A 360° Virtual Experience of the Topshop Unique AW14 Catwalk Show
The Topshop FROW is one of the hottest tickets for London Fashion Week and while the likes of Kate Moss and Anna Wintour took their seats at the Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall, five lucky competition winners were settling themselves in the window of Topshop’s flagship Oxford Circus store, ready to be virtually transported to their seats beside the stars.
Quick Facts
- Who: Topshop
- What: 360 degree virtual reality catwalk show
- When: FROW show, A/W London Fashion Week 2014
- Tech: Oculus Rift HMD (DK1), Ricoh Theta
The brief
To create an experience that would open up Topshop’s London Fashion Week show to a wider audience.
The solution
We created a telepresence experience, transmitting the show live from a front row seat in the Turbine Hall to enthralled fashion-lovers sitting in the window of Topshop’s flagship store on Oxford Street. Five lucky competition winners donned specially customised Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets and experienced the show as it happened, plus visitors to the store in the three days after the event could re-live the show on-demand.
The virtual reality experience allowed people even more access than official show attendees sitting in the Turbine Hall – we pulled in multiple media streams of the live environment including two streams of live HD from the front row and backstage. Positional 3D sound and live Tweets also featured – written on autumnal leaves and dropped by a helpful crow! A time-lapse of the set build and 360° stills were also brought into the environment so that viewers could explore 360° selfies taken by celebs and backstage. The aesthetics of all elements of the experience were carefully styled to fit in with the iconic building and show’s autumnal themes.
The results
Several hundred people experienced the show on-demand in the days immediately following the show and Topshop were delighted with the response…
“WE COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR BETTER RESULTS. INITION PULLED OFF A GREAT JOB!” SHEENA SAUVAIRE, GLOBAL MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR – TOPSHOP
“WE ARE AMAZED WHAT YOU GUYS CREATED!! IT’S BEEN A SUPER SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN AND WE ARE VERY PROUD OF THE RESULT” ANNA KARLEN, SENIOR MARKETING MANAGER – TOPSHOP TOPMAN
“THE FINAL EXPERIENCE ITSELF WAS REALLY AMAZING! WE ARE REALLY PLEASED WITH IT” CLARE DRUMMOND, TOPSHOP PRESS MANAGER – TOPSHOP
The Independent: How Topshop’s runway shows became a must-see success
Grazia Daily: Who wants a spot on Topshop’s front row?
Event magazine: Topshop to host virtual catwalk experience with Inition
The Times: From catwalk to front rooms as Topshop makes it virtual
Although there was some sophisticated technology powering the Topshop project, our main ambition was to create a memorable, immersive experience, so we were pleased to see the theme of the overwhelming volume of press coverage and individual feedback was all about how amazing it was to be able to step inside this coveted show.
Of particular delight to us was the clapping response elicited from one of the winners of the competition as she reacted to the live show as though she was there.
Awards
The experience won ‘Project of the Year‘ at the BT Retail Week Technology Awards 2014 and Best Hybrid Event / Best Virtual Event at the 2014 Event Tech Awards
Media Coverage
The Independent: How Topshop’s runway shows became a must-see success
Grazia Daily: Who wants a spot on Topshop’s front row?
Event magazine: Topshop to host virtual catwalk experience with Inition
The Times: From catwalk to front rooms as Topshop makes it virtual
The Drum: Topshop goes virtual with ‘world first telepresence’ for London Fashion Week
Wired UK: Oculus Rift: your front row Fashion Week ticket
LDN fashion blog: Topshop to host Virtual Reality London Fashion Week show
The Recessionista blog: Topshop enters Virtual Reality for London Fashion Week