This year's London Fashion Week has seen the first use
of
mobile near field communications (NFC)to help
sell a fashion range.
An NFC system from operator O2 is allowing fashion buyers give
instant feedback on the latest
Emilio de la Morena
collection this week.
The system, at Emilio de la Morena's catwalk show at the
London Science
Museum, will enable the label to instantly know which designs
are likely to be the hottest by getting immediate feedback from
fashion buyers attending the show.
As they leave the show, fashion buyers equipped with a
Nokia 6131 NFC
handset will be able to register interest in specific designs in
the range's Autumn-Winter 2008/9 collection.
They will be able to use the contactless device to "touch"
specially designed smart posters featuring the different
designs.
Embedded tags within the smart posters automatically send a text
message back to the brand indicating which designs they are
interested in.
With the main selling event in Paris only two weeks away, the
feedback can help a designer tailor specific products to maximise
sales.
Emilio de la Morena said, "Traditionally, we are very much in
the dark with regards to what buyers think of the collection
presented in London before we present the complete collection to
buyers in Paris.
"Our partnership with O2 means that for the first time we have a
way of immediately capturing essential feedback, providing us with
the time to understand what the buyers are thinking and make any
changes straight away."