Reebok’s outing at this year’s New York Fashion Week was home to a few firsts, including a partnership with Who What Wear and a shopable runway where editors and influencers could purchase items on tablets in real-time.

The sportswear retailer crafted the engagement in collaboration with Who What Wear, and was available not only to those in attendance: users online live streaming the runway activities were also treated to many of the same features. The development could catch on within retail-focused designers that participate in the NYFW festivities, but is unlikely to penetrate high fashion in the near future.

“Our Finish Line followers were able to live stream the fashion show online with the same shopability and access to the entire look as those in attendance,” said Marissa Lucero, digital brand producer, women’s at Finish Line. “Who What Wear will be elevating Reebok product (available at Finish Line) to their readers and followers in the coming months.

“We will support this as well online and via our Finish Line Women’s social channels. All of this is in support of our #WeAreMore branded experience for the female consumer, offering inspiration to help her stay on-point and maintain her unique competitive style.”

Social engagement
The NYFW promotion also included a number of social engagements, including a behind-the scenes look at Fashion Week provided by representatives from Finish Line, who were onsite to share on Snapchat and Instagram.

The festivities also included participation from style gurus from Who What Wear sister company College Fashionista, who specifically moonlighted on the campaign’s Instagram account. Finish Line Women’s social team would also take over College Fashionista’s Instagram and Snapchat accounts during the event.

“Through our College Fashionista Snapchat takeover with Reebok’s women’s team, we could reach our customer in a new way and in a social space she trusts and finds relevant,” Ms. Lucero said. “During the fashion show, Finish Line and Reebok were joined by three College Fashionista Gurus who all wore Reebok Chelsea Boots and Slips to complement their unique style.

“These influencers generated content live on Instagram and Snapchat from the event, as well.”

Shopable runway
The introduction of a shopable runway is not completely foreign to fashion, and even less so to New York Fashion Week: last year, Tommy Hilfiger rolled out a largely similar product for its Fall 2016 show.

The apparel sector has been a putting out a series of flashy campaigns as of late, even though attention has been paid mostly to advertising content and sponsorships. Last year, Finish Line and rival Foot Locker ran concurrent campaigns which both leveraged mobile-optimized video while pulling from different sources to find content (see story).

And in December, Reebok Hockey partnered with apparel retailer Lids to put on a socially generated contest to send fans to the 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic outdoor game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues (see story).

“Snapchat enables us to provide our female consumers a raw, authentic ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at events and opportunities that might not be available to her,” said Ms. Lucero. “This access makes her feel like she’s a part of something bigger.

“New York Fashion Week is very culturally relevant, and with this activation our girl could feel like she was right on the runway with us.”