The fashion world is no stranger to the power of social media, and neither is Tommy Hilfiger. This season, Hilfiger has utilized mammoth social platforms in order to showcase his collection to, well, just about anyone in the entire world who wants to see it. Hilfiger has now made it possible for anyone to submit requests on Facebook for images from the show.
This unlimited access to photos means that anyone who is interested in writing an article about the show, obtaining a specific image for reference, blogging about the collection or viewing backstage photos is able to do so easily. This means more photos of the collection on many, many more platforms. The team at Tommy Hilfiger knows that the more exposure the collection has, the better. Avery Baker, chief marketing officer for the label, talked to Fashionista about the new fan-friendly addition to this season's show, saying that the goal is to create as many impressions as possible.
In a further effort to encourage more people to view the collection, Hilfiger also turned to Instagram. The designer and his marketing recruited 20 popular users to document the show via their Instagram accounts, in the hopes of allowing each of the unique images to reach tens of thousands of users.
Hilfiger's social media strategy for this season's fashion week isn't the only way designers are creating buzz for their collections via apps and Websites. Marc Jacobs will be creating a pop-up shop during this week's fashion frenzy in New York, connecting social media and shopping. By using the hashtag #MJDaisyChain shoppers will be able to win Jacobs' accessories and gifts at the shop.
As Jacobs' and Hilfger's efforts show, social media has created the ability for just about anyone who is interested in the world of fashion to be connected to NYFW. While I love a good, continuous Fashion Week scroll through Instagram as much as the next girl, one has to wonder whether the heightened level of accessibility to the shows has somehow taken the exclusive, mysterious, and somewhat magical aura that defines Fashion Week away.
Fashion week has traditionally been been defined by that sense of exclusivity, but, for better or worse, social media appears to be changing that. For now, I'll stop trying to figure out exactly what that means and just enjoy living vicariously through Instagram photos, tweets, and Facebook posts from all my favorite designer's shows this week.
The Marc Jacobs pop-up store will take place Feb. 7-9 and the Tommy Hilfiger show is set for 11 a.m. on Feb. 10.
