Hi °C | Lo °C Models on the catwalks at London and New York Fashion Week are now surrounded not just by the great and the good of the world's glossy magazines. Increasingly, the iPad and iPhone are the devices that record each show, and technology in general is used to bring a global audience close to the action.
That means collections going on sale online as soon as they are first presented to the world, and sometimes even before. Photographers are using apps such as Instagram to capture evocative pictures of Fashion Week, and journalists and editors are using the iPad to sketch their immediate impressions of favourite looks.
Twitter has even gone so far as to sign up top designer Matthew Williamson – he will be using its Vine video app to deliver what it is claimed are unique, behind-the-scenes insights.
"Five years ago, pictures had to look great on a desktop computer because that's what the majority of people used," fashion photographer Uzo Oleh said. "Now more people make decisions based on pictures and websites seen from their iPhones or iPads.
"Anybody can be a photographer now. iPhone is like pen and paper. It's inexpensive and ubiquitous," he added.
For all aspects of the show, there is an obvious commercial motivation, enabled by technology. "With everything from the nail polish to the music instantly purchasable and sharable this really is the future of the fashion show," Topshop's Justin Cooke said. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
Irish Independent
