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敬请期待中文版  Eva Chen,Head of Fashion Partnerships at Instagram, and Olivier Rousteing,Creative Director at Balmain, take a selfie with Suzy on the firstday of the CNI Luxury Conference in Seoul Picture credit: InDigital IF THERE ARE two people that know the power of social media inthe fashion forum, it's Eva Chen and Olivier Rousteing. The Kingand Queen of Instagram (Chen is Head of Fashion Partnerships andRousteing, Creative Director of Balmain, is its most ardentfashion-designer advocate), the pair came together on day one ofthe Condé Nast International Luxury Conference in Seoul today todebate the impact social media has on the industry. "Fashion has always been about the future, it's always movedquickly, and yes - it has been accelerated by social media," saidChen. "It's such an interesting time, with enormous opportunity.The velvet ropes have come down in fashion - the future of fashionis democracy and the ability to adapt with the consumer. It's a newway of storytelling. So many luxury brands use the word'storytelling' and what else is Instagram than storytelling?There's so many ways to do it now through Instagram."  Instagram'sEva Chen outside the Dongdaemun Plaza inSeoul Picture credit: @EvaChen212 "You're right, it's storytelling," Balmain's CreativeDirector agreed, explaining his original reason to join theplatform. "At the beginning I was the Balmain baby and now Balmainis my baby. It was important back then to use Instagram to invitepeople to discover who I am. I'm adopted, I came from an orphanage,and I wanted to show people that dreams can come true; to give apositive message and say that if you believe in yourself and youbelieve in a dream it can happen." "You can reach so many people through Instagram," Rousteingcontinued, speaking about his #BalmainArmy hashtag. "Now, after ashow I can invite people to understand the Balmain world. If theywant the Balmain world they can have it and follow; if they don'tlike it, they can unfollow." Accessing people and getting them to buy into the brandis, of course, one of the most important ways to harness the powerof social media - indeed, it has been one of the major catalystsfor the recent "see-now-buy-now" movement. That designers couldmonetise the buzz created by social media around a show to sellthrough immediately to the consumer has financial benefits, but hasdivided opinion.  Rousteing'scollection for Balmain, Autumn/Winter2016 Picture credit: InDigital "I believe in see-now-buy-now - we have to stay connected and gofaster," revealed Rousteing, hinting that releasing capsulecollections immediately after the show (as many other brands havechosen to do, as opposed to making the entire collection available)would be the route the brand would take. "We are probably going tohead for see-now-buy-now, for sure. But it's important to keep keypieces that you will sell later and also have pieces that areavailable immediately after the show. It's good to have a mix ofprice points too. And I believe that Instagram and couture can worktogether - you can invite people to discover how you work. WithInstagram I can push and explain the details." "A lot of designers are showing the detail through Instagram,"added Chen, who believes that Instagram can be used in a positiveway to spark excitement about what is about to land on the shopfloor. "Designers also use long-form explanations - which arebecoming increasingly popular - that allow them to explain whatinspires them. Marc Jacobs, instead of telling the audience who themodel was and photographer was, took the time to explain why eachmodel meant something to the campaign, which gave his followers acloser connection." And connection is what the platform is all about - as Chen'sparting words for the conference summed up concisely. "Rememberthat Instagram is truly a community - and it can be a greatice-breaker." By Scarlett Conlon, reporting live from Seoul (责任编辑：admin) |