What’s That Smell on the Street?

**WARNING** If you are going to the Ralph Lauren store on Madison Avenue, New York to see the pending Ralph Lauren spectacle, this video is a SPOILER (never thought I had to type a spoiler note about a fashion film but there you go, time differences and all that…)

They called it new, never-been-done before, 4-D and a heap of hype has been written up about the Ralph Lauren digital spectacle to celebrate the launch of its UK ecommerce store, that was projected on the facade of the 1 New Bond Street Ralph Lauren store as well as the Madison Avenue store later on at 8pm EST.  Did it live up to all the chat?  I'll leave you my shady video with shuddery sound to judge as well as a urgent plea to check out the official video when it goes live on the website tomorrow.  I for one felt like I had experienced a novel way of presenting fashion, encompassing product, brand, iconography and vision.   I don't have the right vocabulary to give what I've just seen a name or a label and Suzy Menkes describe it greater and better detail (there are also more tech details in this vid here)but all I know is that Ralph Lauren has just made me feel like genuine innovation in the fashion/technology stakes happened tonight, which is the exact opposite of feeling like fashion is latching onto technology for the sake of saying 'We're moving with the times – no, really.  We are!'

The multi sensory part of the spectacle though does have its roots in something that failed to take off originally, but may get its revival not in film but in advertising – Smell-O-Vision!  At approximagely 6 minutes into the projection, a waft of Ralph Lauren's new perfume pervaded the cold crisp air and there was a collective 'Woooooo…' which suggested that the audience were well and truly seduced.  Maybe I don't need to be smelling sweaty armpits in a fight scene in a Guy Ritchie film but a perfume scent wafting down a street to match visuals on a storefront seems pleasant enough – hah – I speak as one of the willing sheep-like shopper that I am.  I imagined a Perfume-like scenario where the crowd would suddenly rush into the store scrabbling to buy the scent (or start making mad mad love with each other…).  Perhaps this could well happen in the future (the buying part, not the err…making love) as tonight I got the distinct feeling that the way brands (fashion or otherwise) may be stepping up their game to visually, audibly and now nasally assault consumers.

19 comments

  3. I didn’t hear about this until I was on the tube heading to Wimbledon and it was too late. I was very intrigued and I reckon its definitely an indicator of the way fashion advertising campaigns headed. I can’t help but imagine a future with 4D advertising like this happening all the time, kind of like a futuristic London with a Blade Runner cityscape.

  5. Genius production! Had to miss the event in favour of dim sum dinner with your cousin and crew in soho hahaha.

  8. Thanks for posting as I will not be in either city when this jumps off. I agree that the design needs to catch up to the theatrics.

  10. Nothing terribly special about augmented reality, they did it on the gadget show about two years ago… however, I agree… the execution looks great. Now they just need some product to back up their advertising campaigns, ha. Augmented reality can look pretty cool but I think holographic imaging will re-define the approach to advertising…

  13. This is literally the most amazing thing i have ever seen! Someone has already said exactly what was going through my mind; that it was something out of DisneyLand. BUT it’s fashion, so it’s even better than DisneyLand!
    I so hope this is the future for stores, i’d love to walk past a store and have a 4D catwalk show showing, it would be an amazing promotional aspect. As a fashion student, i am SO excited to think that by the time i’m working in the industry, i could be a part of something like this!

  15. Moi: Yes you’re right, it isn’t new at all… but then again, fashion hasn’t always been that quick off the mark with technology in general so I think in this instance, it’s surprising that Ralph Lauren have taken such a leap of faith in something that could have gone horribly wrong…
    I’m not sure I would apply either of the terms ‘augmented reality’ (a buzz term that gets thrown about too hastily…) or 4-D in this instance – we need to define what EXACTLY those things mean…
    Angie Montreal/Louise: Damn I totally forgot to say – it WAS a Disney-esque experience for me too…

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