2013 is to be the year of live (or almost live) streams of events on social media platforms, and the first show to get the maximum digital presence with a live touch is the London three-day showcase of autumn/winter 2013 men’s collections from British designers starting today, January 7. On its official website, the British Fashion Council (BFC) notes that Men AW 2013 is providing a new opportunity “to unite fashion and digital innovation, encouraging engagement with the menswear showcase through social media, live streaming and digital presentations.”
Pic.: British Fashion Council’s board #ManAboutTown, pinterest.com/britishfashion/manabouttown (click to englarge)
Visitors to the www.londoncollections.co.uk website can find Livestreams in the schedule—this year, there are 11 shows while last year there were just 7. Plus, BFC is breaking a discussion revolving around the event through its @BFC account and is inviting public to ask questions to members of the Menswear Committee using hashtag #AskLCM. Public is asked to upload pictures of stunning men’s street styles to Twitter and Pinterest using the hashtag #ManAboutTown (the most impressive ones will be collated into a dedicated pinboard and Facebook album, which will represent the modern men’s style).
Pic.: The loading page of #TOPMAN360, www.facebook.com/topman
Designer Lou Dalton chose Pinterest as the major platform for the event—there, she is posting inspirational and backstage photos for her Monday show. In addition, the BFC’s Pinterest will also feature impressive catwalk and street style looks posted by fashion journalist Charlie Porter. Pictures from backstage and exclusive events will be uploaded to BFC’s Instagram feed by “Instagram Insiders” during the event.
London Collections: Men will also have a vast presence on Facebook: TOPMAN, a fashion business counterpart of Topshop, is introducing #TOPMAN360, “a new live streaming experience which allows fans to not only watch the show in 360 degrees but interact with VIPs on the front row who will be live tweeting.” The live stream will be available today, January 7, starting 12pm from the official Facebook app, www.facebook.com/topman.
London Collections: Men event also has an AR element, which goes live with Aurasma. “The windows of the Hospital Club will feature a life-sized catwalk installation: using their mobile device, passers by simply need to download the Aurasma app and hold it over the installation, at which point it will spring to life with the daily catwalk highlights from London Collections: Men,” writes BFC.