be at any given moment, dramas – we love a wee bit of drama,” she says. “It depends on what happens, who happens and why.”
Saunders was given a prime front-row seat, with the aim of finding out what delegates thought of a show before traditional press stories could be filed. She also uploaded imagery from key ready-to-wear collections online. “The number of ‘tweets’ is impossible to guess,” she says.
Participating designer Anjali Stewart, who co-directs the Wellington- based womenswear label Twenty-seven Names with Rachel Easting, says she relies on ANZFW to promote the week broadly.
“They are the first port of call with the international media and buyers, so we hope they manage to get a lot of interest for the event and our show,” she says. “We’ve found that both our sales and media interest go up every year that we show, so it’s definitely worth doing.”
The designer is pleased organisers are reaching beyond normal platforms of marketing. “I think all forms of promotion are essential when such a big event is being put on, as the point is to reach as many people as possible to create hype,” she says. “I think many designers and buyers refer to social networking sites daily.”
The fast-moving pace of both fashion and online communication make them compatible, she believes. “They are an immediate medium – everyone can be kept up to date worldwide.”
Designer Michelle Wilson of womenswear label Michelle Yvette is not surprised ANZFW took to ‘tweeting’ and blogging to spread the word.
“Well, it is all the rage at the moment,” she says. “It’s important to keep up with the natural progression of technology and these outlets are a popular, fast and cost-effective way to reach the masses and more importantly the right target market.”
Wilson agrees that social networking and fashion are a perfect mix, calling them “peas in a pod”.
“It’s like having a gossip magazine on hand but it is up to the minute. A lot of fashion feeds off people who socialise and vice versa.”
Her brand has its own Facebook page to communicate with consumers. “People like to interact with the designer of a label, get to know them as a person and what their life is like,” she says.
Designer Juliette Hogan says these tools enable marketers to reach a willing audience, as people who use these forums make themselves open to information. However, she was reluctant to “tweet” about the Fashion Week experience herself. “I don’t like the idea of Twitter, with people updating what they are doing all the time.
“I think sending out monthly newsletters [about your brand] is a more intellectual way of approaching people.”
Fellow ANZFW designer Andrzej Pytel – of edgy street fashion label House of Ezis – says every avenue that contributes to promotion is important.
“We rely on people coming to the event. Any extra marketing is great; it all adds up. If one more person sees it [the brand] on Facebook, people might get excited about it – you never know what will help.”
Tools of the online trade
A snapshot look at of some of the most popular online platforms used by journalists, bloggers and industry commentators to broadcast fashion news and reviews.
www.facebook.com
Launched in 2004 in the US, Facebook stormed the world, with millions of people signing up to communicate with friends and family. Members set up an account and invite selected people to be their “friend” online. Messages, photos and short videos can all be uploaded to share. Fashion labels are using it as a forum to promote their brands, develop a fan base and entice consumers to view their new collections.
www.twitter.com
Launched in 2006 in the US and rivaling Facebook, Twitter allows people to create a personal page and post short, succinct updates about their activities and thoughts as often as they like. A simple question, ‘What are you doing?’ is used to set the ball rolling and many members “tweet” updates constantly, covering fashion shows as they happen. Twitter members can elect to follow other people’s pages and also send messages to each other - many fashion designers and journalists follow each others ‘tweets’.
www.twitpic.com
Twitter users who wish to upload photographs often do so via TwitPic. This will link up to the user’s Twitter account and add a photo application, enabling images to be shared. Fashion reporters will often use this tool to upload images from live catwalk shows.
www.linkedin.com
Touted as a professional rather than social networking tool, LinkedIn encourages people to form online communities that may benefit careers. Channelling the old “who you know” philosophy, users add details about their business expertise and form connections with others in their field. Over 46 million people are members across the world. People can also post job advertisements and ask other members for expert advice.
www.youtube.com
Founded in 2005 and adopted by millions of people world-wide, You Tube is an online video sharing website. People can upload short videos and share them for all to see. The fashion world is putting it to good use by uploading campaigns and catwalk shows - but Qik live streaming video and Vimeo are giving it a run for its money.
www.flickr.com
A photo management application, Flickr enables people to upload hundreds of images to share. People can control who sees their images by selecting private or public access.
www.wordpress.com
A go-to place for would be bloggers, wordpress enables people to launch their own blog page, so they can effectively become at-home journalists. Numerous fashionistas have taken up the art, blogging about trends, catwalk events, designers and their shopping habits for anyone who cares to read it.