Fashion week — it’s the event for anyone and everyone in the fashion industry.

But for those of us who couldn’t make it, a British retailer found a way. Shoppers in London were able to experience everything from the runway via virtual reality.

Topshop, a British fashion brand, gave its customers a digital window into its runway shows. The retailer partnered with Inition, a London-based 3-D agency, to live stream a virtual reality experience of their Topshop Unique show into their Oxford Circus store.

The show took place on Feb. 16 in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, and was streamed through special headsets installed in the windows of their Oxford Circus store. The headsets allowed consumers to step outside of their everyday, hectic lives and into the magical fantasy world that is fashion week.

According to an article in fashion journal Women’s Wear Daily, customers wearing the headsets to watch the show were “promised a 360-degree experience that will blend live action from the runway, backstage and VIP arrivals, along with views of the set design and animated features.”

Where can I get one of those headsets?

Topshop didn’t even stop there. It also live streamed its show on its website, allowing a selection of the looks to be available to buy straight after the show with a delivery time three months ahead of when they would hit stores. The brand also made the makeup and the soundtrack used in the show available to buy online immediately afterwards.

 

According to Women’s Wear Daily, the brand also utilized social media with live Instagram, Twitter and Vine feeds on the Topshop Unique show page, along with 360-degree images of the show, which will be posted as the show went on.

 

Topshop is taking the idea of the traditional fashion show and taking it to the next level — a virtual level. Obviously the customers shopping at their store already have an interest in the brand. By allowing them to have such a special look into their brand, they’re creating unique experiences for their customers that will keep them coming back.

Topshop customers don’t just get videos of models slowly sauntering down the runway, which is all they would get from other websites. They get an experience that they wouldn’t have unless they actually went to fashion week. Customers love it when companies make them feel special, and that is exactly what Topshop did — it gave its customers something special.

They took the trend of magazines using specialized content for their websites and iPad versions and have applied it flawlessly to the fashion world at their store.

It will be interesting to see if other retailers decide to follow suit. Topshop is one of Britain’s edgier retailers, always looking to bring the newest trends to its customers.  According to Arcadia Group, its owner, Topshop is the single biggest supporter of emerging design talent in the United Kingdom.

There are already websites that allow viewers to see live streams of shows at fashion week, such as style.com, but Topshop took it a step further by allowing their customers to go backstage and by having animated features in their virtual reality.

I think that it’s safe to say that other design brands all over the world, especially those in the U.K., look to Topshop for new, innovating ideas. And its virtual runway might just be the next biggest one.

It’s hard to say yet if this virtual runway has had any effect on what consumers think about Topshop, but it makes me have more respect for the retailer. By having this experience, it shows that they want all of their customers to have the opportunity to see their runway show. They don’t want the show to only be seen by those who can pay the high price for a ticket.

If other retailers are smart, they will follow the model that Topshop has just presented. Topshop may be the first, but they don’t have to be the only.

Alexis McDonell is a sophomore magazine journalism major. Her column appears every week in Pulp. E-mail her at admcdone@syr.edu and follow her on Twitter at @AlexisMickD.

 

Published on February 23, 2014 at 11:55 pm