Creating a fashion event at your store
is a great way to attract prospective
and current customers.
People love attending fashion shows
since it gives them an opportunity
to see what new apparel, footwear,
handbags, and accessories, are
being introduced.
Fashion shows can inspire people
to buy the merchandise that you
sell. A fashion show puts people
in a fashion mood, which can lead
them to purchasing the items
which you have for sale.
A well run fashion show will inspire
as well as motivate shoppers. It should
give people ideas on how they can
use the merchandise that you have
available to create an amazing image for
themselves.
Your fashion show is basically a platform
that will draw in people to your shop
and get them excited about purchasing
fashion related merchandise.
The fashion show does not need to feature
only your products. You can feature
creations by up and coming as well as
established local designers.
Although you might not be selling their merchandise,
you can still benefit by showcasing their creations.
People want to attend fashion events that
feature beautiful products, so having their merchandise
on display can help you attract people.
You want your show to feature as many
different designers as possible since those designers
will attract people to your show.
You can have encourage designers to
participate in your show by
letting them know that they
can receive added exposure
for their products.
As your fashion show grows in popularity
you can even charge designers and other
vendors for the opportunity to
display their merchandise.
You might even consider inviting
designers from other countries.
Designers are looking to reach as
many people as possible, and the
opportunity to reach people in another
country can be an amazing one
for an ambitious designer.
A designer in New York might
love the opportunity to sell her
couture dresses in Zambia,
while a Nigerian designer might
be excited about seeing her
elegant suits being displayed in
an American department store.
Fashion shows can be perfect venues
for designers that want to reach a clientele
that is serious about exploring new
styles.
You never know, you might get a
fashion powerhouse like Tahari to
participate in your show, it's up to you
to ask!
While it would be great to
have an international brand at your
show, remember that many seemingly
unknown designers have a following.
Their following might be comparatively
small, but their fans can still show up
to your show and become your customers.
You can still run a show even without
any outside designers, you would just focus
on the merchandise that you have
for sale.
In other words, you can create a fun
event where you simply display the
products that you have for sale in
a dynamic runway type setting.
Don't worry, you don't have to create
an actual runway, just decorate
your shop in a vibrant way.
You can hire local college students to
model the clothes and other related
items that you have.
Remember that the primary goal
of your show is to attract customers to your
store. Show attendees might make a purchase
right then, or return at a later date to
purchase merchandise from your shop.
Make sure that you have what to sell.
You might consider making special
closeout buys that you believe will
appeal to the people that will
be showing up to your event.
You can even ask designers,
brands, wholesalers, and closeout suppliers,
if they have any special or unique
merchandise which you can
sell at your special occasion.
Even if you don't end up selling the
merchandise at the show, you want your
store to look full so that people are impressed
and decide to return at a later date to do
shop.
Once you have selected a date for your
show and set up an itinerary, you want to
focus on promoting your fashion event.
If you can generate publicity in the media
you can literally get millions of dollars
worth of free publicity.
The power of the media is tremendous.
The same applies to social media.
If you write a really good article
about your event it can go
viral, which means that hundreds
of thousands of people can hear about
your event.
You can promote your event by:
1.- Sending out an email to your list of customers about
the show.
2.- Create an event for the show on Facebook.
3.- Send out a press release announcing the show.
4.- Post information about your show on your website.
5.- Write a blog post where you discuss the event that you have planned.
6.- Actively discuss your event on fashion related forums.
7.- Take pictures of your preparations and post them on Facebook.
8.- Make a video where you discuss the show. You can then
upload it on Facebook and YouTube, as well as put it up on your website.
9.- Contact fashion publications and websites and notify them about your event.
10.- List your event in the calendar of your local newspaper.
11.- Call your customers and tell them about it.
12.- Have flyers distributed in your neighborhood.
13.- Ask any designers and vendors that are participating to
let their contacts know about the event.
14.- Write an article about your event and share it on Facebook.
15.- Invite local businesses to participate in exchange for
promoting your event to their customers.
If you want additional ideas on how to organize and
run a show, I would recommend that you
search for fashion show videos on YouTube.
Some of the top fashion shows are:
New York Fashion Week
Miami Fashion Week
LA Fashion Week
Milan Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week
One interesting idea would be to schedule your
show in conjunction with a major show that is taking
place near you. This way you can draw in people
that have travelled to attend it, and generate media
publicity from reporters that are looking for interesting
related stories.
You can even contact the show's organizers and find
out if they would be willing to help you promote your
show. You never know, they might even invite you
to participate in their show.