Fashion trends on ramp make news. Be it prêt or couture, they create the right buzz and garner attention. However, at the recently held International Fashion Week in New York, designers encouraged audiences to log on to Facebook for their shows. A designer went on to say, “We don’t care if you love it. We want you to ‘like’ it.” After websites, most of the designers and fashion brands are using social networks to expand their reach and have a steady footfall. How are fashion designers harnessing the power of social media?
“Social media has opened up the fashion space and made it more democratic. A designer or any brand can strike a personal chord with its client base through it. Initially, I had an online portal called Studio Anupama, which did not manage to garner much online traffic. But through my Facebook page, we have managed to change that,” says designer Anupama Dayal. She further adds, “Since there is no structured format to be on social media, I can just be myself. I keep tweeting quite frequently about my work and the response generated gives an immediate sense of gratification.”
Being a fashion enthusiast, if you haven’t managed to get the coveted front row seat at a fashion show, fret not! Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and YouTube can more than cover up for it. “Social Media is very relevant to marketing, but the success lies in one’s ability to make a design or page, that can go viral rather than it appearing as a paid promotion. If a customer is promoting your products, it is seemingly ‘recommended’ rather than promoted by the company itself,” explains designer Rajvi Mohan Singh.
Talking about the advantage of social media in tracking the connect with the customers, designer Pernia Querishi adds, “Facebook has created a way to measure viral marketing by allowing page administration to track how often the content is shared, thus helping is channelise our promotion plans better. Since we are dealing with a lot of customers abroad, it is very convenient for us to not only keep them informed about our upcoming products but also deal with their queries and concerns.”
And if designers share pictures of celebrities wearing their collection, it sends out a strong positive signal among the client base. “Our page ‘Gaurav&Ritika’ on Facebook is being continually updated to keep followers of the label up to date about every aspect of the brand. Fans of the page can also keep a track of celebrity appearances wearing our label,” reveals Gaurav Jagtiani of the label Gaurav & Ritika.
For others, it is not just a marketing tool but a means to project the state of mind, while designing a certain creation. “We usually share our personal experiences, to keep our customers in the loop about what we are up to. So, when I talk about my favourite holiday destination, in terms of beaches, I ensure that our followers share the same vision as us. They should understand our frame of mind, when we create something. Selling is not our top priority on social media, for sure,” says Narresh of the luxury swimwear brand, Shivan & Narresh.
But the medium needs to be used with discretion. “By using social media, one opens up to the possibility that all designs/collections are available in a digital format to be downloaded by anyone. This is dangerous as there is a multitude of ‘copycats’ out there,” cautions Rajvi.