In difficult times, it is extremely important to support entrepreneurs professionally and with role models. On our “Strategy Review” page, we collect companies that inspire others with a great idea or a positive attitude. How did they learn about a crisis? What were their first thoughts? What solutions did they come up with? Same questions, different answers.
Keep calm and love fashion
The nose and mouth protection was chosen as the “Accessory of the Year 2020”. Nevertheless, the fashion world and creatives have suffered greatly from the pandemic. Because of the closures, smaller luxury companies are still in a difficult situation today.
How long does the forced pause last and how can you maintain contact with customers until a new interaction or purchase?
The situation seems difficult. Just as a bricklayer can’t build a wall in the air, a home office isn’t an option for a designer, model, or show artist. But creative people are not called “creative” for nothing. They find clever solutions to impossible situations. One of the examples of this is the virtual fashion show of Austrian Christina Seewald.
Christina Seewald – Fashion designer
The Austrian-born textile designer graduated from Central Saint Martins in England. Christina Seewald debuted with her 2019 collection at London Fashion Week. She specializes in knitwear.
As she says herself, the collections are based on the interplay of different materials. But how to give potential customers the feel of textiles without models moving in front of them? Christina’s fashion team wanted to create online, a virtual show that would create the atmosphere of fashion shows.
The team met online, because without being able to touch the clothes, the styling work was quite difficult. After good preparation, the castings also took place online. Models from all over the world worked on the look at home following detailed instructions. It was not just a catwalk, but a wider range of gestures and movements that presented the products. The appropriate music for the video was sourced from a composer. The result speaks for itself.
Fashion, individuality, and aesthetics, as well as Christina Seewald’s message as an artist, may even reach more people via social media channels than in the context of a traditional fashion show. And what does the future hold? Christina, herself takes a positive view of the experience:
„I’m encouraged by the attention my brand is getting right now. Usually most customers shop my designs on ssense.com, but lately more and more interested people are also writing to me on Instagram – so for me it’s good that social media usage has peaked in the last few weeks. (…) The biggest challenge now is how we can still stay innovative – and find a balance between real and virtual life”..
You can read more about the details of the project in Vogue’s online columns here.
The show must go on
The fashion industry faces many challenges and many provide excellent answers:
- Experiments with unusual materials
- Solidarity, charity work
- Combating pollution in fashion
- Local fashion, local stores
- Quality
- Sustainability
The brand’s online presence is also given high priority in this business unit. Social media channels and web stores are becoming increasingly important. The good news is that you now have time for new designs, research, and experimentation. You also need time to think through production processes, locations, partners, and sales strategies.
At Konsultori, we work with creative industries, startups, and SMEs on your business development topics – in workshops and consultations.