Burberry set a precedent for fashion brands in 2011 when it used Twitter to share a live-stream of its spring/summer 2012 collection. On Sunday, mens fashion designer J.W. Anderson made similar waves by presenting his fall 2016 mens collection using a mobile app exclusively for men. Grindr is a popular mobile networking app for men who like men, instead of using the app to drive his clientele to an experience, J.W. Anderson brought the show to his core consumers.
When J.W. Anderson’s collection hit the runway in London on Sunday morning, it appeared on Grindr as well. App users were surprised to with a live-stream of male models marching down a runway wearing Anderson’s whimsical collection of over-sized furs, knitwear and silk decorated by snail and floral motifs.
J.W. Anderson’s partnership with Grindr was a calculated decision, “It is no secret that J.W. Anderson is a killer mix of transgression and creativity, with an unapologetically fresh approach to gender. That is a perfect match for GRINDR,” riffs Grindr’s vice-president of marketing Landis Smithers. More than an alignment of ideas, Grindr was selected based on its audience, Veronique Hyland of NYMag reasons, “Given that this industry is (newsflash!) heavily composed of gay men and the women who love them, it’s not unusual to be at a fashion party where half the room is on Grindr, either as a participant or an onlooker.”
According to Grindr data, the show was watched 100,000 times during the 24 hours that it was avaialble on the app.
Why its hot:
Much like Burberry made fashion show live-streams table steaks in 2011, J.W. Anderson pushed the envelop by reaching its core audience where they spend their time, regardless of what surrounded it. As content on traditional platforms struggle for visibility in the digital clutter, look for brands to micro-target their audiences in surprising digital environments.
