Fashion is visual, emotional, as well as tactile. Add internal and external perception factors, and fashion is a world unto itself. Fashion has embraced digital, to great benefit. What is the brand story, what content is best to distribute – and how so? The emotional factors are huge: visual combined with brand reputation. Other aspects come into play: product quality, material, location of manufacture, and the look itself. Creativity is crucial. How wearing it will reflect on the individual is equally vital. Digital interaction is an opportunity to address all these concerns.
Digital presence can intensify, support, and generate consumer awareness, perception and desire. Fashion is no longer restricted to just after-the-fact coverage of fashion shows. The web has become the worldwide runway. Magazines are on the web, viewed on smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. Tactical digital initiatives are essential.
Tweets with links to pictures, posts on Pinterest and Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and consumer facing websites offer dynamic interaction with the buying public. Visitors can comment and interact via contests, promotions, tweets and pins, all of which offer user data for further analysis. Fashion critics are combing these digital outposts as well, garnering insight and
public perceptions.
Daniel Bailey cut his teeth in fashion at Donna Karan and Gucci, and is now Chief Creative Officer at Burberry. Interviewed by Ad Age on how he is transforming Burberry’s image from stodgy to an exciting, innovative fashion player, he cites the importance of interwoven digital efforts. "Digital for me is not a project; digital is a way that we live. If you deal with it as a project, it will always be superficial."
Digital Behaviorist Tery Spataro, in her study “Fashion Intelligentsia, Digital Trends of Fashion Minded Customers,” shows how Digital drives sales. It develops customer loyalty, raises brand awareness, and drives sales and brand relations. On the customer side it is part of the decision-making process, it’s how they share opinions with friends. Bloggers and average consumers are the internet voice of the consumer.
Available now are digital showrooms, computerized custom sizing technology, and dynamic electronic catalogs accessible 24/7, wherever there’s connectivity.
Creative uses of digital, both online and in retail, coordinating with smartphones and tablets, take the experience from the inquisitive to the acquisitive. Digital platforms abound, with interactive fashion apps enabling customers to become more involved than ever before.
