Bridal Times caught up Esthermaria Laruccia, Director of the Valmont Barcelona Bridal Week, to tell us more about their first-ever completely digital show for one of the biggest and most-loved bridal fashion event in the industry.
Esthermaria, tell us about the new immersive fashion show concept. How is it different from previous VBBFW fashion shows and can the audience still attend?
The forthcoming VBBFW will have an exclusively digital format offering an interactive space virtually connected with the sector’s professionals and the global audience, in other words, lovers of the world of fashion and, above all, future brides from all over the world. The fashion shows will be pre-recorded on an innovative 400 m2 stage consisting of LED screens 7 metres high and over 20 metres wide. It will be able to adapt to the artistic needs of each designer, thus creating an immersive and unique experience for each presentation. They’ll be pre-recorded with the necessary safety measures in place and streamed from 18 to 22 September in a manner accessible to a global audience that will experience the spectacle in an interactive manner.
It’s highly important to develop the concept of the fashion parade, which, if consumed via a screen, has to be much more attractive and entertaining. At the moment it’s also very important for a brand to reach not only its professional audience but also the future bride at a single event on a single platform.
Finally, we should emphasise that an important innovation in this format is the interaction with the future bride and the possibility of obtaining feedback on the dresses on display in order to transfer their preferences to the collections. This is key both for the buyers, who’ll be able to purchase with greater confidence, and for the brands, which will be able to plan the production of their collections with a market test.
What are the different features of the “new digital showroom” app? Can visitors make direct appointments with the exhibitors during the opening hours?
Absolutely, the digital showroom has been created with the aim of connecting the market, promoting international business opportunities by means of different services, such as the online showroom, chat and video conferences, and the possibility of making appointments. The VBBFW app will be designed in a simple and intuitive way to enable buyers and influencers to browse, discover the new collections, chat and meet up virtually at any time and from anywhere, via a mobile phone or computer. The part devoted to the “trade show” will remain operational for one month (until 18 October) to facilitate trade exchanges between all the participants.
VBBFW has become more digital than ever before. How important was it for your team to incorporate these new changes?
It’s been an exciting challenge, one we’re still working on to make this year’s VBBFW Digital Experience a success for all the people who form part of it and for the audience, who’ll be able to enjoy the shows online. This is undoubtedly a new and disruptive language that involves a readjustment of “how” to design the show, but not “what” to offer. The concept of a global platform to publicise the innovations and contents of the bridal fashion brands and to connect with professionals has not changed, but the communication channel has, and moreover, it’s enabled us to reach an even larger audience and, above all, have an impact on future brides. Beyond its format, VBBFW is an essential marketing tool for all the stakeholders in this global industry. In fact, some of the major brands in the domestic and international markets, such as Pronovias, Jesús Peiró, Yolancris, Nicole, Cymbeline, Isabel Sanchis, St. Patrick, Sophie et Voilà, Marylise & Rembo Styling, Serena Whitehaven, Vestal from Korea, Atelier Emelia and Italians Valentini and Bellantuono and new talents like Lorena Panea, Olga Macià, Léonie Bridal, Poesie Sposa and Flora from Israel have already confirmed their presence on our digital platform with fashion parades and virtual stands, thus ratifying their trust in the show.
For those who aren’t very savvy or older generations who have problems with apps, will there be alternative options to enable them to browse through the programme easily?
As mentioned before, we’ve designed the platform to enable everyone, regardless of their digital skills, to connect, do business, comment and share contents. At this point I’d like to highlight that for the design and realisation of the platform we’ve relied on our partnership with La Fura dels Baus, the theatre company specialising in the production of disruptive shows, the one that organised the opening ceremony for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and which, since then, has continued to create online and offline performances for opera houses, theatres, fashion parades and the performing arts in general. This partnership has enabled us to add creativity to the latest technologies in order to make a streamlined and attractive space that’s accessible to everyone for their immediate use.
What kind of precautions is VBBFW taking to keep exhibitors and visitors safe during the pandemic?
The show will be completely virtual this year, and so the safety measures, drawn up by Fira de Barcelona with the help of experts, will only be applied when necessary, in other words, during the recordings of the fashion shows, so as to ensure the absolute safety of the participants, in accordance with the recommendations of the authorities.
VBBFW is renowned for its extravagant bridal events, such as Barcelona Bridal Night and the Elle International Bridal Awards. Are these events still scheduled to take place and under what new conditions?
VBBFW has always been committed to combining valuable content with the traditional presentations of the collections. And this is what we’ll continue to do by means of our partnerships with Valmont, the Elle International Bridal Awards, the Design Institute of Spain, Wedding Media International, IED and so on.
So you’re in for lots of surprises. And if you want to know which wedding dress or collection gets the most votes, don’t miss the online presentation of the winners of the Elle International Bridal Awards on our digital platform on 21 September.
As well as the presentation of the sectoral study we asked Prof. José Luis Nueno from the IESE Business School to write: Bridal Fashion, Sustainable Style, Conscientious Business.
How do you think the pandemic has changed the way the bridal industry does business?
The pandemic has changed the way all the sectors of the economy do business, and the bridal fashion industry is no exception. The new technologies are playing and will play a growing role by accelerating the changes that remain pending, particularly in the retail channel. Bridal fashion stores will also have to change the way they seduce their customers, facilitating virtual shopping journeys, welcoming the bride to the store solely for the final phase of the purchase, activating effective communication focused on very specific targets and ensuring convenience. Generally speaking, companies will have to compete in a new environment marked by social distancing, accelerated digitisation, a reconfiguration of the global supply chains and the need to show that they’re sustainable in the face of a more aware and demanding society. Reconnecting with the sector’s professionals and future brides is essential for everyone, and the VBBFW 2020 digital platform is designed to facilitate the above with the professionals, and at the same time, the global audience, in other words, prescribers and final consumers.
With the bridal industry suffering a severe blow during the crisis, what are your forecasts and hopes for the future?
Within this difficult context, the good news is that weddings haven’t been cancelled, they’ve only been postponed, and we believe that the most important task right now is to continue with greater enthusiasm and strength, if that were possible, in order to reach the “new normal”. We’re convinced that a new situation such as the current one requires innovation, new formulas, more optimism than ever before and a great deal of responsibility.
Finally, what’s the ideal Valmont Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week 2020?
The new technologies will enable us to overcome the restrictions imposed on us by this new context so as to connect the bridal wear players and revive the passion of our industry within a different global setting. VBBFW will seek, more than ever before, to provide the industry with all the support possible in order to relaunch business at a particularly complex time. We also want to promote a new approach to fashion, based on respect for people, diversity and the environment, thus facilitating integration by generating a positive impact on the milieu. In short, this year’s VALMONT BARCELONA BRIDAL FASHION WEEK won’t be “business as usual” adapted to the circumstances, but rather a revolutionary bid to shape the event of the future. We invite you to download our VBBFW app and enjoy the digital experience we’re designing for you together.
For further information, visit Valmont Barcelona Bridal Week