DIFFERENT SEAT: Etro is to amplify its upcoming spring 2025 runway show this week with an alternative yet highly immersive experience.
On Wednesday, the brand will offer eight guests in Milan and a selection of its top clients around the world the opportunity to watch its show live via the Apple Vision Pro headset for augmented reality and virtual reality.
Guests in Milan will partake in the experience from the Etro showroom, along with the top clients from its flagships across key cities in Europe, Asia, Middle East, and the U.S. In the days following the show, the Etro stores in Milan’s Via Montenapoleone, Tokyo’s Ginza and New York will offer the chance to rewatch the event as well as check out extra contents to all clients, too.
The activation marks the first time a fashion brand will broadcast a live runway show on the device, and follows in the footsteps of other players of the industry tapping into Apple Vision Pro’s potential to enhance their offering and interaction with customers, spanning from Mytheresa to J.Crew.
Apple has described its Vision Pro tool as “a revolutionary spatial computer that transforms how people work, collaborate, connect, relive memories and enjoy entertainment.” Apps for movies, photos and environments can be navigated and manipulated in different ways with just eye or hand movement or by tapping two fingers, without any device beyond the headset itself.
While the device hasn’t launched in Italy yet, Etro has developed an app for Vision Pro with IT solution provider MMN, which will be available in the App Store in the markets in which the device has been already released.
The Etro app.
Courtesy of Etro
This will not be the first time the Italian fashion house is experimenting with digital implementations. Earlier this year, the brand’s creative director Marco De Vincenzo took the offbeat title of his spring 2024 women’s collection, “Nowhere,” quite literally in the season’s advertising campaign as he collaborated with digital artist and prompt designer Silvia Badalotti to create different fantasy scenes through AI.
Etro was also among the first brands to make metaversal moves. As reported, in 2022 it took part in Metaverse Fashion Week, or MVFW, in the blockchain-based virtual world of Decentraland. For the occasion, the brand showcased a figure eight-shaped catwalk dripping in a rendition of its signature paisley motif called “Liquid Paisley,” which also adorned the virtual lineup sported by male- and female-looking avatars.