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Vogue

Founded by Arthur Turnure in 1892, Vogue Magazine is an iconic core in the world of fashion, with an enduring legacy and global influence. It has maintained a reputation for editorial excellence under Conde Nast Publications ownership, encapsulating the best of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. Iconic covers and outstanding photography weave Vogue's historic journey, establishing trends and influencing cultural dialogues. Vogue has embraced the digital age by growing its online presence and interacting with people all over the world. Vogue is an institution of culture that does more than just publish fashion magazines; in recent years, it has become an advocate for inclusion and diversity. With a history spanning more than a century and a dedication to excellence, Vogue remains a trailblazer in the rapidly changing fields of media and fashion.

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Some Key Information

Harper's Bazaar : Established in 1867, it has a long tradition of offering readers an elegant and cutting-edge viewpoint on culture, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle. The magazine is well known for emphasizing artistic photography and visual narrative, and it frequently features well-known and significant personalities from the fashion business.

Vanity Fair : Reintroduced by Conde Nast Publications in 1914, Vanity Fair is and American publication that covers a variety of subjects ranging from culture, fashion and politics. The most well-known aspects of Vanity Fair are its celebrity photographs and the controversy that often envelops its more graphic photos. The publication is also known for its vibrant writing, in-depth reporting, and perceptive social commentary.

Elle : Founded in France in 1945, Elle Magazine has grown to become a well-known worldwide magazine recognized for its impact in the fields of lifestyle, beauty, and fashion. One of the top women’s fashion publications, Elle continuously sets the standard for modern style by providing readers with a diverse mix of high fashion, cultural analysis, and inspiring content. Elle has become a cultural icon thanks to its dedication to diversity and progressive outlook.

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CONCEPT THEME

Encapsulating the essence of the event through the incorporation of the terms "haute couture" and "habitat", this combination represents the elevated relationship between architecture and fashion, illustrating them as intertwined components influencing our visual perceptions rather than as distinct entities.

"Habitat" refers to the places we live in and the buildings that shape our surroundings, while "Haute" denotes upscale and exclusive fashion from the fashion world.

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Branding & Strategic Marketing : To execute a strategic marketing campaign highlighting the distinct fusion offered by "Haute Habitat" in order to build excitement and highlight the event's avant-garde approach.

To improve the event's visibility and valued brand status. - this supports in addressing shortcomings related to audience engagement and market positioning.

Enhancing Audience Engagement : Interactive elements in this event aims to actively engage with attendees and ensures a more immersive and memorable experience, addressing the need for events that go beyond traditional showcases.

To highlight sustainable practices in both fashion and architecture through curated exhibits, discussions, and showcases that emphasize environmentally conscious concept.

Making the exclusive, inclusive.

People of all ages are welcome, welcoming an alluring experience for each individual.

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Reputable for their curatorial expertise and architectural significance, the Serpentine Galleries tend to be the perfect location for the VogueWorld "Haute Habitat" 2024 event. Located within the picturesque Kensington Gardens, the versatile indoor and outdoor areas provide an ideal scenery for a variety of exhibits and runway shows that highlight the intersection of architecture and fashion. The venue's commitment to innovation, collaboration, and environmental awareness blends in perfectly with the goals of the event.

The Serpentine Galleries not only add architectural elegance to the event, but they also provide a space where the natural and built environments coexist, creating a dynamic environment for the forward-thinking and experimental spirit of "Haute Habitat."

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December 15&16th

Winter in London

WHY?

Tranquil Color Scheme:

The muted color palette of winter serves as a refined canvas for vibrant and avant-garde designs, allowing them to stand out more prominently.

Appeal of the Holiday Season:

Hosting the event during the holiday season allows you to capitalize on the festive spirit, increasing visibility and attendance.

Serpentine during Winter 2024; Technologies and AI exhibition ; links to AI influence for VogueWorld

"Berlin-based artists and technologists Holly Herndon (USA – named by TIME magazine among the 100 most influential people in AI) and Mat Dryhurst (UK) will present an exhibition at Serpentine North as part of a year-long research project with the Arts Technologies team exploring the ‘dark corridors of what it means to be an artist in the AI age’ (Herndon & Dryhurst)."

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All attendees to be registered and updated through in-phone app / QR Code.

In-phone app to include a map for attendees to explore

Attendees to be greeted through a grand foyer, implementing photo opportunities for media.

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Explanation :

This event is designed to appeal to a diverse audience, with a focus on the dynamic demographics of Gen Z and Millennials. The main emphasis is on these generations, who are recognized for their progressive views, creative thinking, and deep appreciation of sustainability and design. Together, Gen Z and Millennials account for an important percentage of the market, setting trends and affecting numerous industries around the world. The event seeks to draw them in by skillfully fusing the domains of cutting-edge architecture and upscale fashion.

It is important to note, nevertheless, that this event is not exclusive, but rather a welcoming experience for people of all ages and backgrounds. The dedication to showcasing diversity in fashion, architecture, and culture is the root of the event goal.

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Social Media Marketing : to showcase visually compelling content. This includes teaser videos, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and highlights of fashion and architectural elements.

Influencer Collaborations : To shed awareness through postings & gifts from Vogue to create a buzz. Postings to be made 3 weeks before the event to create anticipation.

Event Website and Blog : Create a dedicated event website or section on an existing website with detailed information, a blog discussing the theme, and regular updates. Optimize for SEO to increase visibility.

Online Partnerships:

Partner with online fashion and design publications, blogs, or websites to feature articles, interviews, or event previews. Leverage their audience to increase visibility.

Microsoft to be active on promoting this event as they are an official sponsor.

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Panel Discussion

"Beyond the Trend: Sustainable Fashion Futures with Pharrell" ; Day 1

Panelists include ; Pharrell Williams, Veneda Carter , Phoebe Philo

Discussing commitments to sustainable fashion and how the industry can evolve towards a more eco-friendly future

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VIP and Celebrity Invitations: Personalized invitations to fashion industry insiders, celebrities, and influencers, encouraging them to attend and promote the event.

Fashion Event Calendars: Ensuring the event is listed on local and global fashion event calendars, both in print and online.

Teaser Posters : Teaser of the event's preparations and behind-the-scenes moments, displayed on posters across london

Parties and Social Mixers: Hosting pre-event and post-event parties and social mixers that are open to the public, creating a social buzz and word-of-mouth promotion.

Pop up at Harrods London, The Dubai Mall, Ginza Six Tokyo: To go live two months before the event, From September to November 2024

Collaboration with Versace: To feature a 'Tooth Gem Line' ; sent with invites & available for purchase. ( Pop- Up Exclusive ). This will definitely attract a larger range of audience, especially Gen Z that will evoke word-of-mouth through social media.

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VogueWorld 2024 to be sponsored by Microsoft

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VogueWorld 2024 to be sponsored by Microsoft

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Why Microsoft?

1. Carbon Neutrality:

Microsoft has committed to being carbon negative by 2030, aiming to remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits.

Renewable Energy:

The company has focused on procuring renewable energy to power its data centers and operations. Microsoft has set a goal to rely on 100% renewable energy by 2025.

Circular Economy:

Microsoft has emphasized the importance of a circular economy by focusing on product design that promotes recycling and reuse. The company aims to divert 90% of its solid waste from landfills by 2030.

Water Stewardship:

Microsoft has set water conservation goals, working to replenish more water than it consumes in its water-stressed regions.

Sustainable Innovation:

The company has invested in sustainable innovation, including the development of technologies to address environmental challenges.

Green Building Practices:

Microsoft has incorporated green building practices into its facilities, aiming to design and operate buildings with a reduced environmental impact.

Some elements featured in the event:

Disposable Digital Cameras given out to attendees buying Vogue subscription

Specifically designed by Microsoft for VogueWorld2024

This element connects with Gen Z and is Nostalgic for older people

Mobile App and curated QR codes

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Featuring Vogue's Most Iconic Moments

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Specialised Tooth Gems Curated for VogueWorld 2024.

Key Section of Event

Bringing artisans to forefront; Seamstress from Ateliers.

Aim is for consumers to touch and feel the couture & be more informed of the craftsmanship behind each collection

Immersive experience for the buyers/ attendees to understand the significance of each garment and house codes of their favourite designers

Informative element to the event to captivate consumers through the hard works of each garment

Reference

Karl Lagerfeld staging his Rue Cambon atelier with his seamstress at the final walk of Fall/Winter 2016 haute couture show.

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"Innovative Threads: A Conversation with Bianca Saunders on Designing Spaces and Styles" ; Day 2

Discussion on Materiality and Texture:

Saunders' emphasis on materiality and texture in her clothing designs could be extended to discussions about how material choices impact the aesthetics and functionality of architectural structures.

1. Collaborative Practices:

Exploring Saunders' experiences with collaborations, the discussion would highlight how collaborative practices in the fashion industry can inspire similar partnerships in architecture, contributing to innovative design solutions.

2. Sustainable Fashion and Architecture:

The conversation might touch on Saunders' commitment to sustainability in fashion and how these principles could be applied to architectural design, promoting eco-friendly practices in both fields.

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The " Wintour " Picks Vending Machine

Acting as an initiative for attendees to choose a few gifts to take home.

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Panel Room to be tuned into a networking area for creatives to meet like-minded individuals, and have discussions.

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VR " Spiral Room " sponsored by Microsoft

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VR " Spiral Room " sponsored by Microsoft

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An empty room with sensory elements and to be experienced using VR.

Showcases Architectural Elements throughout the room that is physically non-existent

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Performances by Rina Sawayama & CL

to wear avany-garde pieces that resonate with the theme

Live DJ Line-ups : Peggy Gou & Kaytranada

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A space for underground artists to come together and express their visions.

works in time slots & is on going

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Vanity Fair is the premier publication for Hollywood obsessives, the insider's source for arch political analysis, and a trusted home for incisive narrative journalism. Part of the Condé Nast portfolio, VF explores the intersection of power and personality, profiling the outsize characters who shape our culture. Across platforms, VF stands for ambitious storytelling, iconic images, and indelible experiences, including the legendary Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

Editorial Standards and Practices

Vanity Fair's journalists adhere to the highest standards of accuracy as they set about illuminating the topics they cover, whether it's US politics, crime, scandal, the entertainment industry, Hollywood's awards races, the British royal family, or an irresistible morsel of celebrity news. VF encourages its reporters, writers, photographers, and editors to draw upon their experience and informed perspective and give readers the clearest possible picture of what's really happening. Originally reported stories are fact-checked, copyedited, and subject to legal review in advance of publication.

About Radhika Jones

Radhika Jones is the editor in chief of Vanity Fair.

Since arriving as the magazine's top editor in 2017, Jones has repositioned Vanity Fair as a cultural barometer-capturing the zeitgeist while also looking ahead to identify and uplift the most important and influential artists, activists, and intellectuals of our time.

Among the many metrics of success under Jones's leadership, Vanity Fair has broken its own traffic record multiple times and has experienced consistently strong growth in its subscription business and social media footprint across platforms.

Prior to joining Vanity Fair, Jones held senior editorial roles at The New York Times, Time, and The Paris Review. Jones also served as editor at Artforum & Bookforum, and managing editor at Grand Street. Jones graduated summa cum laude with a BA from Harvard and holds a PhD in English and comparative literature from Columbia University. She is vice chair of the board of the global humanitarian organization CARE and a member of the boards of The Paris Review and the American Society of Magazine Editors.

About Condé Nast

Condé Nast is a global media company, home to iconic brands including Vogue, GQ, AD, Condé Nast Traveler, Vanity Fair, Wired, The New Yorker, Bon Appétit, Glamour, Allure, Self, and many more. Headquartered in New York and London, the company produces award-winning journalism, content, and entertainment for every platform today and operates in 32 markets worldwide, including China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, the UK and US, and Taiwan.

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Have you ever thought about the relationship between architecture and fashion? Regarding this interesting subject, we can say that fashion is inspired by architecture, architecture is inspired by other works of art and technology. Lets take a closer look at the relationship of architecture and fashion that are different branches of art.
Fashion is Inspirated by Architecture
There is something we are used to seeing in world-famous fashion shows, which are clothing, accessories and shoe designs reminiscent of iconic buildings.

It is certain that the structural elements of the buildings and the facade design is a kind of inspiration for fashion designers. As we have seen in many examples, inspiring buildings have also influenced other branches of art such as fashion.

Photo Source: Does Form Follow Fashion? Viktoria Lytra's Montages Keep Iconic Architecture In Vogue | ArchDaily

In addition, there are subjects that fashion and architecture jointly inspire. For example, both are influenced by works of art, paintings, sculptures, and technology. Undoubtedly, with each passing year, we see more and more the effect of technology in fashion shows and in architecture. We can feel the the influence of art and technology from resources for both arts from the production process of the works to their appearance.

Photo Source: Architecture Fashion, How Fashion Designs and Architects Cross-Pollinate (mymodernmet.com)
Material Similarities in Fashion and Architecture
It is impossible not to mention the material, which is the most important thing for both productions. In architecture, material is as influential as how the building stands and how it is felt and seen. Likewise, in fashion, it is impossible to make designs without materials.

Just like in architecture, the character of the materials shapes the design. The materials used in architecture and the fabrics in fashion are similar in appearance. Have you noticed this before? Let's compare together!
Glossiness
Photo Source: Burberry, JW Anderson, Erdem, and More: The Best Looks from London Fashion Week Fall 2020 (harpersbazaar.com)

Credit: Veiled in Brilliance: How Reflective Facades Have Changed Modern Architecture | ArchDaily
Transparency
Photo Source: Fashion Week or Bust! - Luck of the Stylish

Photo Source: Ten translucent buildings with exteriors that allow light to pass through (dezeen.com)
Colors
Photo Source: De Stijl by Balmain - In the Thick of Style

Photo Source: 6 Colorful, Geometric Buildings Inspired by Piet Mondrian - Dwell
Texture
Photo Source: Pinterest

Photo Source: Pinterest

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Have you ever thought about the relationship between architecture and fashion? Regarding this interesting subject, we can say...

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Council Post: Four Ways Technology Is Improving The Fashion Industry

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From the design of a product to its commercialization, digitalization has spread to most departments in the industry.

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What we learned, and what changed, in a year marked by an unprecedented pace of innovation and experimentation.

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In this episode of the McKinsey on Start-ups podcast, McKinsey executive editor Daniel Eisenberg speaks with Anita Balchandani, a London-based McKinsey partner who leads the firm's Apparel, Fashion & Luxury practice in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.

To hear more episodes of McKinsey on Start-ups, subscribe on Apple, Audible, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher.

Daniel Eisenberg: Hello and welcome to McKinsey on Start-ups, I'm Daniel Eisenberg.

When you think about the pandemic's impact on fashion, what comes to mind? How about sweatpants or pajamas, or maybe jeans and t-shirts? For many people, the answer would likely be really any super casual attire or cozy athleisure, the likes of which so many of us around the world started wearing regularly as our homes suddenly became (and have remained) our offices.

But far from the Zoom calls or runways, the business of fashion has been undergoing a serious makeover. As with so many other industries, the digital transformation of fashion and apparel has radically accelerated during COVID. This has impacted not only how customers interact with brands and retailers, but just as critically, how the industry operates internally, whether managing its inventory, pricing, and supply chain or designing and producing its products.

An industry that has always been (and still is) built on a foundation of creativity and artistic expression is now adding more science to the mix, embracing technology to an unprecedented degree. To help us understand how technology is fundamentally changing the business of fashion and fashion innovation, we are pleased to be joined today by Anita Balchandani, a McKinsey partner based in London who leads the firm's Apparel, Fashion & Luxury Practice in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

As well as helping clients with developing strategic responses to the disruptions shaping the retail industry, Anita co-leads the industry's leading thought publication, State of Fashion, in partnership with the Business of Fashion. Prior to McKinsey, Anita was the Global Head of Retail at OC&C Strategy Consultants and served as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Space NK Apothecary Ltd and Majestic Wine PLC.

Anita, thanks so much for joining us today.

Let's start with a broad perspective. What is the role that technology and digitization has generally played in shaping the apparel and fashion industry over the course of the past two to three years? And how did this change with the arrival of the pandemic?

Anita Balchandani: Technology has been playing an accelerated role in the fashion industry over the last two to three years, particularly when it comes to the customer-facing side of the industry. This is impacting where and how consumers are discovering brands and shopping the category, through to purchase, transaction, and commerce.

If anything, during the pandemic that acceleration of digital and e-commerce has completely step-changed; in fact, you could argue it's what kept the wheels on the bus. When the fashion industry faced the fallout of the lockdowns that took place across many regions, and stores were closed, digital was the only way you could access the category and shop it.

But the expanding role of fashion and technology has not just been about the customer-facing initiatives, but also about the end-to-end initiatives across the organization. It's how people have designed product, it's how people have flowed product through. The role that technology has played in keeping the entire fashion value chain going has been immense.

Daniel Eisenberg: There's a tendency to often think about technology and fashion in the context of what consumers or customers see and touch. But, as you point out, there's the entire value chain and the back-of-the-store story that is just as important. Can you talk about how technology is being leveraged across the rest of the supply chain in light of disruptions that occurred during COVID, and how the fashion industry is looking at technology going forward?

Anita Balchandani: I think the answer to that is two-sided. On the one hand, we're seeing, for example, that 23 percent of the investments that have been made in the fashion and retail-tech space have been in supply chain.

But if we step back, I think there is still a lot more to be done on this front. In particular, we're excited about innovations such as the role that technology can play in much more predictive demand forecasting to enable the flow of product; the role that technology can play in on-demand production; the role that technology can play at the design front end and really eliminate a lot of the waste and the long lead times related to the physical production of samples.

So I think we're still at the tip of the iceberg, or the foothills, if you will, of all that's capable here.

Daniel Eisenberg: In fact, McKinsey's recent "State of Fashion" report pointed out how that demand-centric approach is going to have to be a real guiding principle for the industry going forward, including better management of inventory and sharper focus on the best-selling, or core, brands or products. And of course, better management of everything in the supply chain means hopefully that waste can be at least minimized, if not entirely eliminated.

Speaking of State of Fashion, one of the statistics that really jumped out was that up to 73 percent of the industry had actually destroyed value in the wake of COVID. Does technology have a role to play in starting to reverse this trend? How does a player leverage technology to win in the next normal of fashion?

Anita Balchandani: First of all, you're right, that's an eye-popping stat. And, if anything, that's been a trajectory that has been advancing. So every year we see that the proportion of the industry that is value-creating is actually shrinking, with fashion arguably becoming more of a "winner takes all" industry.

Do we think technology has a role to play in reversing this? Absolutely. Typically in the industry, overproduction is a big issue-40 percent of garments are currently sold at a markdown. And that markdown is a huge source of value leakage and profit leakage in this industry. The potential impacts of technology around advance-demand forecasting, AI-guided stock management, promotion, and price optimization are huge.

Another area ripe for change would be waste, more broadly tied into toxicity and the sustainability record of the industry. Even today still only a fraction-it's less than one percent-of used products are recycled back into the fashion industry's value chain. So, again, we feel like technology has a huge role to play in sustainable materials, recycling, fashion repair, and creating new streams of propositions and revenues for customers who are increasingly mindful of sustainability.

Finally, another area that we think has huge potential is returns and e-commerce economics. We anticipate that by 2025 fully half of the fashion industry globally will be online, sold via e-commerce. The proportion that will be influenced by online will be far greater. At the same time, we also see that 93 percent of apparel retailers expect returns will continue to grow in importance and cost over the next three years. And when you look at a lot of fashion retailers' online economics, their P&Ls are pretty challenged, even as they scale. So we do believe that technology has a huge role to play there, with things like omnichannel inventory management and predictive virtual sizing.

We certainly see the potential of technology to solve some of the industry's biggest pain points and challenges, which fundamentally are sources of profit leakage.

Daniel Eisenberg: You recently did some research in the UK looking at what succeeds in e-commerce, the key outperforming factors. What stood out in those findings?

Anita Balchandani: Yes, we were trying to get under the skin of what really matters, and a few key themes emerged. First, none of what you might call the core "basics of retailing"-product, price, experience-have gone out of fashion. And, actually, making sure that your proposition is strong, effective, and differentiated is as, if not more, important in the current competitive age.

However, it is also very clear that there is huge consumer appetite for new innovation; we're definitely pushing on an open door with consumers when it comes to fashion tech. We ran another study very recently just to pulse the consumer on "adoption" rates viz and "likelihood to adopt" a number of more fashion tech-forward innovations, such as sustainable clothing, AI-driven customer service, personalized clothing, livestream shopping, et cetera. And we have been quite surprised by the huge proportions of the population that have either already tried, or indicated a very high likelihood of trying, some of these innovations, which one might assume to be still quite niche.

So it is true that the basics and fundamentals of what it takes to operate a brilliant fashion business, to some extent, haven't gone away. But there is also a lot of consumer openness to evolve that formula, drawing upon a huge host of fashion-tech innovations that are now accessible. And for players to win here, we do believe that both speed and innovation will be of the essence.

Daniel Eisenberg: You were talking earlier about the use of analytics for inventory management and predictive modeling. Is it fair to say that that until recently the fashion industry has not used these technology tools as much as other industries? Is it in some ways playing catch-up, compared to other sectors?

Anita Balchandani: On the one hand, when you look at online adoption in this industry, while it's nowhere at the order of magnitude of what you see in consumer electronics or music, it's definitely well ahead of categories such as food and beauty. You could look at that and say, "The fashion industry and its shift to online actually puts it in a pretty good relative position to other industries."

On the other hand, because the industry has long been founded on the importance and centrality of creative art design, I think it would be fair to say that the industry has been slower to adopt some of the core disciplines, or the thinking, around how you combine that art with science, how you get the best value, and how you take very effective data-driven decisions in the end-to-end system.

There's been a lot of talk, clearly, and if you look back over the last five to seven years this has definitely been part of the promise. And over the last decade, 2021 has been the high point for investment into fashion and retail tech. Yet, when you actually look at the quantum of investment, while $18 billion might put it at a ten-year peak, it is still a fraction relative to the scale of the industry.

So we do think there is some catch-up to be done, and fashion tech, if anything, is still at the early stages of its evolution. However, the pandemic has really shone a light on the criticality of getting digital and tech working effectively in the fashion industry-and how it can be a fabulous complement to the art and creative energy that goes into this industry.

Daniel Eisenberg: How does technology factor into the evolution of the in-store experience for fashion brands? Does the physical store have a role to play, and, if so, how is it changing?

Anita Balchandani: I like to think of it as the pandemic forced the industry to collapse the walls between online and stores. Traditionally, you've always seen a bit of segmentation by channel-this is our online channel, this is our store channel. With the lockdowns leaving online as the primary source of customer interaction, engagement, and purchase, many retailers simply pulled down the walls that exist between the two main channels.

There were some practical ways in which that took place. One was a huge investment retailers made in clienteling, which effectively meant that in-store colleagues could use mobile phones to engage with e-commerce customers and have digital access to the brand's inventory. In-store colleagues were able to provide brilliant service to customers who were shopping online.

We saw the rise of virtual appointments, particularly in the higher-purchase investment categories such as jewelry and watches. Many players also used the stores as a source of inventory and points of fulfillment at a time when e-commerce distribution centers were overloaded and running out of inventory.

Suddenly, the walls that existed between the two channels were really brought down, and I think people realized that that's probably how the customers actually do engage with the brand. The customers are much more brand-driven and mission-driven, rather than channel-driven. Now a whole host of innovations are really helping bring the digital and the physical together, with CRM, clienteling, customer service and experience, and inventory, as the glue that brings all of that together.

Daniel Eisenberg: You talk about what in-store workers can now do with their phones, whether it's inventory or virtual service. It almost sounds as if those people are getting additional responsibilities, empowered to do more than a traditional store worker might have, say, just a few years ago.

Anita Balchandani: Yes, and we also think that is driving a whole new level of skills and capabilities, and actually making those roles much more exciting and interesting. Because one of the things technology has the power to do is to liberate store colleagues from what you might call the more administrative, routine, and repetitive tasks to spend time on customer service, advice, and some of those other things that enrich the shopping experience and give customers added reason to visit the store or, indeed, the website.

Daniel Eisenberg: You've talked previously about the trend of "casualization" of what people are wearing, and buying often these days, especially with so many people staying home to work during the pandemic. I'm wondering to what extent you think that trend will be permanent. And does a shift like that have long-term implications for the industry, such as needing to rely on technology even more to cater to changing tastes?

Anita Balchandani: Fashion has always been centered around catering to changing tastes. And those who have been the most successful brands at any moment in history are the ones that have the had the best pulse on what the customer wants. I do think that this is where tech has a huge opportunity to play in keeping a retailer current on where trends and tastes are likely to go. You could look at data that tells you what's likely to surge next, and how you can position your offers and ensure that you've got the right levels of inventory to back that level of customer demand.

On casualization, while that is a trend that is here to stay, the data is already showing that people are back buying more glamour and special occasion-wear with a vengeance. People refer to this as the "back to the Roaring '20s": we have done some machine-learning analysis of 2021 runway collections, and you can clearly see the expressions of optimism, boldness, and self-expression.

Now it doesn't mean to say that casualization has gone away. It doesn't mean to say that, in a hybrid world when we are going to be spending more time at home than we did prior to the pandemic, that athleisure and casualization go away.

But the evidence would suggest that the role that fashion plays in self-expression, in the ceremony of dressing up, is starting to return as people are injecting their lives with more special occasions, and going back to more of a sense of normalcy, as well.

Daniel Eisenberg: Right. Folks are clearly hungry, some might say desperate, to go out to celebrate something and to maybe make it more special by dressing up after, say, wearing sweatpants for the better part of almost two years.

In terms of the use of technology to help discern and cater to changing tastes, it seems that science is playing a bigger role in the industry than ever before.

Anita Balchandani: We certainly think the importance of science is growing, and that we can find a happy medium where the science enables the art, because it's actually helping point the art in a more targeted way. At the end of the day, though, this is also about creative imagination, and really bringing things that surprise consumers, and I don't think technology or science will take that away.

Still, the role that tech and science can play in really solving some of the pain points and the bottlenecks in the industry is critical. You could say the airbrushed view of the fashion industry is that everything is beautiful and looks perfect. But in reality, getting that perfect-looking item or product on the shelves requires a lot of back-of-house tasks, many of which have been manual, wasteful, and the opposite of streamlined. So the role that technology could play to make that much more sustainable, much more streamlined, much less wasteful, and much more effective, is huge.

Daniel Eisenberg: And by that logic, technology could potentially free up even more time for designers' creative spirits to flourish.

Anita Balchandani: Exactly. As a designer, you could spend even more time doing what you love, which is designing, versus a lot of the other more administrative tasks that are essential to making sure that you've got a sample at the other end that is ready to approve. So I think this is very much about liberating those who work in the fashion industry to actually spend more time on the creative side, the customer value-add.

Daniel Eisenberg: Let's shift gears a little bit and talk about the fashion-tech start-up landscape. Earlier you spoke of the amount of investment going into fashion and fashion-tech right now. What is your outlook going forward? And how much has COVID impacted the view of investing in the space?

Anita Balchandani: You could argue that a lot of the innovation that's coming onstream is still small in scale and quite niche, but we do believe there is huge growth and runway on a number of fronts. That includes technologies that make shopping more frictionless, but also more fun, because we're certainly seeing consumers have appetite in fashion not just for shopping experiences that are highly convenient, but also for something that is much more engaging: livestream shopping, conversational commerce, everything that we're seeing at the interface of the fashion industry and gaming and NFTs.

A large amount of this kind of innovation is still, arguably, early-stage, but there are certainly a slew of new tools to make the entire process of how people transact and interact with brands online much smoother to operate-predictive sizing and AI-driven customer service are just two examples that come to mind. Then you have a whole other swath of innovation around completely new business models: resale, rental, personalized subscription boxes. And finally, all of the innovation having to do with sustainable materials, sustainable clothing, and so on, which is also in the early stages.

Daniel Eisenberg: It sounds like the last two years, as challenging as they have been for the industry as a whole, have not dimmed interest in investing in the fashion-tech space?

Anita Balchandani: Not at all. I think, if anything, people are now increasingly seeing technology and data as one of the things that could be a source of competitive advantage, particularly if you look at some of the moves that the biggest winners in the industry are making with their own heavy emphasis and focus on direct-to-consumer, machine learning, and AI.

Daniel Eisenberg: Is there still momentum behind digitally-native, small fashion and beauty brands? And how has that been impacted by the last 21 months, if at all?

Anita Balchandani: What we're seeing is continued consumer interest in, and investor interest, in this space. If I look at beauty as an analog, there has been a lot of innovation that's been in the pipeline that's started to come out during the pandemic. Even prior to the pandemic, however, the data showed that only five percent of these innovations or digital brands then go on to scale and succeed. So a key skill will be in spotting which of these disruptors will indeed become billion-dollar-plus brands.

Increasingly, what we are seeing is that these new brands' playbook of scaling is clearly rooted in digital and tech, around community-building with social media and social commerce; around direct-to-consumer engagement; and around personalization. But, at the same time, in order to become a billion-dollar-plus brand, many of these brands are having to adopt a wholesale, or wholesale-like, models, that include physical distribution. I think the playbook to scale is evolving from being purely digital towards one that is increasingly more omnichannel.

Daniel Eisenberg: Would you say distribution is the biggest obstacle to succeeding at that scaling stage?

Anita Balchandani: I'd say distribution is one of the challenges, for sure, more so in fashion than in beauty, because of the way the contract manufacturing base is set up. But in fashion the supply chain, how it's set up and friction points in it, is also a major issue, particularly if you're a brand that's looking to do something that is more sustainable and technologically ahead of the curve. When it comes to some of the investments in underlying technologies and supply chain or back-end infrastructure that can help scale these more innovative models, there is still a tech deficit in the industry.

Daniel Eisenberg: Sustainability is obviously an important trend, and it was highlighted quite a bit in the " State of Fashion" report. You've also done reports on the industry and climate change. Walk us through the kinds of business models that are emerging to create value from a "conscious consumption" in fashion.

Anita Balchandani: There's a lot of exciting innovation in this space, and I'll maybe just call out a few areas that I'm particularly excited about.

One has been the growth and increase in resale and resale models, which are definitely starting to show signs of being scalable and are attracting more interest from luxury brands. I think increasingly the opportunity to extend the life of a garment, or an object, has some very powerful potential, in terms of what it can do to the carbon footprint of consumption, while still satisfying the intrinsic desire that we, as consumers, have for newness and self-expression.

The next interesting space is the growth and rise of models and brands that use deadstock or recycled fabric to produce garments, something that is capturing a lot of consumers' attention. Not only are these models producing fashion with a lower carbon footprint, but they are doing so with materials that are not accessible and available all the time, especially in mass quantities, which makes the final product feel that much more special and unique.

Finally, you have the whole space of new materials, biomaterials, eco-fabrics: This is a sector that is growing extremely fast. We expect, for example, the US eco-fiber production market to be around $15 billion by 2025. I think it would be fair to say that these are not yet at full commercial scale. But investment in some of these sectors-be they biomaterials, be they HEMP, what we see players like Bolt Threads or Renewcell doing-is very interesting and worth watching.

Daniel Eisenberg: How long do you think it will take for these alternative materials to become a core part of the industry's output?

Anita Balchandani: Look, it's definitely a longer-term play. As a share of actual garments or of products that are drawing on some of these biomaterials or recycled materials, the number is still very low. Having said that, you have a number of key players in the industry that now are partnering with many of these companies, looking to bring these sorts of products to life. Given that kind of collaboration, we are starting to see early markers of this being able to scale and succeed over the next five to ten years.

Daniel Eisenberg: Going hand-in-hand with sustainability are issues like social justice, working conditions, and the supply chain: How much are those issues driving the conversation in the industry and forcing it to think about new approaches to doing business?

Anita Balchandani: Throughout the pandemic, as lots of producing countries like India and Bangladesh were severely affected with lockdowns, the livelihoods of millions of human beings were negatively impacted. I think these disruptions really shed light on the importance of the sustainability debate to be not just about the planet but to really expand into worker rights and social justice. In fact, during the pandemic many brands have been either lauded or vilified for how they have treated partners and supplier workforces.

As a result, increasingly when the industry scores itself on sustainability, social justice and worker rights are critical factors in that assessment. And I think more players are absolutely clear that, even if they're working with suppliers on an arms-length basis, or with a second tier of suppliers over which they have no direct control, it is no longer acceptable to have worker rights violated and infringed upon. Fashion brands are becoming acutely conscious of making sure that that record is set straight.

In addition to the increased importance of social justice, the industry's focus on sustainability has moved beyond just focusing on being net zero in terms of emissions to being nature-positive. This means asking the question, "What are we giving back to the environment as well?"

Daniel Eisenberg: Going back to investment themes, social commerce platforms and marketplaces have obviously grown meaningfully over the past few years. Is that still a major area for investment focus in fashion start-ups?

Anita Balchandani: Online marketplaces have absolutely been the powerhouses driving the huge growth and share in online shopping over the pandemic. They arguably took more than their fair share of the growth in consumer traffic and spend, and they continue to be on a scale trajectory and a major focus of investment. If anything, we may start to see some consolidation focused on the winning models start to play out in that space.

As for social commerce, China has always been at the forefront of that trend; it now accounts for 13 percent of total e-commerce in China, compared to four percent in the US. Certainly in the fashion and beauty industry, as we look ahead for the next three years, that is the source of growth, even in the Western world beyond China, that we are most excited about.

Daniel Eisenberg: I know we're getting short on time, so I just want to ask one more question. We usually end our podcast by talking about a longer-term horizon. By the end of this decade, how much do you think technology will have transformed the business of fashion? And what do you think will stand out as the biggest tech-driven transformations?

Anita Balchandani: There are three main areas of innovation and transformation that I believe hold huge promise. And in a sense, they are equally aspirations and areas where we're seeing the biggest investment and focus.

Number one would be the role that technology can play in minimizing overproduction, waste, and actually better matching consumer demand and supply. I think there's a huge potential to pioneer a fashion model that is just much less wasteful, but also much more responsive to what the customer wants and demands.

The second area I would think about is a world in which the fashion industry is really able to reshape its economics, particularly its online economics, through addressing returns the last mile, the flow of goods, and a lot of the waste that exists in the end-to-end value chain. I think that's there's great potential there to streamline the value chain to be much more efficient and effective.

And then, finally, I think would be just the promise around new circular business models, new technology, and fabric innovation, things that can enable the fashion industry to make the resources that go into its production and consumption part of a fundamentally better equation.

Daniel Eisenberg: That gives us a lot to think about. Fashion is obviously such a key part of all of our lives, and the intersection of technology with fashion will continue to capture our attention.

Anita Balchandani: I like the challenge of the ten-year view, because I do believe it's time for the industry to look at where it would like to be in ten years, and then work back from there. To take full advantage of these technologies, the industry will need that kind of lens, one that poses the question, "How do you completely reimagine what you do, versus tweaking and refining the system that we have?"

Daniel Eisenberg: Well, watching the industry, especially in the resale category, it has been encouraging to see how they're starting to embrace that kind of disruptive innovation. Whereas a few years ago many players seemed wary of these new models, more are now really starting to take part in them. They're striking partnerships with online resale marketplaces and getting their customers involved, while making sure that the brand still remains a key part of the equation. So it seems like that's a positive indicator of an industry becoming more open to change.

Anita Balchandani: I'd absolutely echo that view.

Daniel Eisenberg: Anita, I want to thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. It's been a great conversation.

Anita Balchandani: And a great opportunity for the fashion industry to not waste a good crisis here, and take the opportunity to really reimagine itself.

Daniel Eisenberg: Indeed. Well that's our podcast. Thanks again to our guest, Anita Balchandani, a London-based McKinsey partner who leads the Apparel, Fashion & Luxury practice in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

As always, I want to thank our great McKinsey on Start-ups production team-Molly Karlan, Polly Noah, Sid Ramtri, Myron Shurgan, and Katie Znameroski.

And of course, thank you for listening. We hope you'll return for future episodes of McKinsey on Start-ups.

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What tech innovation means for the business of fashion

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In this episode of the McKinsey on Start-ups podcast, McKinsey executive editor Daniel Eisenberg speaks with Anita Balchandani, a London-based McKinsey partner who leads the firm's Apparel, Fashion & Luxury practice in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. An edited transcript of their conversation follows.

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Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability | Microsoft

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Record, report, and reduce your organization's environmental impact while driving efficiencies with Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solutions.

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Tonight, in celebration of our 130th anniversary, Vogue will host a fashion show and street fair the likes of which have never been seen. It's not the first time that the brand has organized such an event, however. In November 1914, 108 years ago during the First World War, a Fashion Fête was orchestrated to raise money for the Committee of Mercy, supporting women and children in areas of conflict.

Since its founding, Vogue has never been just about the rise and fall of hemlines, but focused on cultural and societal shifts as well. For many years, the Vogue covers featured colorful "storytelling" pictures by leading illustrators that romanced "the woman of leisure" as she followed the sun, hit the slopes, and lived for the night. Once fashion photography was deemed an art circa the mid-1930s, the magazine began greeting its reader with stylized snaps of real-life beauties and professional models. Eventually it began showcasing actors ( Cate Blanchett, Angelina Jolie, Lupita Nyong'o) and entertainers (Cher, Beyoncé, Rihanna). We expect to see more than a few boldfacers tonight.

At 130 years young, we've taken a nostalgic look back at the history of the brand and pulled out some fun facts. Here, Vogue by the numbers.

2897 . . . and counting
Number of issues of Vogue published (through October 2022).
Founded in 1892 as "a dignified authentic journal of society, fashion, and the ceremonial side of life," Vogue was a weekly for the first 17 years of its existence. One of the first changes Condé Nast made after acquiring the magazine in 1909 was to make it a biweekly publication. For 25 years (from 1948-1972), Vogue was published 20 times a year, becoming a monthly in 1973.

916
Number of pages in the magazine's largest issue, to date.
For the September 2012 issue, with a Marc Jacobs-clad Lady Gaga on the cover, the magazine was more than an inch thick, and weighed between 4.2033 and 4.6896 pounds (depending on the edition).

90
Number of dogs that have appeared on Vogue's cover.
Vida, Gisele Bündchen's late Yorkie, was the most recent canine to have the distinction (in December 2001). The magazine's first editor, Josephine Redding, who served from 1892 until 1900 and is credited with naming the publication, was known to prefer animals to fashion. "During her regime," Edna Woolman Chase recounted in her memoirs, "the pages of Vogue barked, meowed, cheeped, and roared with accounts of animal life." On several occasions, the cover went to the dogs, literally.

82
Years since the first Hollywood star appeared on the cover.
Vogue 's appreciation of the dramatic arts is as long as its history, however. In 1901 (when movies were still silent) the cleft-chinned Shakespearean stage actress Julia Marlowe was featured. Thirty-nine years later, in 1940, Gene Tierney, who had just made the transition from the stage to film was the first Hollywood star to be photographed for the cover. Models dominated as covergirls right up until 2002, the first year that more actors than mannequins were tapped for the honor.

26
Times Lauren Hutton has appeared on the cover of Vogue.
Hutton's (enduring) all-American appeal is such that three of Vogue's editors-Diana Vreeland, Grace Mirabella, and Anna Wintour-chose this multifaceted beauty to be the face of magazine. "Lauren is, in fact, Tom Sawyer, 1973," wrote Kate Lloyd in that same year. "She is adventurous, imaginative, jaunty, ethical in an old-fashioned Golden Rule fashion, direct, and brave. She is impetuous, too."

2
Number of princesses to cover Vogue.
Royal fascination is part of Vogue 's DNA. The magazine was founded, after all, during the Gilded Age when "dollar princesses"-wealthy American women who married titled foreigners-were big news. Countess Divonne, née Florence Audenried, made a cover appearance in 1893, but the most famous of these brides was Consuelo Vanderbilt. Her 1895 wedding to the Duke of Marlborough has been described as "the great romantic event . . . of the entire fin de siècle era"-no matter that the bride cried herself down the aisle, the marriage having been arranged by her mother. The magazine devoted a cover to Vanderbilt's bridesmaids' dresses, and many interior pages to the event. Much later, in 1971, the Princess of Monaco, born Grace Kelly in Philadelphia, was featured, as was the most photographed woman in the world, Princess Diana, in 1993.

1
Number of families depicted in three generations on the cover of Vogue.
Annie Leibovitz photographed "The Presley Women": Priscilla and Lisa Marie, and the latter's daughter, Riley Keough-who was nominated for a 2017 Golden Globes award-for the August 2004 cover.

15
Number of group model covers.
Cast with Supers or Instagirls (who were introduced on the September 2014 cover), Vogue loves a more the merrier model cover. The precedent for which was set by an editorial, "12 Beauties: The most photographed models in America," photographed by Irving Penn for the May 1, 1947 issue. It's on this shoot that Penn met Lisa Fonssagrives, who he married.

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At 130 years young, we've taken a nostalgic look back at the history of the brand and pulled out some fun facts. Here, Vogue by the numbers.

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Vogue is the most powerful and recognized publication of the fashion industry. But do you know when it was released the first issue and how the various publications have been released over the years?

This is what you need to know about the history of Vogue.

Arthur Baldwin Turnure an American businessman, founded Vogue as a weekly newspaper based in New York City in 1892 to create a publication that celebrated the "ceremonial side of life".

First Issue of Vogue

From its inception, the magazine targeted the new New York upper class, their habits, leisure activities, the places they frequented, and the clothing they wore...The magazine at this time was primarily concerned with fashion, with coverage of sports and social affairs included for its male readership.

The first issue was published on December 17 of that year, with a cover price of 10 cents ($2.85).

Vogue was weekly for the first 17 years of its existence.

Today Vogue is part of Condè Nast, the global media company that owns brands such as Vogue, Allure, GQ, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and others. Everything started in 1909 when Condé Montrose Nast, an American publisher, entrepreneur and business magnate and founder of Condè Nast, purchased Vogue and gradually grew the publication. He changed it to a unisex magazine for women and made it a biweekly publication.
Vogue's first editor was Josephine Redding, who served from 1892 until 1900 and is credited with naming the publication.
For 25 years (from 1948-1972), Vogue was published 20 times a year, becoming a monthly in 1973.

British Vogue was the first international edition launched in 1916 under the first editor-in-chief, Elspeth Champcommunal, while the French edition was launched in 1920.

In July 1932, American Vogue placed its first color photograph on the cover of the magazine.

In the 1950s, the decade known as the magazine's "powerful years,"Jessica Daves became editor-in-chief.

Diana Vreeland, Grace Mirabella and Anna Wintour are considered the 3 legendary editors-in-chief of American Vogue.

Diana Vreeland joined Vogue from Harper's Bazaar first as Associate Editor, and in December 1962, became editor-in-chief. She led the magazine into a period of youth and vitality, but also "extravagance, and luxury and excess."

Grace Mirabella started working at the magazine in the 1950s and served as its editor-in-chief between 1971 and 1988.

Mirabella states that she was chosen to change Vogue because "women weren't interested in reading about or buying clothes that served no purpose in their changing lives."She was selected to make the magazine appeal to "the free, working, "liberated" woman of the seventies. She changed the magazine by adding text with interviews, arts coverage, and serious health pieces.

Anna Wintour was named editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1988 and in November she published her revolutionary cover, featuring Israeli model Michaela Bercu photographed by Peter Lindbergh and styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele. This cover broke the rule because the model was wearing an haute couture Christian Lacroix jacket with denim jeans, mixing high and low fashion for the first time.

That same year when Anna Wintour arrived at Vogue, Franca Sozzani was named editor in chief of Vogue Italia.

Vogue Italia was launched in 1965, first published as Novità for one year (October 1964-November 1965).

In 1961, Condè Nast contacted the owner of the magazine Novità because they wanted to invest in a fashion magazine. In 1965 the magazine was named Vogue & Novità and Consuelo Crespi lead the launch until 1966.

In 1966, Franco Sartori was appointed as the first editor-in-chief and under his leadership he changed the name from Vogue & Novità to Vogue Italia, being the May 1966 issue the first issue under the new name. He held the position for 22 years until 1988 when Franca Sozzani became the second editor-in-chief for the publication.

American Vogue Editors-in-Chief

British Vogue Editors-in-Chief

Vogue Italia Editors-in-Chief

Vogue Paris Editors-in-chief

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Vogue is the most powerful and recognized publication of the fashion industry. But do you know when it...

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10 Fun Ideas for Making Your Event More Interactive

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Event attendees are looking for ways to make a connection and have real-life interactions. 63% of respondents to Eventbrite’s Event Trends Report 2023 said they would rather receive tickets to a live experience than a physical gift. Engagement is the heartbeat of an event – without it, everything fa…

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The ever-changing landscape of event planning and production demands to stay updated with everything new in this field. Event organizers must keep up with the latest happenings in the world of events - be it brainstorming interactive event ideas, making the events more sustainable or being up to date with the newest innovation in event technology. The fulfilment of being able to create an interactive space for people to get together is one of the best rewards you can accomplish as an event organizer but things can dwindle quickly if the audience does not enjoy the event.

Participants across the world have begun to think if in-person conferences are as important to attend given the amount of resource utilization they require and how they do not turn out to be as interesting as the attendees would want them to be, interactive event ideas to the rescue. Interactive event ideas can help you stay ahead of the curve, and alleviate the event's pain points while also entertaining and engaging with the event participants.

In this feature, we list 20 noteworthy interactive event ideas that are trending right now and are sure to give the event attendees a fun and memorable conference experience.

Organizing a concert or stand-up comedy

You may want to consider hiring a band, a singer, or even a comedian for people to engage with one another at the venue. Quite often, featured performances at a conference are known to draw some of the biggest attendee attention. Organizing a stand-up comedy or organizing a concert is a great way to give attendees a fun experience by tapping into their interests while promoting the event.

You may encourage your attendees to participate in unique and fun activities such as singing, dancing, or other similar activities to break up the monotony of attending a large event. It will make up for one of the best ice-breaking interactive event ideas while also attracting more attendees.

Poll questions

Our list of interactive event ideas would be incomplete without featuring poll questions. An activity that is just perfect to begin your event or conference with, polls help people interact on an immediate basis and have fun. You may want to customize your poll games with up to 10 players and include ice-breaking questions such as multiple choice questions around their likes and dislikes, and opinions about different things - to let the attendees find grounds of common interests that can help them strike a conversation.

The audience can join a fun activity like this using their phones. Their responses however can be displayed on the common screen for everyone to see and provide their feedback/ opinion about.

Panel Discussions

There is no denial to the fact that conferences that have presentations in the form of a lecture are boring. Panel discussions on the other hand make up to be one of the most interactive event ideas to keep the attendees from losing interest. Panel discussions are beneficial if the attendees are asked to submit any questions they may have before the presentation begins. In this way, the attendees can actively participate in the discussion and also indirectly help in dictating what they learn from each expert. It is a win-win, we say.

Solution Room

The Solution Room is a great way to get to a...solution! This is not just one of the most interactive event ideas but it also uses the knowledge and insights of a participant to help individuals solve a particular challenge. You may begin your event or conference by giving everyone some time to think about an obstacle they are facing.

Next, divide the attendees into two small groups. The first group comprises people each of whom takes a turn to share the problem. Apart from this, they will also explain how challenging the attendees think are these problems. The second group will indicate how experienced each of the guests is and what they can offer in terms of solutions. This brainstorming can be done in 5 minutes and about 7 minutes can be given to address each issue. Each participant in the first group should walk through their problem and let the second group come up with ways to solve it.

At the end of one of the coolest interactive event ideas, you can do another human spectrogram to figure out if attendees feel more optimistic about their concerns. This activity can last for as long as you want to and may extend and potentially include hundreds of attendees.

Gamification and other interactive elements

One of the greatest advantages of event gamification is that it can tap and maintain the attention of participants. Gamification in all forms - be it a quiz, a scavenger hunt or a leaderboard showcasing the progress of participants keeps the attendees busy and motivated to achieve goals.

The event organizers can communicate the key messages through gamification more effectively which further eases the transfer of knowledge and reinforces the learning outcomes. When the attendees are actively involved and invested in the event experience, they are more likely to remember and apply the relevant information which ultimately leads to an event that is more meaningful and has a deeper impact.

As an event organizer, you may want to include prizes for gamification, but you may choose not to because it is not necessary. The presence of a merely challenging game can help boost your attendees' interest and engagement. However, it is worth mentioning that incorporating incentives, prizes, and rewards further amplifies the impact and thrill of gamification and may also add to the number of participants making it one of the most preferred interactive event ideas.

Silent disco talks

Nothing seems fun at a conference full of interactive event ideas if you have to listen to something that does not interest you as much. This interactive event idea works pretty well if your event is showcasing several expert speakers to the participants. While runnings the event, provide the participants with wireless headphones that have different channels. Then let the participants decide who they wish to listen to so they can tune in to a particular speaker or switch between different presenters.

One of the biggest and most effective benefits of having silent disco talks is that your guests will always hear the information of their interest without feeling bored. Just try to ensure that the participants respect the silent experience by not clapping or making loud remarks. Additionally, you must make the speakers wear sound blockers so that they are not distracted by others speaking in the room.

Running a talent show

An activity that is great for remote conferences and in-person events alike, we could not have missed featuring a talent show on our list of interactive event ideas. To set up a talent show, you will have to select a presenter who introduces all the participants. To make the talent show interesting, we suggest that you include 8 to 10 acts and allow each participant about 5 minutes or so.

Acts can include something as simple as playing instrumental music, showcasing painting or cooking skills or if you wish to make it a fun session, you may want to include an act of stand-up comedy, fashion shows, or vocal mimicry on the spot. Once all the acts have been performed, you can have the audience cast their vote for their favourite performer and give them a prize or any other sort of reward.

Brain dates

To begin with, let us briefly describe what a brain date is and then we shall talk about how it is one of the most amazing interactive event ideas ever. A brain date is a knowledge-sharing conversation wherein participants can have discussions on their choice of topic(s). What's more is that it is super easy to pull together and can be arranged at live, virtual, and hybrid events alike. Here is what you need to do to organize a brain date -

Create small groups of attendees or let them have one-on-one sessions.

Attendees must be able to offer knowledge about specific topics and request information on certain topics before the conference commences, for this is how a successful brain date is ideally organized.

Next, you will match the participants based on their responses.

Lastly, participants can schedule a time slot to network and learn from one another.

Contests on social media handles

Be it an in-person event, a virtual conference, or a hybrid setting, contests on social media never cease to grab attention. All you need to do is come up with a fun hashtag for your gathering but make sure it remains relevant to the context and voila, one of the most Interactive event ideas is ready. You may or may not want to put rules in place but one mandate you must make for the contest is that the participants must use your contest hashtag and include where they are based. That is all, your social media contest is ready to roll.

Go on and ask your attendees a question and let them answer. For instance, in a remote conference setup, you can ask people to share a photo of where they are tuning in from and include the hashtag. The ones who do not fulfil these requirements will not be considered for winning. In a setup like this, you may see images being shared from the beautiful beaches of Seychelles or a jungle oasis in Indonesia. We are pretty sure it will be difficult to choose a winner but make sure to choose the post that has the best setup and fulfils the terms of the contest.

But if you wish to run a contest like this for a private conference, you may use a live photo-sharing slide deck to get the same engagement and results without including the social media angle to it.

Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are ideal for an event that is being hosted virtually. An escape room is not just a place to escape from the event. It involves exploring an environment with a team - be it colleagues, friends, or participants of an online community to find clues and solve riddles to solve the mystery and escape the room in a given amount of time.

By using 3-D graphics, some virtual rooms can seem real-life-like. These kinds of interactive event ideas encourage collaboration, teamwork, critical thinking, and communication which is ultimately instrumental in team building. To give you a few ideas, you can include themes such as speakeasies, Harry Potter, rock and roll, Ancient Egypt, etc. Virtual escape rooms are one of the most interactive event ideas and can be a lot of fun if executed well.

Interactive live chats

A nice-to-have feature for virtual and hybrid events, this idea can help in improving communication by using live chat, audio, and video calls. Interactive event ideas like these do not just encourage open communication but also break the ice. What if the guests attended a conference without interacting and networking with anybody? It would turn out to be a dull event and these attendees would be less likely to onboard themselves for the next events. Built-in communication tools in live chats let the hosts, attendees, sponsors, and speakers interact with each other seamlessly.

You may also provide the attendees with external plugin apps such as Zoom Meetings, Whatsapp, Blue Jeans, and so on. Backed with all these different modes of communication, the event participants can connect with anyone they wish to. To add to it, live chats are known to boost engagement and time spent at the event.

As per research, the average bounce rate for websites all over the world is 30% and a few industries such as media & news, groceries, and real estate have a bounce rate of more than 40%. When users leave the event quickly, a good connection can not to established. By maintaining low bounce rates and engagement, events have an excellent opportunity to grow organic search traffic.

Balloon Popping Scavenger Hunt

Let go of the traditional scavenger hunt, instead give it a little fun twist. Organize a balloon-popping scavenger hunt at the event venue for the guests to participate in and enjoy. The game can be set up by using specific coloured balloons for each clue level.

For instance, the first clue can be placed in the pink colour balloons, the second clue in the red balloons, and third in green balloons, and so on. The clues can then be written on small papers and sneaked inside the balloons by using a funnel. Next, similar coloured balloons can be placed in the same area. For instance, the guests may find all the pink colour balloons in one location. At last, the participant who finds the last clue balloon will be the winner.

Rewards and gift vouchers

Incorporating incentives and rewards along with interactive event ideas further amplifies the impact of gamification at events. Implementing interactive event ideas would be incomplete if rewards are missing.

By offering exclusive access to experiences and/ or content, giving away special prizes and gift vouchers, and providing special recognition to winners, event organizers can motivate attendees to engage in the events actively and strive for success. These rewards do not just add to the element of thrill and anticipation but also create memorable experiences and moments that the attendees are most likely to associate with the event.

If you are running a virtual event, you may want to consider giving email gift cards to the winner(s) right after the event is over. Make sure to follow through as promised. If the winners have to wait for more than a week or more to get their rewards, it will not be as great an experience as it should be. Make sure to get things done well within a week to not lose out on your chance to capitalize on the webinar content and turn your attendee into a lead.

Specialized inclusively designed tracks to meet attendee needs

Catering to the basic needs of a diverse range of attendees, inclusively designed tracks make sure that all the people, regardless of their specific requirements can engage and participate in the event completely.

While having an inclusive design may not sound like the peppy interactive event ideas we mentioned earlier, it can make things easily accessible. A simple step towards inclusive design is wheelchair accessibility. Providing chairs, ramps and elevators, and specifically designated spaces to accommodate attendees with mobility impairments will make a huge impact. This will let them access all the areas of the event and move around freely without having any barriers around.

Another inclusive design that is commonly incorporated at events is closed captioning. It provides real-time subtitles and/ or captions for panel discussions, presentations, and/ or videos at virtual events. For individuals with hearing impairments, this solution can make the event better accessible.

Group Check-in

There are events that are not just a one-day affair - they span multiple days be it in-person, hybrid, or remote conference. Occasionally, you may want to check on the event attendees to see how they are feeling. This is a pleasant way to keep in touch, make attendees feel genuinely valued, and maintain the interest of people. You can have an emoji slider for people to describe how they are feeling on your event app. The slider can range from sad to straight face to happy.

Next, you may share the average answer received and then ask about how their overall mood is using 3 words. While these kinds of activities have gained a lot of popularity on social media, group check-ins are nice interactive event ideas to add at long events. There are many templates made beforehand, ready-to-play mood slide decks available online, or you can get one customized to suit your requirements.

Word of Caution

A super important thing all event organizers must bear in mind is that while choosing interactive event ideas, make sure the entertainment matches the appropriate form of amusement to the audience. Investing time to give attention to detail will prevent the event attendees from feeling excluded, feeling awkward, or out of place. The nature of the interactive event ideas should not be derogatory or uncomfortable to anyone in any way.

For instance, if most of the attendees at your conference abstain from consuming alcohol you should refrain from having mixology as one of the interactive event ideas at the event. The number of people turning up to learn a thing or two about mixology will be less, hence making it a dull act. Having said that, it is essential to align entertainment with the brand and vision of the company.

For example, if the sole aim of the event or conference is to promote information about a certain product, a mural highlighting the event can be done around it.

Final Thoughts on Conferences and Interactive Event Ideas

To sum it up, interactive event ideas are known to influence the success of any event. If the entertainment part is bland, the guests are less likely to be interested in the event content or engage with each other. But if the attendees have a good time, the energy of the event will fuel interaction and knowledge.

Organizing a successful event that is cherished by participants is not tough. Making sure to implement interactive event ideas and letting your guests enjoy is the key to a healthy in-person, hybrid, or virtual conference. By including interactive event ideas in your event, you help attendees see the value of your event. If your attendees have memorable things to recollect long after the event is over, they will want to come to your events over and over again. which makes them want to attend your future events as well and boost further engagement.

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15 Captivating Conference and Interactive Event Ideas for 2023

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With the ever changing landscape of event planning, it is crucial for event organizers to keep up with the trends in the world of events - be it brainstorming interactive event ideas, making the events more sustainable or being up to date with the newest innovation in event technology.

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A holographic AR display system is one of the potential ways to create a perfect 3D demonstration. It can provide the virtual 3D object with in-depth information. A holographic display system works without any support equipment. With the incorporation of AR, a holographic system can perform multiple optical functions of a mirror and a lens and provide an immersive visual experience to the users.
Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that enhances the real-world environment with digital elements. It has many applications and has gained popularity in recent years due to the rapid advancements in computer vision, graphics, and hardware. AR has the potential to revolutionize the way individuals interact with digital content, and one of the most promising outcomes of AR technology is the holographic AR display.

Holographic AR displays provide a more immersive experience compared to the traditional AR displays. Instead of projecting digital elements on a transparent surface, holographic AR displays project light into the real world to create the illusion of three-dimensional (3D) objects. This creates a more natural and intuitive way of interacting with digital content and can be used in a variety of fields including entertainment, education, and other industries.

With the increasing adoption of holographic AR displays in the automotive sector, the global holographic AR display market is expected to experience prominent growth in the approaching years. The market is expected to generate a revenue of $2,586.4 million and rise at a CAGR of 31.5% during the estimated timeframe from 2022 to 2031. The major players of the market include Visteon Corporation, Sygic, Continental AG, DigiLens Inc., and many more.

How does Holographic AR Display Work?

Holographic AR displays use a combination of holographic principles and digital technologies to project 3D images into the real-world environment. The display projects light into the environment using a light source, and the light is then diffracted by a holographic film to create a 3D image. This image can be viewed from multiple angles, giving the illusion of a solid object floating in mid-air.

The display also contains sensors and cameras that track the user's position and gaze direction. This information is used to adjust the projection of the holographic image, ensuring that it remains in the correct position and orientation as the user creates a truly immersive experience, allowing the user to interact with the holographic objects as if they were real.

What are the Applications of Holographic AR Display?

A holographic AR display can be used in a wide range of applications across various sectors which are as follows:

Gaming and Entertainment: Holographic AR displays can be used to enhance the gaming experience, providing a more immersive and interactive way to play games. For example, the display can be used to project a virtual game world into the real world, allowing the player to interact with the virtual elements in real time, creating a more engaging and memorable experience for the audience.

Education: A holographic AR display can be used in education to provide a more interactive and engaging way of learning. For instance, teachers can use the display to project virtual models of scientific concepts, allowing students to interact with the models and better understand the concepts. This type of technology can be used to enhance museum experiences, allowing visitors to interact with virtual exhibits and gain a deeper understanding of the displayed artifacts.

Healthcare: In the healthcare field, holographic AR displays can be used to enhance medical training and visualization. For example, medical professionals can use the display to project virtual models of anatomy, allowing them to interact with the models and better understand the human body. This technology can also be used to enhance surgical procedures, allowing surgeons to visualize the anatomy in real time and make more informed decisions during the procedure.

Industrial Applications: Holographic AR displays can be used in a variety of industrial applications, including product design, engineering, and manufacturing. For instance, engineers can use the display to visualize and interact with virtual prototypes, allowing them to quickly identify and resolve design issues. This technology can also be used to enhance the manufacturing process, allowing workers to visualize and interact with virtual models of the products they are building.

The Bottom Line

Holographic AR displays are a promising technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way individuals interact with digital content. With its ability to project 3D images into the real world, it provides a more immersive and interactive way to communicate better in this growing digital world.

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Holographic AR Display: A Cutting-Edge Technology Allowing Individuals to Interact Better with Digital Content

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Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that enhances the real-world environment with digital elements. It has many applications and has gained popularity in recent years due to the rapid advancements in computer vision, graphics, and hardware. AR has the potential to revolutionize the way individuals interact with digital content, and one of the most promising outcomes of AR technology is the holographic AR display.

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The Interfaces of AI Art Practices - Serpentine Galleries

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If machine learning is a new paradigm in computing, then why is there no new interface?

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ELLE explores and celebrates all that is 'The Now, the New and the Next', in order to spark an action or reaction, whether it's see it first, experience it first or shop it first.

Fashionable, provocative and creative, presenting its audience with the latest in Fashion, Beauty and Modern Culture.

ELLE appeals to the 'original thinker' - one who is a cultural explorer and a defiantly independent spirit - who leads not follows. Stylish, creative and daring, they are influential amongst their peers and are at the forefront of the latest trends.

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ELLE explores and celebrates all that is 'The Now, the New and the Next', in order to spark an action or reaction, whether it's see it first, experience it first or shop it first. ELLE appeals to the 'original thinker' - one who is a cultural explorer and a defiantly independent spirit - who leads not follows.

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Catered in booths throughout event, featuring cuisines from different cultures & regions

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The evolution of eBooks and digital reading has disrupted the book publishing industry for good reasons in the past decade. The progress in dedicated reading devices - from handheld, bound books to everyone's current favorite, Amazon Kindle - has made reading friendly, rapid, and time-saving.

But we have also seen a tremendous shift in the book publishing process - the time-cost-saving self-publishing companies and print-on-demand services bypassing the traditional book publishers to be the top favorite of authors.

The internet and online shopping remain the key drivers of this change, which has also impacted the other aspects of the book publishing value chain.

Best Self-publishing platforms, like Writat, help authors reach readers directly, far better than steps to self publishing a book. Electronic and online marketplaces, like Amazon, expand book distribution, e-tailers like Booksophile sell books online, and electronic readers like Kindle provide personalized reading experiences to readers.

Technology has delivered significant opportunities to self-publishing platforms and authors. In addition, technology is influencing authors on how they research and draft their manuscripts, publish and promote their books, and even engage with their readers.

Macquarie University's Faculty of Business and Economics, Australia, conducted a one-of-a-kind study on the impact of technology on the book publishing industry. They surveyed more than 1000 book authors and publishers and highlighted their responses to the evolution of technology affecting the global book industry and the livelihood of authors.

What they found is that the steps to book publishing is rapidly growing, and many authors, particularly fiction, have chosen to self-publish their books. They do so for financial and creative control, copyright control, and the joy of not having to appeal to a traditional book publisher.

More than 25% of authors self-published a book the previous year.

One-third of self-published books are fiction.

Around 60% of the authors have switched to self-publishing companies for creative and financial control.

Self-publishing is becoming increasingly common across all mainstream genres, like education, poetry, self-help, creative, and non-fiction.

Technology-based self-publishing platforms, like us, have increased the number of publishing formats, like Paperback, Hardcover, and eBook publishing.

Authors who write in specific genres and sub-genres, such as guide to self publishing in the Tamil language, find it hard to publish their books traditionally. Self-publishing technology and PoD service have made it easy and convenient for them to sell their books to niche readers.

Authors also report that new technologies and online publishing have paved the way to publishing paid, original work.

Quick Read: How Authors guide to self publishing.

Print on Demand (PoD) technology has allowed authors to print books on demand from local printers, reducing the cost of bulk printing, inventory, and large print runs.

eCommerce marketplaces, like Amazon and social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, have made it possible for readers to purchase books directly from the authors, often at a lower cost. (Learn social media for self-publishinghere).

These platforms have also placed authors in a better position to provide a personalized experience to their niche readers, communicate with them personally, and even collaborate with them for events, giveaways, and contests, significantly improving authors' reach and credibility.

While technology has increased competition, it has also made it convenient for self-publishing authors to reach readers globally with limited resources. For instance, when you publish with Writat, we distribute your book to 40,000 distribution partners across 80 countries

Read this Blog to Learn Where and How to Sell Your Self-Published Book.

More and more women authors are coming forward to self-publish their books online.

More and more elderly authors have finally started their dream careers as an author by selling their books online.

By self-publishing, authors can earn upto 100% royalties on the profits compared to the 2% to 10% profit share they earn from traditional publishing.

Because of the rise in digital marketing tactics, like Author websites, email marketing, SEO, Instagram marketing, videos, and podcasts, 70% of authors have improved how their books are promoted and sold.

Important Read: Why Authors Need a Website Before They Self-Publish a Book

Digital marketing solutions have also significantly influenced the way in which authors improve their relationships with their readers and build a loyal follower base.

50% of the authors report that new technologies have provided new openings to earn more through their books. Examples: Guest speaking, blogging, product merchandising, and more.

In the previous year, the most nominated format for book publishing was print books (roughly 45%), followed by eBooks (around 35%). Audiobooks are also taking the stage this year.

Check out the book publishing steps.

Book publishing is not what it was in the 20thcentury or even a decade back. The technological revolution is in full swing in some areas of publishing, while in others, like self-publishing, it is a constant.

Undoubtedly, technology will continue to have a dynamic impact on the book publishing industry. While the pandemic has affected the sector with both positive and negative impacts, we have seen an increase in book reading during this time, boosting online sales and self-publishing.

So, if you have plans to self-publish a book with Writat, you have chosen the perfect time. The opportunities will flood your doorway. So, pick the chance and get a positive result.

We have some exclusive plans and offers for self-publishing authors. You can visit our officialwebsite for more information.
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The Impact of Technology on the Book Publishing Industry

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The evolution of eBooks and digital reading has disrupted the book publishing industry for good reasons in the past decade. The progress in dedicated reading devices - from handheld, bound books to...