*Written by Jinah Kim, Marketing Coordinator at Moxie. @jinah
Previously a series of events closed to the public,Fashion Week has become increasingly digitized, and ultimately more social. The fashion community is hitting some new highs in embracing social media this New York Fashion Week.
The era of the fashion blogger has served to democratize the semi-annual event, and these new bridges act as a segue for the public to experience and participate in events at home. The addition of Fashion’s Night Out, the accompanying event open to the public, has further empowered shoppers to participate.
The Blogger Connection
Bloggers now occupy the minds (and sometimes front rows!) of cutting edge designers and their seasonal shows. Now seen as key press figures and no longer as outsiders, the industry now acknowledges that professional bloggers can provide coverage, which can extend beyond a PR representative’s reach.
Some brands have even gone as far as choosing bloggers as their brand muse (in the case of Rumi of Fashion Toast) or as their ambassador in an upcoming campaign (Tavi of The Style Rookie).
Tying it Back to Social
Naturally, with the attendance and participation of the young and tech-savvy, brands — and Fashion Week as a whole — are forced to keep up. The same way retailers have been harnessingPinterest for their brands, fashion lines have been able to do the same with Instagram.
A credible and timely source for NYFW photos, Instagram is now the source for upfront coverage at the shows as well as stories behind the scenes. All of the photos are packaged neatly under the hashtag #nyfw. The organic vodka brand, Kanon, has been tapping this resource brilliantly with its “Friends of Kanon” NYFW Instagram viewer. Known for partnering with bloggers in major cities, the vodka line hosted a glimpse into the lives of a selected group of celebrities, bloggers, and fashion icons during NYFW, all on a single page. The photos were filterable, likeable, tweetable, and Pin-able directly on the Kanon site.
In another stellar example of using social as a vehicle for brand engagement, Michael Kors harnessed his brand following through a karaoke contest on Twitter. The Kors Karaoke contestencouraged tweets with the hashtags #MKFNO #KORSKARAOKE linking to a voice performance. Three finalists were selected and flown to New York to perform in front of Kors and other celebrity judges for the chance to win gift certificates for both the singer and the nominator.
Films like The Devil Wears Prada and The September Issue portray the industry as something that operates behind closed doors, something for an elite group to filter to the public. However, now more than ever, we can be a part of the action, even from afar.
via New York Fashion Week: More Social Than Ever | Moxie Pulse.
