The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City is a leader in education with alumni including Carolina Herrera, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Isabel Toledo.
FIT has a pioneering innovation lab on known as FIT DTech, where students and industry leaders explore ideas and pioneer the innovations that drive the fashion industry.
stats
7
emerging designers
20min
average view time
60%+
engagement rate
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The objective
As part of DTech’s innovative exploration, they turned to Bambuser and Live Video Shopping to continue to push the boundaries between fashion, innovation and technology. Engagement and ensuring a pioneering standpoint were the main focuses for this first DTech Live Bambuser event. “What better environment to [experiment with live shopping] than within the context of a college focused on fashion, retail and the creative industries to really start bringing students and their ideas on how they can apply this and utilize it?” says Ferraro, Executive Director, FIT DTech Lab.
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“We were looking at ‘what's the next generation of retail going to look like?"
Michael Ferraro, Executive Director, FIT DTech Lab
The solution
Dtech stepped into the world of Live Video Shopping by premiering 7 emerging MFA Fashion Designer collections in a pioneering, first-in-its-class Live Show. Hosted by Dr. Valerie Steele, Director, and Chief Curator, The Museum at FIT, and Professor Cathleen Sheehan, those who tuned in engaged and shopped the vibrant collections.
In this instance, the beauty of Live Video Shopping was notably to do with the “rich emotional impact” that was curated from the live interviews and the option to buy featured items on a made-to-order basis. That level of authenticity, customization and innovation meant Dtech could successfully reach their audiences with something that had an impact on them all emotionally, giving a much more receptive response.
“Live shopping is really powerful, and, of course, going to be changing the face of fashion retail. But we're also looking at it as a way of establishing a fairly intimate and interactive connection to an audience."
Michael Ferraro, Executive Director, FIT DTech Lab
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The results
Dtech concluded that the ability for their students to hold a camera and have them talk directly with their audiences was an incredibly powerful engagement tool. The 30 minute show garnered over 500 viewers who watched, engaged and shopped for an average of 20 minutes - an extremely impressive average viewing time that heightened the belief that the content offered was entertaining and sought after.
60% of the live viewers engaged through likes or comments within the show so Dtech has now started strategizing plans to experiment with Bambuser’s live shopping technology even further in the future. Soon they plan to launch two more design collections utilizing live shopping. One of the main pulls for Dtech is the development of their own brand and the different fashion collections that have been designed and/or marketed by their students. They will look to use the Live Video Shopping technology not only to generate commerce, but also as a way of providing more information. The horizon is really bright for Dtech as they also explore more creative uses, including 3D virtual sets and animated avatars, reaffirming their objective to remain the pioneers and innovators in fashion education.
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“I see some really interesting opportunities to leverage [the live shopping] experience as we start to explore different ways to present material and to engage the public."
Michael Ferraro, Executive Director, FIT DTech Lab
