Key Takeaway
Underscoring the value and significance of online conversations, the British Fashion Council announced a social media visualization project, shining a spotlight on the growing impact social media data holds.
Major brands around the world continue to recognize the influence and insight social media data and online conversations have, especially when it comes to driving business decisions. Today, the UK fashion industry is putting this data on the main stage alongside models displaying the latest designer collections.
Women’s Wear Daily announced that The British Fashion Council is undertaking a new initiative during this year’s London Fashion Week to visualize the impact that social media data and online conversations have on the fashion space – and vice versa.
“The new project, dubbed Blossoming Fashion Conversation, will showcase the number of posts and the reach of a series of LFW-related topics on social media and other digital outlets.”
The visualizations will be displayed on screens at the main BFA runway as a way of demonstrating the event’s global reach and its influence over the conversations happening online. “The data will be collected from keywords and hashtags on social platforms, as well as the British Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar websites. It will be showcased in the form of a tree with different roots and branches. Each root will represent the reach of LFW-related articles, while the branches will indicate the total number of social media mentions each topic gains during the event.”
Topics to be evaluated include:
- Sustainability
- model health
- luxury and streetwear climates
- designer and production heritage
- emerging talent
- diversity in the industry
- overall innovation
These themes were among those reflected in February’s LFW earlier this year, which focused on Positive Fashion: “a platform designed to promote and celebrate diversity, sustainability and openness.” Data has long been a focus for the British Fashion Council, releasing annual “Fashion Week by the Numbers” data. According to a February press release, the industry as a whole directly contributed £32.3billion to the UK GDP in 2017 ($41.8billion), representing a 5.4% increase after 2016; a growth rate 1.6% higher than the rest of the economy, making it one of the most significant sectors in the country.
Beyond sheer marketing impact, social media data continues to inform major business decisions in the fashion industry, from design and product development, to market entry, to personalization efforts and innovation in the customer journey. If leveraged for forward-looking decisions, these consumer insights can offer an information advantage, significantly impacting a brand’s bottom line and ability to remain competitive.
