This Week’s Trends in Social Media & Style | Week 8 | Feb. 18th 2017
Published in
7 min readFeb 20, 2017
Social Media & Marketing News
- “Raf Simons Calvin Klein debut was a hit on social media. BrandWatch found that Calvin Klein’s show, with more than 3,300 mentions across social accounted for 39 percent of all designer mentions within the NYFW social conversation thus far. What’s more, the discussion was categorized as almost entirely positive: 99 percent positive, to be exact. To compare, that’s not far off from the overall tone of NYFW mentions — 95.4 percent of those have been positive so far. Still, the tallied numbers are a testament to the strength of Simons’ infectious brand.” — Glossy. Feb 10th 2017
- More than a gimmick? How emojis might find lasting marketing appeal. Once decried as little more than a fad, emojis are increasingly being used to add nuance and richer context to brand messaging
- Google rolls out shareable places lists in Maps After finding local businesses in Maps, users can save them to a list and then share them with friends via text, email or social networks.
- Report: Twitter plans major retool of its ad business. Following an especially bleak Q4, the platform might be paring down and reassessing key offerings including Promoted Tweets.
- The Washington Post brings experiential breaking news to Snapchat. The publisher has the first Discover channel to update multiple times each day with the latest news
- Instagram Live is becoming a breakout star at New York Fashion Week. Fashion designers and brands gave been increasingly turning to the platform since it launched in December 2016, either using it as an addendum to platforms like Facebook Live or as a means to connect with different demographics of social media users. Thakoon was among the brands that dabbled with Live early in the week, sharing several behind the scenes moments leading up to its spring 2017 collection debut, including a look at fittings and hair-and-makeup tests the day before its February 9 show. It also posted backstage preparation and moments from the runway show itself to its nearly 100,000 followers.Tibi promoted its Instagram Live experience by sharing a traditional Instagram photo with details on when to tune in for its February 11 show. Kyle Wong, CEO of Pixlee, said brands also benefit from the additional push notification sent to Instagram users when someone they follow goes live. It creates an added sense of urgency, especially since live posts are not accessible after they air. — Glossy. Feb 14th 2017
- Shoppable content is the next frontier for Instagram.
For anyone with a verified account, links can now be added to Stories — a feature Instagram intends to roll out to the masses soon. - Facebook’s latest video push includes autoplay sound, TV app. Making the social media giant’s videos easier to view on TVs is another shot across YouTube’s bow.
- Study: 87.5% of brand followers on Snapchat complete opened stories. As organic reach on the platform grows, brands are posting two times per week on average.
- Who’s killing it on Instagram Stories, according to Instagram’s Head of Fashion Partnerships Eva Chen:
Gucci — “They don’t post on Stories everyday, but when they do, they hand it over to friends of the house. The other day, it was their collaborator for last season, Jade Fish, an illustrator from San Francisco who Alessandro found through Instagram. (He’s really into Instagram.)”
Olivier Rousteing — “Because he has a very fun life.”
Tanya Taylor — “She has a lot of personality. She’ll take you on trips with her, and you’ll feel like you’re there.”
Love Magazine — “They do really fun takeovers, pretty much every day. Today is very randomly Brienne of Tarth [Gwendoline Christie] from Game of Thrones.”
Allure — “They have a different editor do a takeover every day, so it’s programmed — for example, Monday is the accessories editor and Tuesday is the beauty editor.” — Glossy. Feb. 14th 2017
Style & Design News
- In a rich display that pointed to the ladylike slant of fall dressing, Joseph Altuzarra gave the signposts of Elizabethan regalia a modern spin, tinged with grit. His winning fall show climaxed with a parade of lavishly embroidered gowns, with pearls treated like studs. The results soared. Altuzarra worked tropes derived from Elizabethan regalia — round-shouldered tailoring, breastplate constructions, lavish collars, period-derived jacquards and embroideries — against grittier elements achieving the desired rigor while telegraphing the subtle fetishistic sensuality that pulses through his work. His Elizabethans are the stylistic descendants of the courtly power brokers for whom negotiating sexual politics was all in a day’s treachery.— WWD. Feb 14th 2017
- Herrera has long loved a white shirt. For fall she worked it numerous ways — big pilgrim collar; wrapped waist; buttoned high with ribbon at the neck — most often with black or white skirts in fluid volumes that signaled the collection’s dominant mood of relaxed propriety; “calm elegance,” read her program notes. A smart, funnel neck coat in teal wool had a velvet bow on each hip; a sportswear moment layered a burgundy sweater and white shirt over fluid skirt. The gentility carried into evening as Her — rera shunned the ballgowns and corseted constructions of which she has been so fond in favor of fluid, often demure silhouettes — a gown with a long-sleeved, rose gold bodice and pale-pink crepe skirt; a tiered, dotted gown in plum-silk chiffon.
- It’s happening. The political climate is front and center on the runways this season, with some designers making their version of a message of inclusion, diversity and the American dream more visually obvious than others. Phillip Lim was among those reacting to current events on a sly, thoughtful level. “The part we play is to empower through what we do, and that’s the use of clothes,” he said backstage. “I worked on the idea of new romantics, color, curiosity and courage, and making clothes that women want.” To his point, the show was full of softness and ideas that tied back to traditional femininity.
- It’s commendable when designers use their runways to champion a cause as Prabal Gurung did for fall, weaving a message about women and diversity — there were plus-sized models — through the show. Then he hammered the point home with a finale of models wearing T-shirts printed with things like, “The Future Is Female,” “We Will Not Be Silenced,” “I Am a Rose,” and “I Am a Coretta.” Those who have a mic and want to put it to good use should do so. To that end, it does not go without saying that Gurung’s political message was a separate entity from the clothes. Good will and good intentions don’t always add up to the strongest collection.
- Frame founders Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson are moving right along, with an expanded and evolved collection. And while they don’t feel any inclination to abandon that skinny jean, which made them a hot resource fast, they seem tapped into exactly what their fans — and 2,000 retailers worldwide — will want. “We have one foot set firmly in the Seventies, while the other does more with trends,” Torstensson explained. “We want to give our customer what she comes to Frame for; over time, it becomes a wardrobe,” Grede added. For fall, leather has become more important — a terrific, mid-calf trenchcoat, a cool biker jacket. Recently, the team found that their velvet sportswear was becoming popular, so they added more of a silk-viscose-nylon version for crisply tailored blazers over matching jeans. The newest of these was in a rich, Persian-carpet print. One of the best additions to Frame’s repertoire were the charming, feminine blouses — ruffle-edged in black silk or given a high frilly collar in white cotton.
- Could Lacoste be the next French brand to collaborate with Supreme? According to market sources, a collection is in the works. Neither Supreme nor Lacoste would comment on the project.
- Lilly Pulitzer Teams Up With Starbucks and S’well For Exclusive Bottles
