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London Fashion Week: Tech takes the runway

As ever, Fashion month promises to be a spectacle of all things digital and style. With designers drawing on further tech and social media trends at this year’s events, we were keen to see what’s been going on.

The well-timed launch of Apple’s iWatch has proven that tech and fashion are ideal partners. Google Glass’s debut at the Diane von Furstenberg show back in 2012 confirmed this, and now, the British Fashion Council has just announced technology as one of their key priorities. This announcement came with the launch of the Council’s Innovation and Digital Pillar, part of their ongoing aim to drive digital, and boost online sales. This initiative, established in 2013, intends London to become “the most tech-savvy fashion capital in the world”, according to BFC chairman Natalie Massenet. Alongside combining technology with fashion, the scheme aims to help British-based designers; this season, London Fashion Week has partnered with Google to launch a series of talks and projects, helping them to make the most of their digital forum.

And it seems that many brands are already exemplifying the aims of this scheme. With a new collection making its runway debut today, digital leader Burberry, has partnered with Twitter, to test the site’s new “Buy” feature. The button will sit inside a tweet, and enable Burberry’s followers to purchase the nail polish used on the show’s models, when clicked on directly. Burberry is the first fashion brand to team up with Twitter for its new e-commerce addition- we imagine that it won’t be long before other designers get involved too, especially when promoting limited edition items. Indeed, online sales are increasingly becoming prioritized by other designers, with the number of e-commerce sites having grown 10% since last year. Now, 43% of designers have e-commerce sites, largely attributed to the British Fashion Council’s digital campaign.

While designers are increasingly establishing themselves online, others are leading the pack. Topshop, for instance, have already stood out this season with their approach to social media, debuting their latest collection before it hit the runway. The high-street brand shared its latest pieces in exclusive videos with Facebook and Instagram followers just hours before the show, in what the company called “A fashion first”. And while live-streaming has now become de rigueur at Fashion Week, iconic Wellies brand, Hunter, has gone one step further by partnering with real-time video sharing company, Grabyo. Hunter hopes to use Grabyo’s tools to post near live edited footage to Twitter. And in the spirit of experimentation, designer Alice Temperley has been one of the first to test out Instagram’s new Hyperlase tool, using it to showcase her personal countdown to Lodnon Fashion Week. Hyperlase allows the user to create moving, handheld time lapses resulting in a cinematic look, thanks to built-in stabilization technology. Using this, the designer managed to disclose sneak peaks and backstage footage before her show.

Have you been following the digital and social media action at New York and London fashion week? What do you think is next to come? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital, and share your comments on our Facebook page.