BREAKING THE MOULD

Old ways won't open new thoughts. In a world where each 'new' idea is simply regurgitated or reworked from a previous idea, innovation and new ideas are key to helping the world progress in every sense. In the fashion industry this is no different and in fact even more crucial. In order for the fashion industry to progress and work in a ever evolving digital world Fashion brands must keep current and up to date with these new technologies and ways of thinking in order to keep their place in the market and stay relevant. In fashion, you need to break the mould.

Burberry are a prime example of keeping with the times and breaking the mould when they launched their "Shop the Show" concept over a year ago. Although this idea is a year old it's still highly relevant as unlike most ideas in the fashion industry it has barely been replicated by other fashion houses. The basic idea was simple, to create a straight to the consumer concept where eager Burberry lovers could buy the full range straight after the show allowing global sales to come in straight away. I loved this idea and found it really clever as it can normally take up to 6 months to buy a product after the runway and by this time many people may have lost the hype about a collection and find it old news and not want to buy into it. Whereas having the products easily accessible to buy straight after the show means that consumers will still be excited about the show and want to buy into the experience that they have just undergone. However the only problem with this is the restructuring problems that would occur within the brand as VM's, retail operations and every other process involved would have to happen 6 months quicker than before which would take a lot of planning.

Another example of a fashion brand breaking the mould and keeping up with the times is Vetements showing off season in couture which is 2 weeks before their scheduled appearance at the ready to wear shows. I didn't actually get the reason behind this at first but after research I found how clever this idea was. By previewing their collection it allows buyers to have a glimpse and decide to not spend all their money on couture collections and decide to hold out for the ready to wear shows to purchase the Vetements collection that they had so keenly had their eye on.

SHAUN EVANS