DIGITAL

The Latest Digital: BMW, Maserati & Salvatore Ferragamo

by

Sophie Doran

|

This is the featured image caption
Credit: This is the featured image credit

BMW looks set to be the first luxury automaker to sell direct to consumers online, as DKNY calls on Aurasma technology to unlock the potential of augmented reality

Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.

PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.

In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”

The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris

BMW looks set to be the first luxury automaker to sell direct to consumers online, as DKNY calls on Aurasma technology to unlock the potential of augmented reality

LOVE Magazine’s latest iPad edition, featuring an App celebrating Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Yayoi Kusama

BMW looks set to be the first luxury automaker to sell direct to consumers online, as DKNY calls on Aurasma technology to unlock the potential of augmented reality

Not so many months ago, the toast of digital integration and social media was undoubtedly Pinterest. And whilst the platform has continued to prove influential to both consumers, and the design and functionality of the web itself, Instagram has quietly advanced from something merely aesthetically pleasing, to an important part of the social marketing mix.

Since launching an App for the Android platform, Instagram has grown from 15 million users in early 2012 to 80 million in July – an increase of over 400% in just seven months. According to recent research by Simply Measured, 40% of the brands listed in Interbrand’s Top 100 have set up shop on Instagram. The leading brands – when measured by follower numbers – are none other than Burberry, Tiffany & Co. and Gucci.

“ If you’re a brand manager you need to stop what you are doing & set up an Instagram account for the future of the free world depends on it ”

“Obviously, if you’re a brand manager or brand marketer, you need to stop what you are doing and set up an Instagram account right away for the future of the free world depends on it,” proclaimed Forbes contributor Steve Olenski, in his recent commentary More Brands Joining Instagram And With Good Reason.

Though he was self-confessedly guilty of a sensational statement, the impetus for brands to join Instagram seems best articulated by the conclusion of Simply Measured’s research: ”For brands that continue to hold out and watch as their competition is engaging users and measuring results, 80 million potential customers are being ignored.”

And if Instagram continues to grow at the astounding pace it has so far sustained, this could soon be a community of content hungry consumers far too significant to ignore.

Car Shoe, Website

Prada Group’s Car Shoe has unveiled its newly revamped and retrofitted website. The e-Commerce enabled site includes details of the Italian brand’s heritage, past and present collections and stores, as well as connectivity to Facebook. The website currently ships to seventeen destinations in the UK and Europe and is available in English and Italian.

Website: carshoe.com
Source: FashionWindows

BMW, e-Commerce

BMW will reportedly offer its electrified i3 city car and i8 sports car next year online, as well as through dealerships. Initially the German automaker will only retail the first models from its new i sub-brand for environmentally friendly vehicles, but could be set to add additional models sold in such a way if successful.

Website: bmw.com
Source: Motor Authority

DKNY, Augmented Reality App

DKNY has released a free augmented reality smartphone app called DKNYfx, which is to become the brand’s official platform for all digital initiatives. When downloaded to iPhone or iPad, users can hover over select DKNY images with the DKNYfx logo and bring them to life launching exclusive video content and more, utilising Aurasma technology.

Website: dkny.com
Download: DKNYfx
Source: WWD

Hublot, Website

Hublot has unveiled its latest website, where users can take a 360° tour of the Swiss manufacture with chairman Jean-Claude Biver, tour each individual watch workshop and all of the brand’s boutiques across the world.

Within the new site, each boutique has its own specific website, where users can meet and communicate with the manager, find out the latest local news for each boutique, its events, special editions, and get the address and floor plan sent to your mobile.

Lastly, the site host instructional videos on watch maintenance, comparison and model suggestion tools based on user preferences, and the option to create a personalised profile directly on the site with owned models and favourite boutiques.

Website & Source: hublot.com

Montegrappa, App

Montegrappa has launched a free Store Locator App for all the brand’s boutiques worldwide. The app uses geo-location software to show users the closest points of sales and after-sales-service, and also facilitates direct contact with dealers via phone or e-mail. The App also enables you to view the three most recent brand newsletters.

Website & Source: montegrappa.com
Download: Montegrappa Store Locator

Riva Yachts, Website

To celebrate its 170th anniversary, Riva yachts has launched a dedicated website in homage to the history of the brand, featuring previously unseen images, sketches and videos. Users can navigate from the brand’s origins, to the ‘La Dolce Vita’ period, and the modern age, with commentary from family member, Carlo Riva.

Website & Source: riva170.com

Love iPad – Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton from Jonny Lu Ltd on Vimeo.

LOVE Magazine, iPad

Celebrating Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with artist Yayoi Kusama, LOVE Magazine has created an iPad app art directed by Jonny Lu, which allows readers to play with the artist’s signature bright dots. The app showcases a fashion film shot by Angelo Pennetta and styled by Love’s editor in chief Katie Grand.

Download: LOVE Magazine
Source: WWD

Maserati, App

Maserati has launched its first official mobile app for iPhone and iPad users, Maserati Passion. The app showcases all the Italian automakers products and services complete with images, audio recording and technical notes.

The app also includes a mini-configurator that allows the creation of a virtual tailor-made vehicle, as well as social network integration, store location and after sales services.

Website: maserati.com
Download: Maserati Passion
Source: Expert Reviews

Salvatore Ferragamo, Digital Trunk Show

Salvatore Ferragamo has launched its own digital trunk show, marking the only time their fall 2012 ready-to-wear collection will be available online, for estimated delivery in early September. Model Lily Kwong has been photographed wearing all the pieces from the range, which customers can then mix-and-match digitally.

Website: trunkshow.ferragamo.com
Source: The Cut

The Cut, Website

The Cut has unveiled a new homepage layout, pushing original photographs, experimental fashion shoots from rising talents in the industry, weekly street style from around the world, close-up shots of the best things to buy, and vintage photography reaching deep into fashion and celebrity history.

The site features images at a resolution up to ten times higher than the average website, enabling many of them to be viewed with a zoom function.

Source: The Cut

For more in the series of The Latest Digital, please see our most recent editions as follows:

The Latest Digital: Lanvin, Graff & Marc Jacobs
The Latest Digital: Shangri-La, Breguet & Louis Vuitton
The Latest Digital: IWC, Chloé & Christian Louboutin

Sophie Doran
Sophie Doran

Creative Strategist, Digital

Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.

DIGITAL

The Latest Digital: BMW, Maserati & Salvatore Ferragamo

by

Sophie Doran

|

This is the featured image caption
Credit : This is the featured image credit

BMW looks set to be the first luxury automaker to sell direct to consumers online, as DKNY calls on Aurasma technology to unlock the potential of augmented reality

Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.

PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.

In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”

The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris

BMW looks set to be the first luxury automaker to sell direct to consumers online, as DKNY calls on Aurasma technology to unlock the potential of augmented reality

LOVE Magazine’s latest iPad edition, featuring an App celebrating Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Yayoi Kusama

BMW looks set to be the first luxury automaker to sell direct to consumers online, as DKNY calls on Aurasma technology to unlock the potential of augmented reality

Not so many months ago, the toast of digital integration and social media was undoubtedly Pinterest. And whilst the platform has continued to prove influential to both consumers, and the design and functionality of the web itself, Instagram has quietly advanced from something merely aesthetically pleasing, to an important part of the social marketing mix.

Since launching an App for the Android platform, Instagram has grown from 15 million users in early 2012 to 80 million in July – an increase of over 400% in just seven months. According to recent research by Simply Measured, 40% of the brands listed in Interbrand’s Top 100 have set up shop on Instagram. The leading brands – when measured by follower numbers – are none other than Burberry, Tiffany & Co. and Gucci.

“ If you’re a brand manager you need to stop what you are doing & set up an Instagram account for the future of the free world depends on it ”

“Obviously, if you’re a brand manager or brand marketer, you need to stop what you are doing and set up an Instagram account right away for the future of the free world depends on it,” proclaimed Forbes contributor Steve Olenski, in his recent commentary More Brands Joining Instagram And With Good Reason.

Though he was self-confessedly guilty of a sensational statement, the impetus for brands to join Instagram seems best articulated by the conclusion of Simply Measured’s research: ”For brands that continue to hold out and watch as their competition is engaging users and measuring results, 80 million potential customers are being ignored.”

And if Instagram continues to grow at the astounding pace it has so far sustained, this could soon be a community of content hungry consumers far too significant to ignore.

Car Shoe, Website

Prada Group’s Car Shoe has unveiled its newly revamped and retrofitted website. The e-Commerce enabled site includes details of the Italian brand’s heritage, past and present collections and stores, as well as connectivity to Facebook. The website currently ships to seventeen destinations in the UK and Europe and is available in English and Italian.

Website: carshoe.com
Source: FashionWindows

BMW, e-Commerce

BMW will reportedly offer its electrified i3 city car and i8 sports car next year online, as well as through dealerships. Initially the German automaker will only retail the first models from its new i sub-brand for environmentally friendly vehicles, but could be set to add additional models sold in such a way if successful.

Website: bmw.com
Source: Motor Authority

DKNY, Augmented Reality App

DKNY has released a free augmented reality smartphone app called DKNYfx, which is to become the brand’s official platform for all digital initiatives. When downloaded to iPhone or iPad, users can hover over select DKNY images with the DKNYfx logo and bring them to life launching exclusive video content and more, utilising Aurasma technology.

Website: dkny.com
Download: DKNYfx
Source: WWD

Hublot, Website

Hublot has unveiled its latest website, where users can take a 360° tour of the Swiss manufacture with chairman Jean-Claude Biver, tour each individual watch workshop and all of the brand’s boutiques across the world.

Within the new site, each boutique has its own specific website, where users can meet and communicate with the manager, find out the latest local news for each boutique, its events, special editions, and get the address and floor plan sent to your mobile.

Lastly, the site host instructional videos on watch maintenance, comparison and model suggestion tools based on user preferences, and the option to create a personalised profile directly on the site with owned models and favourite boutiques.

Website & Source: hublot.com

Montegrappa, App

Montegrappa has launched a free Store Locator App for all the brand’s boutiques worldwide. The app uses geo-location software to show users the closest points of sales and after-sales-service, and also facilitates direct contact with dealers via phone or e-mail. The App also enables you to view the three most recent brand newsletters.

Website & Source: montegrappa.com
Download: Montegrappa Store Locator

Riva Yachts, Website

To celebrate its 170th anniversary, Riva yachts has launched a dedicated website in homage to the history of the brand, featuring previously unseen images, sketches and videos. Users can navigate from the brand’s origins, to the ‘La Dolce Vita’ period, and the modern age, with commentary from family member, Carlo Riva.

Website & Source: riva170.com

Love iPad – Yayoi Kusama and Louis Vuitton from Jonny Lu Ltd on Vimeo.

LOVE Magazine, iPad

Celebrating Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with artist Yayoi Kusama, LOVE Magazine has created an iPad app art directed by Jonny Lu, which allows readers to play with the artist’s signature bright dots. The app showcases a fashion film shot by Angelo Pennetta and styled by Love’s editor in chief Katie Grand.

Download: LOVE Magazine
Source: WWD

Maserati, App

Maserati has launched its first official mobile app for iPhone and iPad users, Maserati Passion. The app showcases all the Italian automakers products and services complete with images, audio recording and technical notes.

The app also includes a mini-configurator that allows the creation of a virtual tailor-made vehicle, as well as social network integration, store location and after sales services.

Website: maserati.com
Download: Maserati Passion
Source: Expert Reviews

Salvatore Ferragamo, Digital Trunk Show

Salvatore Ferragamo has launched its own digital trunk show, marking the only time their fall 2012 ready-to-wear collection will be available online, for estimated delivery in early September. Model Lily Kwong has been photographed wearing all the pieces from the range, which customers can then mix-and-match digitally.

Website: trunkshow.ferragamo.com
Source: The Cut

The Cut, Website

The Cut has unveiled a new homepage layout, pushing original photographs, experimental fashion shoots from rising talents in the industry, weekly street style from around the world, close-up shots of the best things to buy, and vintage photography reaching deep into fashion and celebrity history.

The site features images at a resolution up to ten times higher than the average website, enabling many of them to be viewed with a zoom function.

Source: The Cut

For more in the series of The Latest Digital, please see our most recent editions as follows:

The Latest Digital: Lanvin, Graff & Marc Jacobs
The Latest Digital: Shangri-La, Breguet & Louis Vuitton
The Latest Digital: IWC, Chloé & Christian Louboutin

Sophie Doran
Sophie Doran

Creative Strategist, Digital

Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.

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