Nails will take center stage at the much buzzed about Rebecca Minkoff see-now-buy-now fashion show at The Grove in Los Angeles Saturday.
Days before the New York Fashion Show kicks off in the cold of New York’s winter, Minkoff is creating a different type of “chill” with a California-inspired fashion and Essie nail-polish collection.
She’ll use social media to get her runway looks to shoppers right away in a partnership with the social shopping service, Like to Know It, which will send purchase information to Instagram users who “like” an image.
Just as consumers can get instant gratification on Minkoff’s runway looks, they can also shop the Essie colors used to create the nail art looks from the runway show. The curated bundle goes live on Amazon for $45 following the event.
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As brand global color designer for Essie, Minkoff teed up new nail colors with her runway looks. The nail shades were inspired from a storyboard of a girlfriends’ road trip complete with vintage cars and surfboards. “One of the colors came from an image of a beat up pink Volkswagen, another the blue of the ocean and green represents the floral and fauna of the country,” Minkoff told WWD.
Minkoff has collaborated with Essie to inject her fashion sense into Essie’s colorful trend collections. “Taking the show to Los Angeles this year could not be more fitting as both Rebecca’s and Essie’s spring 2017 collections evoke the spirit of the carefree California girl,” added Carolyn Holba, general manager for Essie Worldwide.
Launching the shades at the Los Angeles show takes the Essie and Minkoff collaboration (Minkoff assumed her official ambassadorial duties for the nail lacquer brand in 2015) to a new level, both companies said. Minkoff added that not only are consumers able to shop her full line right after the show, but partnering with Essie gives consumers another exciting extension to her show. Being able to buy the bundle immediately gives consumers even more of the runway experience via both the fashion and beauty categories, Minkoff explained.
This is the third year consumers can shop the nail look, but this time the brand is taking a step further with a pop up activation at The Grove to allow attendees to experience the collection. Keeping with Minkoff’s customer centric approach, she’s packed the day with experiences including yoga classes, a fireside chat with Who What Wear’s Hillary Kerr and wine tasting. The events, which are open to the public, start at 10:00 a.m. —well ahead of the 4:30 p.m. show. Minkoff said that offers much more than the traditional quick fashion show experience.
Separately, a major attraction of the day will be offering manicures and a do it yourself nail bar, where attendees can use the colors and designs to create nail art that will be featured on the models — before the show even starts. Those looks can be shared via #essielove in an on-site interactive photo booth.
Models, influencers and celebrities set for the event will wear the Essie spring apparel collection, with matching nail colors. Among the names are Alexandra Daddario, Lauren Conrad and Coco Rocha. Minkoff gave a nod to the expanding impact of influencers, noting about a third of the show includes these new power players.
Minkoff has partnered with Essie to bring the see-now-buy-now experience to consumers for the past two seasons with positive reaction. The latest bundle includes shades with names fitting the theme: B’aha moment, Excuse Me Sur, Mademoiselle, Designated DJ and Backseat Besties.
Consumers appear to like the idea of getting their talons on the trend setting nail shades as fast as they can, based on figures from the past seasons. For example, the virtual bundle that went live on Amazon following Rebecca Minkoff’s fall 2016 show drove unit sales 200 percent over what Essie’s top-selling shades typically sell monthly on Amazon, according to the company. And, when Essie launched its curated bundle to coincide with the fall 2016 collection on Amazon, the online giant sold 150 of each shade in one week. That’s compared against the average of selling trend shades at a pace of 150 to 200 units per month.
“It’s evident in our sales and customer response that the see-now-buy-now experience is more important to our key consumer than ever before,” confirmed Montserrat Cortina, vice president of U.S. marketing for Essie.
Minkoff, who has been a pioneer in allowing customers instant access, reasoned that with social media and image sharing, consumers have image fatigue. “By the time something would arrive six months later, she had seen it everywhere. Fast fashion made it quicker and cheaper, so not only was she sick of seeing it, but she could buy it a month after the show. This is giving the consumer what she wants. She wants to see it, get excited about it and buy it,” Minkoff explained.
This season, Essie is making the ‘see- now-buy-now’ approach with Minkoff global, with key markets including Canada and the U.K. working with local online retailers to shop the complete Rebecca Minkoff nail art look as well.
Last season, Minkoff showed on the street in SoHo with looks that could be purchased following the debut. Lines stretched around the block. This year, she joins Tommy Hilfiger, Rachel Zoe and Tom Ford as those decided to head west to show collections in Los Angeles this month.