When fashion meets music and technology

From the first time a beautiful dress was sashayed to the strum of a guitar, to the scintillating soundtrack of a lingerie fashion show - music and fashion have held each other dear for a long time. While one might have expected things to get repetitive over time, they’ve only become more interesting. In a bid to build on the relationship between fashion and music, leading e-commerce player, Flipkart, has joined forces with the online broadcast network, Qyuki, to create today’s version of ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’.  As a first-of-its-kind, this 360-degree fashion music video showcases the latest fashion trends by combining the fecundity of music and the power of technology. The brand crafted 24 fashion styles into 360 degrees and topped it off with TWO soundtracks (more on that later) to create an experience like never before.Music and Fashion“Flipkart is the market leader in fashion amongst all online businesses. Our vision is to be India's most preferred destination for trendy and affordable fashion and our category communication task is to ‘Democratize Trendy Fashion’ for every Indian consumer,” says Shoumyan Biswas, Chief Marketing Officer at Flipkart.“Our fashion is for everyone,” he adds. “Hence we wanted the right technology to enable the same being experienced by all. This video will revolutionize the way consumers across various demographics view and experience trendy fashion.”The video, about a minute and a half long, captures various styles by showcasing trends popular with consumers from around the country.  Over the past decade, fashion advertisers have moved several steps further in their journey with music. Embarking on their first major piece of menswear brand advertising in seven years, Levi’s Australia and New Zealand, launched their new campaign titled ‘Live In Music’.Like Levi’s, several other fashion brands use music as an integral part of their marketing DNA. Global Swedish fashion giant, H&M uses music to drive brand stickiness across digital platforms, using LIVE events and brand advocacy. The brand has run several music related campaigns, which include associations with both artists and music festivals. Converse, Adidas, Victoria’s Secret and several others continue exploring the bond between music and fashion, much to their consumers’ delight.Taking it up a notch, Flipkart decided to combine fashion not only with music but also with the ethos of today’s generation – technology. The brand chose the classic Bollywood track ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’, originally from Raj Kapoor’s Shree 420 (1955). Partnered with Qyuki, they engaged with music composer Ishq Bector and pop sensation Arjun Kanungo to create a version which increased the song’s fashion quotient while retaining its patriotic undertones.The TechnologyVirtual Reality always makes for intriguing news where marketing is concerned. The technology has the power to create a massive stir on social media and shake-up the experience for both marketers as well as consumers.Mercedes made a breakthrough innovation as it showed off its latest SL model with a virtual drive on the Pacific Coast Highway in California. Oreo is another great example of using the Virtual Reality experience as a marketing tool. In order to promote their newly Filled Cupcake Flavoured Cookies, Oreo created an animated virtual world that took the users through a fantasy land of milk rivers and chocolate canyons.Virtual Reality has also been steadily gaining demand in India over the last few years. This is primarily because of the increasing number of Virtual Reality start-ups.360-degree videos are no longer new to any audience with an internet connection. From Game of Thrones to Natural Geographic - brands, films, TV shows and more have used this format to create an immersive experience. Very few, if any, have used this to showcase fashion in such a manner.Zain Memon, Co-founder and CTO at Memesys says, “Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are catching on worldwide and entirely new paradigms of storytelling and engagement. Now while these new forms are exciting, it is important to use the tools as more than just gimmicks. With Flipkart, the idea was to showcase the wide fashion range available and how wonderfully it fits into your world no matter what your fashion sensibilities are.We shot Arjun Kanungo four times and composited him on each side, wearing a completely new look every time. The final video was a 360-degree experience in extremely a high fidelity 4k video.”The 360-degree video was shot using an array of four DSLR cameras. Using ultra-wide-angle fisheye lenses, the entire 360-degree spectrum was captured on the four cameras. The footage was then carefully composited to create a seamless environment while replicating the dancers on all 4 sides.“The final video,” says Zain, “is a composite of over 20 layers, rendered in 4k at about 50mbps. The audio on the film is binaural – the soundtrack changes depending on where the video is being watched from.”The video is assumed to be the first in many VR revolutions to take place within India’s fashion industry. All in all, the video is a good step into the future for advertising, with India taking the lead.This is a partnered post.