Human beings are visual animals. To get the picture means: we understand. The other way is also true: if we want someone to understand, we give a picture of the situation. We arrange it, so the other party can connect it to their experience (which is strongly visual) and therefore get the message.
Pictures can be simple and just show what something looks like. Or they can be done in a sophisticated way so they represent an experience. If you are a fashion company, what would you rather have someone get: just what the clothing looks like – or what it feels like when you wear it?
Visual Experiences
We never buy clothing just because we like the look of them. The look is only the first attractor. We buy them because of the way they make us feel.
A well-done fashion campaign gives a specific experience. It associates the fashion line with this experience, and attracts the people who are looking for that kind of experience.
I do not meant he way they feel on our skin. I mean the way they feel on our soul. What do we associate with a specific piece of clothing? We all have our lucky shirts, favorite jacket, talisman pullovers. A well-done fashion campaign does the same thing.
A well-done fashion campaign doesn’t show how cool a clothing line is (except in summer, when it’s too hot). A well-done fashion campaign gives a specific experience. It associates the fashion line with this experience, and attracts the people who are looking for that kind of experience.
When you put on clothing, you are not just covering up. You are building your identity. The more a fashion brand offers that identity through visual stories, the stronger the attraction will be.
A Story is a Recipe for an Experience
Instead of just photographing your designs on models to show what they look like and get the emotional intensity of a shop window mannequin – you can have models behave like still photography actors and actresses and deliver an emotional experience.
The more a fashion brand offers that identity through visual stories, the stronger the attraction will be.
Instead of having a girl stand in a landscape and pose she can enter the landscape looking for someone. There is a car parked at the roadside. She goes there to learn more. The door is open, the key in the ignition. Next to the car is an open suitcase, things strewn around.
Among these things are postcards and a map. She gets into the car, turns the key in the ignition, and drives off… we have a story. The dresses will be just as beautiful, but now they will be remembered, because they are worn by a person with a goal and an emotional state, not a mannequin.
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