Two examples from the past couple of weeks show how luxury retailers are maximising their use of content across multiple channels.

Ferragamo store, Florence

Ferragamo store, Florence

Two examples from the past couple of weeks show how luxury retailers are maximising their use of content across multiple channels.

With London Fashion Week in full-swing, it’s a great time to think about how the high-fashion and luxury players are innovating with the content they create.

Tickets are like gold dust for the most anticipated catwalk shows, but the hype that is generated by their exclusivity means that the video footage they generate is valued. Most of a luxury retailer’s customers are never going to get a front row seat to view a live preview of a collection, but technology can allow them to still feel like part of the fashion in-crowd.

First up comes Burberry, which screened its Burberry Prorsum London Fashion Week show live on its website; but also generated much PR with a live screening on the 32 metre screen at Piccadilly Circus. The company has been at the front of the pack of luxury players when it comes of thinking up new ways to leverage its content without cheapening its brand.

And a couple of weeks ago, on a trip to meet the CEO of luxury fashion brand Salvatore Ferragamo and hear about his global SAP implementation, I was struck by the several clever ways content was being used.

Within the store at Ferragamo’s Florence headquarters, flatscreen displays showed footage from recent catwalk shows, in among the merchandise; helping to bring to life the glamour and quality synonymous with the brand.

And downstairs in the basement, at the Ferragamo Museum, visitors are in for a real treat. Microsoft Surface computers and a selection of shoes fitted with RFID tags allow visitors to place items on the screen to set off video and text content about the history of particular shoes and content on how they are made. Clever multi-dimensional projection, and behind the scenes videos of how the special effects for its content is created were also shown.

It rather puts to shame retailers who think they are doing well merely by posting up a version of their TV advertising on their website.

Of course, not all retailers can afford to take over Piccadilly Circus or purchases Surface computers for all their stores. But this experimentation with content that was already being created by the luxury brands is definitely coming into fashion.