“If people want to be part of us they want to be part of us in every way” – fashion designer Lulu Guinness on consumer engagement
Consumers who buy luxury fashion increasingly want to be a part of the brand's world, thanks to the progressive use of technology in the retail sector, according to accessories fashion designer Lulu Guinness.
Speaking at the Decoded Fashion Summit in London, Guinness said that her eponymous brand, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is gearing up to launch a YouTube channel in August and a ‘Culture Cloud’ and book club to create an all-encompassing lifestyle, using technology to join up the dots.
“If people want to be part of us they want to be part of us in every way. The last big, big, change before technology was when people started doing lifestyle… now we want to involve people in not just what we would have in our houses, but what we do, what we read, what exhibitions we go to and joining it all up through technology.”
Guinness also discussed the powerful conversion rate that video has for the accessories brand, particularly through QVC in the US, and said that England has always “been a bit snobbish” about using the TV shopping channel for fashion brands, whereas in America they “sort of understand it more”.
Speaking about the use of 3D printing at home, she said that she finds it “totally fascinating” that a consumer could see a bag on the internet and use a code to print it out.
“I know that person doesn’t want to copy it, they want a branded thing and they will be paying for the code – obviously a lot of work and quality control has to be done…I think you can’t do it with every single article.. what I mean is this is the kind of perfect thing [referring to a Lulu Guinness clutch bag] something Perspex like this would be fine.”
Asked what advice she would give to brands who want to move forward but are scared of the world of technology, Guinness said: “I think you’ve got to be fearless, or you’ll get left behind otherwise. You’ve just to go with it – use your intelligence and your common sense.”
“If you’re in fashion, and you’re a fashion retailer you should be embracing every single type of technology you can. Fashion is about creating a moment in people’s lives that’s fun, it’s not about the all-day slog. You want to give people something wonderful and technology can really help with the presentation of that, making it an exciting moment.”