Technology is the Future of Fashion Week

However we move forward, there will always be a romanticised notion of the very first NYC “Press Week”, as conceived by fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert in 1943, during a time when the spoils of Parisian fashion were inaccessible due to WWII… This climate of the time provided the perfect opportunity for America to show just what its home-grown fashion designers could do – and it worked – with coverage of the show splashed across the likes of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, who previously would only concern themselves with French fashion houses.

During the early years, the NY fashion shows were exclusively for the press, (hence the name Press Week) and as momentum grew, Milan Fashion Week became recognised in 1958, then Paris in 1973 and just over a decade later, in 1984, London Fashion Week hit the runway.

Fast-forward 30+ years and there is now two very clear audiences – industry vs. consumer – and a fast-growing fashion-for-all notion… it’s not just for the invited influential editors, prominent celebrities and fashion buyers anymore. If you merge new technology and social media innovations (think Periscope) with an average attention span of 8.25 seconds, it’s no wonder Fashion Week is looking for new ways to engage and access consumers across an increasingly digital landscape.

Which is why Burberry have announced that it is to “abandon the traditional seasonal approach to its catwalk collections in a move that could herald a major shakeup for the entire fashion industry.”

Let’s face it, as consumers… if we like it, we want it now! So watch this space as the future of Fashion Week is technology…