How to… make fashion statements in the experiential space

From Coco Chanel to Virgil Abloh, designers and creative directors at leading fashion houses around the world have expressed themselves through the apparel and accessories they create. 

Now, thanks to the creative and technological advancements of studios like MPC and its peers, these cutting-edge creative talents have harnessed new immersive techniques to turn their fashion shows into spectacular visual showcases for the collections they represent. 

Labels like Gucci, Chanel, Burberry, Balenciaga and Tommy Hilfiger, as well as for streetwear brands like Off White, are at the forefront in creating cinematic, immersive and often dazzling live experiences that have never been done before – and with good reason. 

[Fashion shows have] become much more about entertainment, and employ groundbreaking technology in ways that have never been done before.

The role of the fashion show has changed; it’s no longer aimed strictly at buyers, who’d pre-order clothes for upcoming seasons, but has become a real-time selling opportunity, aimed at a much broader audience of consumers, celebrities, influencers and the media. 

As a result, they’ve become much more about entertainment, and employ groundbreaking technology in ways that have never been done before.

Above: MPC's Business Development Lead Camilla Bateman

This shift feeds into these brands’ new content demands; fashion’s use of experiential and immersive installations and activations are designed to extend well beyond the show itself, as shows are now routinely live streamed. The more rebellious designers are doing away with the traditional fashion show entirely and relying instead on experiential work to serve as the foundation for their multi-faceted campaigns.

And they’re doing it in ways that are often breathtaking. 

For Burberry, for example, MPC took over Griffith Observatory in L.A. and combined CG with projection mapping to bring a rousing touch of London to Los Angeles, all for the opening of the brand’s new digs on Rodeo Drive. 

Let’s not forget the time Off White created a catwalk entirely on a green screen, allowing the backgrounds to change and morph while models strutted along.

Tommy Hilfiger worked with Framestore and Facebook on a VR-enabled event that allowed attendees to delve deeper into the brand experience during the presentation itself. 

Mill+ worked with Balenciaga on its The Ride Never Ends installation, in which those attending the show appeared to travel through a tunnel whose interior surfaces were constantly changing. 

And let’s not forget the time Off White created a catwalk entirely on a green screen, allowing the backgrounds to change and morph while models strutted along.

As fashion brands hook up more with the creative industry, here are a few key things to keep in mind:

These companies are largely run by designers and creatives, and their cultures revolve around working at the highest levels of creative thinking. Famously protective of their DNA, they insist on creative, design and production work of only the highest caliber, and they’re looking for people who can bring their visions and desires to life. 

While pre-viz is something directors and producers in film are used to working with, it’s a new discipline for our fashion partners, so we need to be prepared to walk them through the process. 

Many of major brands work with specialist firms that plan, organize, populate and produce their fashion shows. In a sense, they function like the agency does in a more traditional advertising or commercial equation. 

These firms know that creative studios such as ours are the experts when it comes to creating cinematic visual content, but for them, most of this is relatively new terrain, so you can expect a deep learning curve.