Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Video Saved the Fashion House



It wasn't a completely novel idea when the late McQueen used media to complement his fashion. McQueen debuted a digital hologram video of Kate Moss' fluttering silhouette in a state of utterly beautiful fragility back in 2006. However, it certainly got people talking about how to expand one's brand using new media and designers began experimenting with new-age platforms such as the Internet and film to showcase the essence of a collection and provide exposure to not only the keen, blinder-fitted fashion eye but to the masses.


Film and digital media has now become understood as one of the smartest moves a house or designer can make to reach a consumer base that extends beyond their target market. i.e. ladies who dream with an empty wallet. *ahem*.
It can also be that something extra during the presentation of particular collection. Such is the case with McQueen's hologram. It was a stunning visual- a twisting womanly shape made up of ribbons and layers of organza and tulle that introduced his fall 2006 Ready to Wear line.
Alexander McQueen was also the first designer in history to stream live his now infamous show (thanks in part to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video) "Plato's Atlantis". You can bet I was at my kitchen table moments before his spring 2010 show with my laptop ready and waiting. It was a magnificent feeling to be watching his designs slowly reveal themselves on the runway at the very same moment as the fashion elite in Paris. (Check out the massive cameras that were placed on tracks on the runway, above).
I can't wait for future film pieces from design houses around the world. Here are some of my favourites from the last couple of years.




Bruce Weber for Yves Saint-Laurent's Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Menswear, Ready-to-Wear. This film has been posted to various social networking sites such as Facebook. The possibilities really are endless for designers looking to reach out to previously unexplored consumer bases. Social networking is a tool that I believe more designers will begin to use more efficiently.




Rodarte's Spring Summer 2010 campaign: A Space Odyssey by Rodarte, a film by Todd Cole.



Alexander McQueen's Fall 2006 Ready-to-Wear. Kate Moss in hologram form.



This is the trailer for Lagerfeld's film "Remember Now".

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