06 Sep Virtual Reality is Revolutionizing the Fashion World
For many years, fashion influencers and top brands enjoyed a monopoly on exclusive events, right from extravagant shows and couture catwalks, to behind closed doors events with a limited audience, comprised of elites in the fashion world. Courtesy of technology, exclusive clubs and elite-access-only fashion shows are slowly coming to an end. Virtual Reality is one of the recent “new kids on the block” in the tech world. Henry Stuart, the Chief Executive Officer of the VR Studio says it allows any interested person to “experience the fashion world.” It is no longer going to be an exclusive “club” event: people who have always wanted to sit on the front seat and get the best glimpse of the models and designers are now presented with a lifetime opportunity, all courtesy of technology.
Top brands have seen an opportunity to increase their profits and scope: Topshop, Christian Dior and other fashion leaders are reaping the benefits of Virtual Reality technology, widening their market and eventually changing the direction of their market curve.
The Topshop store in Oxford Circus used virtual reality tech to give select customers a 360 degree view and front row access to its AW 14 show and as its Marketing Director points out, the results were marvelous.
Dior and Balenciaga were not left behind in the virtual reality race: in fact, none of the leading fashion companies wants to be left behind in use of a technology that has been described as “the next big thing” in the fashion world. The previously ignored audience is given celebrity treatment, and is able to watch fashion shows, and catwalks from virtual front seats, getting an experience that celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Kate Moss enjoy in big shows.
Virtual reality gives an audience chance to enjoy a fashion show without having to worry about traffic jams, models arriving late, or being treated to assorted egos and small talk. One also gets an opportunity to skip the boring parts, fast forwarding to the best stuff in the show all at the comfort of their own home. It is all about attending a top fashion show without worrying whether you get that invitation card. Customers and fashion week fans get a chance to sit next to celebrities, in the front row seats, catching all the glamour, enjoying the whole experience: one that had, until now, been a preserve of the few. Virtual reality at fashion week is the next big thing to happen in the fashion world, making the whole experience fun and memorable.
Rebecca Minkoff, a top innovative company in fashion industry wants to make the experience great; they have introduced headsets in their store, selling them together with their other products such as accessories, bags, and clothes. With the virtual reality headset, customers will get an intimate, three-dimension view of fashion shows, and have a closer glimpse of the catwalk models, the busy photographers and the audience at large. They may even a better experience than those who are in real attendance, via a virtual reality fashion show where you “attend without necessarily being in the room.”
Virtual reality fashion eliminates the need for foreign or local travel to attend a fashion show, saves on the airfare, allows you to skip those boring and long hotel stays, and of course avoid the embarrassment of missed tickets … and, above all, an assurance that you have reduced your carbon print.
The sensory gadget, as one fashion guru puts it, gives the customer “a more than in the room” experience. It gives the fashion week fans a never-before-allowed access to the catwalk models and runway, as well as a closer look at the designers. The gadgets are not only transforming fashion shows but also contributing to environmental conservation. They are a tool that is modeled to change the way the world operates, making it easy to experience the new trends in the market as well as opening new ways through which fashion retail brands can reach and influence their customers.
Retail fashion brands can only be left behind if they ignore this new technology wave at their own peril. Fashion shows (and fashion weeks, from NY to London, Paris, to Milan) will never be the same again all courtesy of virtual reality fashion,. The gadgets also make us equal, allowing busy executives and others attend a fashion show, catch a glimpse of the models and fashions presented, discover the new trends, and appreciate what the top brands and designers are offering, all from the comfort of their couch.
