FIAF Fashion Talks: “Uncovering Fashion with Garance Dore`”

 

Last week Garance Doré led FIAF Fashion Talks “Uncovering Fashion”, how digital has changed fashion. From the beginnings of blogging to today’s use of Instagram and Twitter, the four panelists gave their take and experience on the digital age of sourcing talent and marketing a brand.

 

Speakers: Fashion Blogger and Illustrator-Garance Doré Creative Director at SUNO– Erin Beatty Senior Digital Director at KCD –Danielle McGrory Co-Owner of Kirna Zabéte –Sarah Easley

Fashion Blogger and Illustrator-Garance Dore`

Garance begins the conversation with how, nine years ago when she started her blog, it was all paper and magazines who gave voice to who’s who in fashion. Blogging gave anyone a voice and a following gave anyone credibility. “The importance of magazines plummeted. Brand media is no longer linear, now you can go directly to the audience. It’s harder work in some ways because now you work in traditional, social and digital media. Success is when you read it everywhere. Now, as soon as something is available to the world anyone can take it.”

 

Creative Director at SUNO– Erin Beatty

Erin Beatty Creative Director at SUNO talked of a fascination with expression through clothing and sending a brand message that sets you apart. “It always goes back to the clothes; craft, art and humanity are in the clothing. Stores are obsessed with social exchange and digital marketing, why be on every social platform? Some brands are tailored to certain media. There is a beauty and mystery to saying a lot less. “

 

Senior Digital Director at KCD –Danielle McGrory

Danielle McGrory Senior Digital Director at KCD talked on the topic of digital coverage, standing out and having a significant message. It is hard to track sales from Instagram but having a presence in multiple places is important. Never show the same thing over and over again, change the message a little bit for each platform. A blog is now a slow thing compared to Instagram and Twitter. Content is important, so offer something different. Fashion shows aren’t necessarily the best investment for brands. Unless there are sales, it’s empty press. There are 300 shows now, what’s the point? How do you stand out? If you have a strong message it will be talked about.

 

Co-Owner of Kirna Zabate –Sarah Easley

 

 

Sarah Easley Co-owner of Kirna Zabéte talked of luxury, exclusivity and selling. “Sell through is still the bottom line of success, it is easy to lose sight of that. After seven years we are still clawing to make it.” Media has sped up but production hasn’t, you have to be able to change timing, offering and delivery. When selling ‘luxury investments’ Sarah shows clients how they can wear a special piece over and over again. It’s a lot of nurturing and fostering a relationship with the client, which leads to passionate fans that won’t let go of the brand. Sarah told the story of an expensive collection being manufactured in Africa that was a production disaster. Her clients waited for the clothes to be finished, “the fans, bloggers and media stopped with us and we were able to recover by coming back after the fact.”

 

 

 Garance Doré Fashion Blogger and Illustrator, elaborated more about how her blog has evolved in this new age of instant fashion moments. “There is so much Fashion Week behind the scenes coverage available instantly on Twitter and Instagram. It’s not relevant to cover on the blog anymore. (She further admitted that she is happy to miss the shows all together). “Now covering things is different to me. Styles are so quick to turn around, bringing it back happens quicker because no one remembers it. Now, I like to get quiet, I like to get into a magazine, I like stories. We were on a treadmill and now we stopped and take the time to choose (our content). We use to outsource Instagram, we didn’t know what to do and it was so time consuming. It didn’t look like us so we took it back. (The message) has to be real, it has to be natural, the audience will know and they will see if you aren’t. It’s frustrating creatively and for the clients, it’s not worth it. That’s why I try to stay on the small side, so I don’t have a big machine to feed.”

 

When the panelist were asked about the future of fashion coverage content and how they stay creative in the digital media environment they answered:

 

Sourcing and Marketing: Sarah- “I don’t fall in love with designers at a fashion show; I fall in love with designers in the showroom. I’d rather skip the shows.” Sarah talked on the changing buyer landscape and how they don’t let you take pictures in the showroom anymore. “It’s really frustrating because you have to use your brain again.” She sighted an example where Moda Operandi offered Pre-orders to the runway shows with ½ payments now and ½ upon delivery. It didn’t work; no one knows what they want to wear six months from now. “real time fashion” is what people want. Our clients are motivated to buy more luxury now . They buy more often because they don’t want to be Instagramed twice in the same outfit.

 

Brand Image Delivery: Danielle – Stores like Zara, Urban Outfitter etc. are making the same season designs as the designers on the runway. To compete you have to get back to the brand message, to telling a story about the brand. You have to change timing, offering and delivery to accommodate “real time fashion”.

 

 

Design: Erin- There is too much trend; it’s easy to get so lost in all the information out there. There is too much stuff and I’m not going to fall through the Taylor Swift time hole. I constantly think about, “How do I stay an intelligent human and not waste my time?” Five years ago it was about Facebook and writing and now it’s about Instagram and visual. The assumption is that the brand is the designer and that is a dangerous hole to fall into. There has to be a way to depersonalize it. “Designers have to create content and bloggers have to create product.” You are your voice; designers now have a beautiful thing and something to say too, a message. Designers need help unifying the image and the real brand experience. “I want to see how you experience your clothes.” The message has to be in everything, even how we email. You see it happening in design, people are editing themselves.

The general consensus: “We are still in the beginning of all this. Five years into the early stages of digital. We all need great content but we are also tired of it and we don’t have time and we don’t care.” It still has to evolve; it will tame out and quiet down. The content has to be natural and real. Think about what you want to say and make, don’t listen to all the noise. Quality, design and emotional reaction are what we get excited about.