Open Innovation Hits the Fashion Runways

February 21, 2013 By IdeaConnection

look-editTop designer Telfar Clemens used a crowdsourcing approach to determine the makeup of his Fall/Winter collection. It was seen on the runways of New York Fashion Week, held earlier this month and was an interesting exercise in consumer engagement.

By involving the public early in the fashion process brands may be able to gain an understanding of what consumers really want and incorporate some of their best ideas. Early consumer engagement also helps to secure buy-in that can create brand advocates and prime an audience for future sales.

Telfar crowdsourced his collection through an app called Telfar Style which was available through the DIS magazine website. Users were presented with a mannequin which they could dress with Telfar designs, and with few mouse clicks change the colors.

They could even decide on such things as whether a top looked better tucked in or hanging loose.

Creating Winning Looks

Their suggestions were saved to the Telfar Style Archive and posted on Facebook. The designer’s followers then voted on the favorite designs and the most popular choices formed the basis of Telfar’s Fall/Winter collection.

Consumer Input

Whilst crowdsourcing is nothing new, its application in the fashion industry is, and raises a number of questions. Will designers be willing to release control of some aspects of the creative process to let the public have their say? Should the public be telling designers what they want to wear and see more of? Could this lead to greater sales?

 


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