Increase Online Sales :: Fashion & Tech Team Up

Companies in the fashion industry are finding that, by teaming up with the tech world, they face the prospect of being able to increase online sales.

Earlier this month, both sides met in Boston at the Institute of Contemporary Art at an event hosted by Moda e Technologia, an Italian nonprofit that promotes the fashion and tech exchange.  The mission? To discuss how a partnership between the two sides can benefit them both.  The thought is that the tech industry can help the fashion industry promote their brands and in turn pull in additional shoppers that might not have bothered with getting "techy" before this; ultimately creating additional streams of revenue.

With sites like Second Life and My Virtual Model already popular, this partnership is much closer to reality than many realize. In fact, Second Life has so entrenched itself in the virtual fashion world that it has it’s own virtual magazine, Second Style, which is the equivalent to Vogue.  It’s editor sells adspace not only for clothing, but also for virtual body parts.  In addition, as customers get more demanding about what they expect out of an online shopping experience, the fashion industry is going to have no choice but to hop on board with the tech guys.

Big names attended the event including Linden Lab – maker of Second Life, MIT, Max Mara, Italian filmmaker Giacomo Faenza, and fashion giant Dolce & Gabbana who already has a reputation for incorporating tech into their marketing scheme; to date, they’ve put their name on cell phones ring tones and wallpapers.  But even so, their director of media interaction, Dennis Valle, said that the "move to digital is a big jump that will require teaching a whole industry a new vocabulary and explanation of context."

The future between the two industries looks bright, and I, like many others, will be watching for new developments.