burberry's digital age.

On April 13, in celebration of their new Beijing flagship, Burberry staged a digital fashion show at the Beijing Television Center that once again secured its status as one of the most digitally innovative luxury companies today.  Paying homage to London's weather, the show began with images of umbrellas "raining" on large screens that lined the ceiling and surrounding walls, followed by animated models flying and dancing with umbrellas in hand, and other various animated footage featuring the latest collections.  Transitioning away from the screens, six real-life models emerged on the runway in brightly colored outerwear and hats.  After walking a few rounds on the runway, they were joined by life-like holographic models generated by Musion image technology.  A one point, identical holographic models collided with each other into raindrops, only to reemerge on the other side with a different outfit.  Soon after, as the holographic models made their way down the runway, they exploded into raindrops as the real-life models walked right through them.  It's difficult to describe all 18 minutes of the show in words, but you can see it for yourself here: live.burberry.com

Burberry was one of the first fashion companies to embrace the digital age by streaming 3D fashion shows live, making runway collections available online immediately after the show, interacting with customers through Facebook and Twitter, and creating an add-on experience through the Art of the Trench website (a collaborative project featuring portraits of people in trench coats).  Now, Burberry is equipping their 57 stores in China with touchscreens and iPads so customers can browse the entire collection, including items that may not be available in the particular store.  This move is ingenious: the digitalization of luxury fashion is inevitable and China is the fastest growing luxury market, so why not marry the two?  China's luxury spenders are relatively young and technologically savvy, so the high-tech refit of the stores will definitely appeal to them. With the massive influx of luxury brands in China over the past decade, brands have to set themselves apart from the pack in order to gain market share.  With the seemingly endless digital innovation, Burberry has done just that.


images courtesy of ftape.com

v&a feat. yohji yamamoto.

This past weekend, I visited the Yohji Yamamoto exhibit at the V&A Museum in London.  The Gallery 38 space features catalogs, photos, runway show footage, interview excerpts, and pieces from various collections since the 1980s.  The best part of the exhibition is you can actually feel each item of clothing, which allows the visitors to fully experience the fashion world of Yohji Yamamoto.

Since his Tokyo debut in 1977, Yohji has established himself as a visionary designer who continues to challenge traditional gender boundaries and fashion design techniques.  His pieces often feature unconventional fabrics and intricate layering.  Black is one of his favorite colors, which he describes as being "modest and arrogant at the same time."  Through his collections, Yohji has redefined the modern woman and man, pioneering over-sized elegance, minimalism and androgyny.  These themes continue to resonate today through the work of designers such as Alexander Wang and Rad Hourani.

Yohji Yamamoto (born 1943, Tokyo)

An (illegal) picture of my favorite Yohji photo at the exhibit:
While felt dress with large collar, AW 1996

Looks from Alexander Wang's Fall 2011 RTW collection

Cardigan and jacket from Rad by Rad Hourani, a unisex collection

Images courtesy of vam.ac.uk, radhourani.com, alexanderwang.com

miu miu x e-commerce

Miu Miu unveiled its e-store today and I like what I see.  The site is simple and easy to navigate:  product categories (and sub-categories) are listed on top with merchandise appropriately spaced out below.  Filters are featured in the upper right hand corner and change depending on the category selected.  When your pointer hovers over the desired item, the price appears in the lower left hand corner of the box -- there's no need to click on the product just to find out you can't afford it.  When an item is selected, you are brought to a page with several different views and a brief description, including measurement, material, sizing and design information.  There is a separate side bar on the right that shows the product in different colors, if applicable, not just the name of the color.  The site is clean and to the point -- the main focus is on the product -- end of story.

Many luxury brands have sites that are so flashed-up and/or poorly laid out that are a pain to scroll through (I'm looking at you, Gucci).  Being overly fancy does not translate to a more luxurious image - there is no way to recreate the store experience online, so why try?  As a customer, I want to see high quality product images, brief points of information and appropriate/minimal use of logos, not busy backgrounds and annoying pop-ups.

Props to Miu Miu for getting it right!

why i love my friends.

I've been looking forward
to sitting at a cafe
drinking red wine
eating macarons
and buying my chanel bag
with you


best poem of all time.

ain't no sunshine.

Since the sun refuses to shine consistently in Amsterdam, I've decided that the only way to resolve this issue is to bring in reinforcements:

Marc by Marc Jacobs belted silk dress



Just Cavalli snake print color block dress



Alice & Olivia cut-out dress

Moschino ruched linen-blend skirt

Proenza Schouler PS1 small satchel

Marc by Marc Jacobs backpack

Jil Sander color block wedges

Pierre Hardy color block wedges

Previously I wrote about my preference for neutral tones... but what is fashion if not fickle?  : )

If flamboyant yellow is not really your thing, adding gold tones will brighten an outfit as well.



Joseph knit cardigan



Mulberry oversized Alexa

Jimmy Choo patent leather pumps

Lanvin sneakers

 

Aurelie Bidermann wheat necklace

 Giles & Brother cuff

images courtesy of net-a-porter.com

united nude.

While running some errands, I came across United Nude, a shoe store located on Spuistraat.  The interior of the store boasted black walls and couches, no doubt a deliberate decision to make the fluorescent-colored heels pop.  Stacks of cubes were placed against a lit wall that changed colors.

There was one limited edition shoe that strongly resembled the late Alexander McQueen's armadillo shoes from his Spring 2010 collection.  Iris and UN made some of their own interpretations (thicker heel, cutouts, etc), but it would have been nice if McQueen got some credit.

Left: Iris van Herpen x United Nude Synesthesia

Right: Alexander McQueen Armadillo booties as worn by Lady Gaga in her Bad Romance video

United Nude is a Dutch brand founded in 2003 by architect Rem D Koolhaas and Galahad Clark, 7th generation shoe maker of the Clark's family.

image courtesy of unitednude.com