HOW TO CREATE A FUTURE-PROOF FASHION BRAND

In 1854 Louis Vuitton launched its company-defining travel luggage with a design that flew in the face of received wisdom. Its beautifully crafted trunk, made from what would become its trademark lightweight canvas, was the first to have a flat top and bottom so it was stackable and easily transported. It was an innovative piece made from new materials, based on market insights about the needs and desires of its customers.

If the maison launched today, with the same aspiration to be a craft-led innovator relevant to cultural expectations, isn’t it reasonable to assume it would be a digital fashion house making digital products?

The Fabricant’s latest collaboration, with iconic footwear makers Buffalo London, launches today using this idea as its base level expectation - how can a brand meet the cultural conversation head on, creating something innovative and revenue generating in the long term, that speaks to the consumer of now and tomorrow? 

The answer in this case is the ‘Classic BurningFor’, marking a first for us both as design houses. This Buffalo London x The Fabricant co-created, 3D digital sneaker is worn exclusively in the digital realm, and makes the physically impossible possible by using flames as its primary material. The concept references fire as a transformative and regenerative force, and asks wearers to express what they’re #BurningFor in 2021, during a cultural crossroads when toxic principles are being challenged with the hope of installing equitable replacements.

The experience is powered by digital fashion retailer Dress-X, who will fit the 3D sneakers to an image of the buyer so their digitally dressed style can be seen across social platforms with no physical item being created or physical interactions taking place. 

Lockdowns and curfews may be a daily reality right now, but bold fashionauts still have complete freedom to dream, explore and express themselves in the digital environment. 

The project signals a true crossover moment for digital fashion, where an established and well loved physical brand has worked with its equal in the digital realm, embracing the possibilities of the non-physical world so they can be delivered to its consumers - not via a gaming platform or mobile app, but by selling them as wearable items alongside the regular inventory on its website. 

Buffalo’s distinct platform-soled footwear was originally made famous by The Spice Girls in the 1990s. Today its collaboration with The Fabricant reimagines it for a new audience, placing the brand at the forefront of cultural dialogues. The Classic BurningFor can be worn by anyone with a passion for creative, innovative and sustainable ways to experience fashion, without any tech awareness required for participation. It’s the stuff new business models are made of. 

A label paying close attention to it consumers’ digital-centric world, innovating its products to fit their needs and desires for the long term, while opening up new revenue streams in new environments with new ways to engage. The future-proof fashion brand has just been made.

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The Fabricant x Buffalo London Classic BurningFor digital sneaker launches today. 

Find more details on our website HERE

Video: The Fabricant