Fashion

Just back from ONE Travel Conference in Orlando, which was geared to cultural, heritage and shopping tourism. Kudos to conference producers, Rosemary McCormick and Sheila Armstrong, for a fun, well run and informative conference. We tweeted some intelligence, interesting facts and figures, and social media tips, but in case you missed it, here’s a roundup:

Deal hunting needs to amuse, to be fun. Look for more gamification as brands will have to engage and entertain to build brand loyalty. Jimmy Choo created a virtual scavenger hunt to introduce its first sneaker collection – “Catch a Choo” – a quasi-scavenger hunt around London. When followers saw that a pair of sneakers had “checked in” somewhere in the city, the first to arrive there before the sneakers “left” could pick a pair in the style and size of their choice.

A button down blazer. A v-neck wool sweater. A Nehru vest. A polo shirt. What do all of these have in common? They can and are being made bulletproof by Colombian company Miguel Caballero Bulletproof Attire. It’s a clothing line “European style clothing designed exclusively for the client seeking stylish yet camouflaged bulletproof options.” Fabulous!

Sustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, environmentalism and social responsibility, where products are created and produced with consideration to the environmental and social impact it may have throughout its total life span, including its “carbon footprint”.

As reported by the New York Times, QR codes were all the rage during New York’s Fashion Week earlier this month. When scanned, QR codes can connect consumers to everything from webpages (company or personal), online contests, games and cocktail recipes, to personal social media pages and geographic coordinates. Even how-to videos – at Macy’s, a QR code that points consumers to a smoky-eye makeup lesson by Bobbi Brown has been an unexpected hit.

Designer hotels and products are bound to perform better than their conventional peers as more and more people are looking for niche and exclusive products and services. Together, they create an experience that finds resonance among luxury travelers.

In the short term, the status appeal should make extravagantly priced goods “hot items”. But for the long term? Doubtful. Even assuming there’s enough quality, exceptional design and workmanship to give inherent value to the products, and assuming there are limited editions, will these be classics that will someday command the prices of vintage Hermes or Chanel (a factor if I were buying a bag like this)? Where’s the brand story of heritage and authenticity?

Children’s collections are an area for growth for luxury brands – sources of new revenue streams. Lanvin and Versace are the two latest fashion houses to launches childrenswear lines. While children’s haute couture has its critics, others believe that if the parents can afford it, what’s the harm? After all, luxury labels have long created and sold clothes for kids. The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has some Christian Dior children’s pieces dating back to the 1950s.

Like the U.S. economy in general, magazine has been slow to pick up steam. With this in mind, brands /magazines are looking for new partnerships as a means to drive new revenue streams and create new user experience for their consumers/readers.

A very original solution was presented at Bergdorf Goodman for French luxury leather purveyor Goyard. Customers were invited to a two day special event and bring in their own design to be custom painted on their Goyard purchase by a Goyard painter.