5 Brands Courting Smartphone-Wielding Shoppers In The Age of See Now, Must Have Now!

We explore this season's 'see now buy' fashion labels transforming digital shopping and the world of fashion shows and retailing.

After Burberry embraced the “see now, buy now” idea two years ago we have since seen quite a few fashion Week designers succumbing to producing a shoppable runway. Although not yet an industry standard model, Heather Gramston, women’s wear buying manager at Selfridges, told NY Times that for all the hype, see-now, buy-now wasn’t replacing the traditional fashion buying calendar, instead “was offering an alternative” for retailers, brands and shoppers alike. “The traditional seasonal runway show structure is still where the vast majority of our buys come from,” Gramston said. “It is not going out of fashion just yet.”

See Now, Buy Now
Mulberry See Now, Buy Now debut at London Fashion Week

Retail Tech, All About Offering An Alternative

Every season there is always a few more early adopters looking to modernise their marketing strategy. Moncler CEO and creative director Remo Ruffini recently announced the brand’s “genius” strategy of replacing Fashion Week with see-now buy-now. “The concept of the catwalk show doesn’t exist anymore for us; it’s a new way of working from now on,” he said. #NoWaitingListRequired, here are five of our favourite designers (and H&M) looking to instantly update your wardrobe with their off the runway fashion.

RALPH LAUREN [New York]

Ralph Lauren who showed his collection at New York Fashion Week, showed off the pretty strapless blue-and-white dress, accessorised with nothing but carefree beauty. Giving the audience a Guys and Dolls feel, the collection was the runway also featured a melange of footwear, including goloshes paired with Bermuda shorts, white loafers and yellow-and-red colour-blocked pumps. It is a collection that you can see now, buy now.

Fashion Week

LULU GUINNESS [London]

Lulu Guinness, who is known for her accessories, showed off her see-now-buy-now collection ay London Fashion Week. Inspired by Sixties Op Art, the playful lineup includes clutches, backpacks and fanny packs in bright hues of hot pink, burnt orange, aubergine and acid green, while the clothing capsule consists of dresses, a palazzo trouser, a bomber jacket and shoes – including a new Mary Jane style. The collection is available for purchase in the brand’s Covent Garden store and online.

Retail Tech
The ‘see now, buy now’ collection is available for purchase in the brand’s Covent Garden store and online.

BURBERRY [London]

As Christopher Bailey 17 year reign at Burberry comes to an end, he gave the iconic Burberry check a reimagined bright makeover, a tribute to the LGBTQ+ community. Nothing was left out; there was rainbow baseball caps, visors, chunky knits, puffers, handbags, capes, anoraks, sneakers, vests and more. All the pieces were available to shop immediately following the runway show as part of its “see now, buy now” strategy.

Fashion Week
Cara Delevingne modelling Burberry

TOMMY HILFIGER [Milan]

Tommy X Gigi’s spring/summer 2018 show is set to take Milan by storm on 25th February 2018. The fourth and final collection for the duo includes Tommy’s timeless red, white and blue designs in lace-up skirts, feminine dresses with leather detail and bold colour block jackets. The collection will be immediately shoppable as Tommy adopts the ‘see now, buy now’ format again.

See Now, Buy Now
Tommy and Gigi’s fourth and final collection debuts at Milan Fashion Week

H&M [Paris]

H&M Studio will be showing both womenswear and menswear collections at Paris Fashion Week. The see-now-buy-now showcase will happen at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs on rue de Rivoli on 28th February 2018. The clothing, shoes and accessories will be available to buy online directly after the show and will drop into selected stores around the world from 1st March 2018.

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Founding Editor in Chief at FashNerd.com | editor@fashnerd.com | Website

Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.