Beyond e-commerce: here’s why fashion wants to reconsider technology

Product Director at Vue. ai

September is a very important month for fashion retail, as it foreshadows the start of the next new season. September was instrumental because it was the first time designers and brands came here to showcase their spring and summer collections in the wake of the pandemic. While Fashion Weeks were scheduled on time in New York, Paris, London and Milan, Covid-19 raised a number of challenges. For starters, many foreign buyers of retail chains were unable to travel, like publishers, adding Anna Wintour (paywall) and either party is very important in determining the production and sales of designers and brands.

The technology, however, served as a bridge and helped brands navigate this challenging environment.

How the purchase procedure has changed

Buying fashion has been a very physical exercise. Shoppers regularly attend fashion shows, then meet with designers to carefully inspect creations before placing orders for their stores. The virus has radically replaced the way this procedure works. Add to that the fact that there has been a contraction in luxury demand (paywall) and that retailers are naturally looking for other things, meaning brands will first have to think about the virtual to save on operating prices and be more agile. Some brands, such as Versace and Ferragamo, introduced their richly designed virtual showroom buyers with the assistance of one of my company’s generation partners, while other brands submitted virtual sampling. It is vital not to forget that neither virtual showrooms nor virtual sampling are a new generation. repackaging the existing generation for another purpose.

Go to e-commerce

According to Steven Kolb, executive leader of the CFDA, which organizes the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) calendar, 95% of the presenting designers planned to launch their collections exclusively online. CFDA even introduced a special platform, Runway360, for this purpose – designers can use it to demonstrate content like videos, grocery shopping features, and more. Obviously, virtual is the way to go for occasions like that. Therefore, brands will have to look beyond e-commerce to virtual transformation and invest in capable technologies from their source and distribution chains. It will also allow brands to integrate visitor knowledge with visitor knowledge, giving them a 360-degree view of your business and potentially impacting long-term design decisions. For example, brands can use three-dimensional generation to create realistic virtual samples that can be used to place orders before production occurs. Another use case that brands can look at is the integration of synthetic intelligence that will generate insights based on customer preferences, which they in turn can use for long-term production decisions. (Full disclosure: my company provides those capabilities. ) Live streaming is also a vital integration that brands deserve in their social media strategy for their sales and connection with customers.

Become ”phygital”

In fact, to harness the strength of generation, it is vital that designers and brands perceive that generation is an aid and not a replacement for physical pleasures. I was only in New York last year for Fashion Week, and watching the creations move down the catwalk was magical. The feeling of touching embroidery and fabric is something that cannot be replaced or recreated thanks to the generation, at least, to the generation we have lately. Totally virtual either. Paris Fashion Week had to mix face-to-face and virtual events, with smaller exhibits with enough social distance. The technique of virtual transformation is vital for the fashion industry knowing that there are some non-negotiable ones that cannot be overcome. , regardless of the amount of investment.

For fashion to succeed in virtual transformation, it will have to set expectations from the beginning, although we have accepted the pandemic and are in the process of confronting it, there are still barriers to the industry given the prohibitions that remain in place. If fashion is going to use generation to close this gap, it deserves not to see virtual generation and transformation as a one-time workout or as a transitority solution for a pandemic. complements your physical activities and, in turn, allows you to generate a higher source of income and productivity.

Forbes Technology Council is an invitation only to CIO, CTO and world-class generation executives.

Chief Product Officer at Vue. ai. Lee the full profile of Julia Dietmar’s control here.

Chief Product Officer at Vue. ai. Lee the full profile of Julia Dietmar’s control here.

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