Behind the Scenes: Berlin's Premium and The Key.To

Here at MBF Trend Consulting, one of our hopes is to be more transparent about the fashion industry and let you in on all the inside scoops. So with that said, last week, Manuela Fassbender, the Creative Director and Founding Partner of MBF Trend Consulting, flew to Berlin to check out the latest fashions showcasing at Premium and The Key.To. With a film crew on board, we want to share with you what's next in the industry, particularly in the eco-fashion movement. With exclusive interviews from the show organizers and presenters, this clip is something you don't want to miss! Check it out and let us know your thoughts!

Part 1


Part 2

Burberry Goes Interactive

Though Burberry has been around for well over 150 years, "traditional" or "old-school" is far from what the brand reflects today. As one of the most forward-thinking fashion houses of our time, Christopher Bailey and the rest of the Burberry staff floors us once again with their latest interactive global advertising campaign, just released this week on their main homepage.

                       

A genius combination of music, fashion, and technology, their latest campaign has an interactive feature allowing the viewer to have the power to control the ad and how they want to see it -- rotate, pause, enlarge, zoom, etc. By being in charge of the perspective, you can create your own Burberry ad as you like it -- make the models walk forward and backwards, turn it 180, or zoom into the the details of the clothes. It is completely new in its kind, an inspiration for what may now be the future of advertising. Bailey comments on his campaign stating, "Burberry was founded on innovation and outerwear and I want anyone who sees the campaign not just to see image, but to feel a part of what we have created; connecting people through technology, music, the collections, the attitude, and the emotion captured."

Hands down, Burberry is the leading innovator of the fashion industry when it comes to technology. Let's not forget about their highly successful interactive social networking site The Art of the Trench, which launched last November, inviting the global community to submit portraits of themselves wearing the Burberry coat. They were also the first to go 3D during last A/W 2010 London Fashion Week, streaming its catwalk show live across the globe. As Burberry is continually developing the creative potential of technology, we can be sure to expect that this latest advertisement is just the beginning of more innovative projects to follow. Examples like these prove that in times like today, the innovation and creativity of fashion houses lie far beyond what they present on the runway. Everything, from their social networks, advertisements, online presence, events, and retail stores, are essential factors to creating a unique and successful brand. 

Puma's Clever Little Bag

Two weeks ago, Puma revealed its latest collaborative venture with Yves Behar, industrial designer and founder of fuseproject, of its eco-friendly shoebox at London's Design Museum. Determined to create a new shoebox that was more sustainable, the 21-month-long project included 40 prototypes, and multiple visits to distribution centers, manufacturing plants, storage facilities, and retail points across Europe and Asia. Named the "Clever Little Bag", the final design is a re-usable, recyclable, non-woven plastic bag that functions both as a shoebox and as a plastic retail bag. Through researching various methods of folding and shipping boxes, the "Clever Little Bag" is made by die cutting one flat piece of cardboard without any additional printing or assembly. The structure is created with four walls that taper in to allow for secured stacking, another important element left over from the original shoebox. The bag is stitched with heat, which equals less work and waste. It's made of non-woven polyester with recycled PET, and eventually can be recycled. The bag uses 65% less cardboard than the standard shoe box, has no laminated printing, no tissue paper, takes up less space and weighs less in shipping, and replaces the plastic retail bag.

As part of the PUMAVision, this is just one of the many steps it is making in order to reach it's goal to make all of its packaging materials fully sustainable by 2015. Puma CEO Jochen Zeitz states that realizing these goals will initially have a "slightly negative effect, which we've already factored into our product development costs." But "in terms of net savings in the mid to longer term, we hope that the cost effects will be neutral." By replacing their standard shoe boxes with the new redesign, Puma will be saving 8,500 tons of paper, 20 million Mega joules of electricity, 1 million liters of fuel oil, and 1 million liters of water every year. They will also save 500,000 liters of diesel during transportation; and because they no longer need traditional shopping bags, the company will also save almost 275 tons of plastic.

Understanding that sustainability is about working together, Puma's sustainability index is open to the public and available for other companies to help set global standards of compliance for defining the sustainability of a product. What is great about Puma's vision is that it really understands the importance of thinking sustainably; it is invested in the quality of our future and promotes a healthy, responsible way of living.  The new packaging and distribution system is set to be effective beginning 2011.

In honor of Earth Day, which was April 22, there are also several other companies joining in on promoting an eco-friendly and sustainable lifestyle:

via: Sephora

EDUN collaborated with Sephora to released a set of allergen-free and nature-based eyeshadow collection. The palette comes in a wooden box with an organic cotton case. In line with EDUN's company vision, the makeup collection is made in developing countries, providing opportunities for employment. $3 from every sale will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society to fund activities of the Conservation Cotton Initiative in Uganda.

via: Sephora

 via: Stylelist

If you haven't seen their posters already, H&M is working in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of America to collect children's clothing. Bring in any gently used children's clothing to any H&M store and receive 20% off your next purchase. Hurry because the donation drive ends tomorrow, April 29! 

"Made in North Korea"

Besides their leader's cultish personality and a never-ending threat of nuclear tests, there is very little we know about one of the world's most reclusive nations, North Korea. But to even remotely consider North Korea as a future hub of fashion is probably the last thing on all our minds.

A group of Swedish entrepreneurs, however, thought differently; and in 2007, Jacob Åström, Tor Rauden Källstigen and Jakob Ohlsson started Noko Jeans. Because there is so little known about North Korea, the members of Noko Jeans were interested in knowing more about the country; and Noko Jeans was their way of gaining access.

After a year of email correspondences, negotiations, and business trips to North Korea, they managed to seal a deal with the country’s biggest mining company to produce 1,100 pairs of two styles of jeans, expected to go on sale this Friday, December 4^th.

Priced at 150 Euros each and stitched with a "Made in North Korea" label, the team has designed limited straight-cut, dark-washed jeans, stark in its design to resemble the North Korean landscapes. With the launch includes a documentary of the company's trip to North Korea, exposing the world of it's rather transparent production method and further insight of an enigmatic nation.

As it is North Korea’s first denim product, it is likely that Noko’s first collection of jeans, Maneuvers in the Dark, will sell out in no time. However, although Noko has the cool, edgy look for a premium denim brand, it is still questionable as to whether their “Made in North Korea” tags will be embraced by their denim loving consumers. But even then, as North Korea may not have the best connotations, it’s isolated and somewhat secretive identity may work to Noko’s advantage, providing an unmarked territory as grounds to help spark a more positive association.

Noko’s website does not yet include the details of where you can purchase these jeans, but check back shortly and we’ll let you know as soon as we find out!

Via: Refinery29

The future of fashion is virtual.

As Fashion Week evolves from industry event to public phenomenon, designers have been contemplating how to keep their shows exclusive while making all of their customers feel included. Fashion's Night Out, while not a financial success, was a big step toward the democratization of Fashion Week, letting the public meet (or at least gape at) influential designers and buy in by, well, buying in.

Twitter-happy designer Alexander McQueen has another idea. His shows have always been as much performance art as fashion showcase, featuring real flames, live insects, giant chess sets, heaps of rubbish, and a hologram of Kate Moss among their wonders over the years. With video of previous shows already available on his website, he's involving the public in real time this season by broadcasting the SS10 catwalk live over the internet. And he's not the only one: Burberry, Sienna Miller's Twenty8Twelve, Michael Kors, and Isaac Mizrahi already did the same this spring; while some designers on a budget, like Shipley & Halmos, flipped the equation (above) by presenting their designs via video at their Fashion Week shows.

Photo via Racked