This year, Shona Joy are doing Fashion Week a little differently. Their show will be pre-recorded, and customers will also be able to see-now, buy-now, in an Afterpay Australian Fashion Week first. We chatted with the Shona Joy team to find out more about their strategy behind AAFW ’21.
F: Why do you participate in Fashion Week?
SJ: Being an established brand in the industry for over 20 years, we see this as a perfect opportunity to connect directly with our customer and showcase our true DNA as a brand. The opportunity to present a digital runway was particularly exciting to us as we could set the show in a natural environment and use this as a storytelling platform to engage with our customer. Presenting our show on the beach makes so much sense to us, it talks to who we are as a brand: natural and undone, raw femininity, with a true Australian Identity. This is how we want our customer to feel and how we want our customer to engage us.
What are your non-negotiable Fashion Week activities?
SJ: Coffee runs!
How are you using tech to support your Fashion Week activity?
SJ: For AAFW this year we’re presenting a pre-recorded see now-buy now runway so the digital experience is everything! We wanted to create a digitally immersive experience where customers could not only connect with our brand but also have a great shopping experience straight after watching the runway. To do this we’ve integrated new technology into our website and are using each of our digital channels as their own platforms to experience the runway show.
We’ll also be using Flaunter to upload our Fashion Week assets including imagery from the show. We will be able to share links with editors without having to worry about expired links, and will be able to see who downloads our imagery, which is very useful.
How do big social issues impact how you approach Fashion Week (e.g. sustainability, inclusivity)
SJ: We’re by no means perfect and we have a long way to go, however we acknowledge the responsibility we have (not only during fashion week) but day in day out to make responsible choices when it comes to the garments we produce, the materials we use and the processes we follow that contribute to social issues.
At the forefront of our business we believe in creating beautifully made, classic pieces, with a focus on growing our use of natural fibres and transitioning to more sustainable fabrications. The collection presented in our AAFW Digital Runway is made-up of predominantly natural fibres, and featuring our new EcoVero LENZING™ Viscose – a luxurious and sustainable alternative to one of our most loved fabrications.
Fashion Week is finished – what are your must-dos after the event (apart from champagne…)?
The lead up and the week of fashion week include a lot of late nights – so quality time with loved ones is a must. And seeing everyone’s new collections often inspires some retail therapy!
How do you evaluate the success of Fashion Week?
Considering we’re delivering a digital runway, we can easily access video views, engagement, page views, impressions and reach across just about every channel on which we’re hosting the runway. But apart from the numbers, I’m also just so proud and amazed by our whole team – from the patternmakers, to production, to the designers, to marketing and customer service..(the list goes on) who bring our collections to life month after month.
We had a special team preview of the runway at Huberts restaurant a few nights ago, and seeing everyone’s faces and knowing how everyone contributed to that moment – no matter what the result, it’s already a success in our eyes.
How do you keep the Fashion Week momentum going long after the event finished?
There are a lot of relationships that are built during fashion week – nurturing those and exploring new opportunities. Plus, take all the learnings from the experience and start planning for next year!
What’s the last 3 things you googled (for work)?
Well the last thing I googled is “AAFW Schedule” !
