YOU may recall seeing fashion influencers decked out in “TB” monogrammed merch, all over your Instagram feed in recent weeks. These products are from the Burberry B Series created by Burberry’s creative director Riccardo Tisci, and here’s the thing: The collection’s reach is way bigger than you think.
Too often, style-conscious gentlemen contemplate how they should get their favourite apparel or accessory, fresh off the runway. Some consider retail too cumbersome (even though retail therapy may still be an addiction for many), and visiting official websites to get such items doesn’t quite cut it either.
Things are about to change. By the power vested in social media, Burberry is taking it one step further, and another step closer to you.
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The B Series
This is where the Burberry B Series line comes in. Its premise is an intriguing one: On the 17th of every month, new Tisci-designed products will drop exclusively on social platforms like Wechat, Line, Kakao and Instagram.
The Thomas Burberry monogram is a staple in this ongoing collection. The first releases of the series featured the monogram in red on both white T-shirts and jersey sweatshirts.
Last month, we also saw the colours inverted with the release of the TB logo in white, on red bases. Needless to say, Burberry is giving fans the best of both worlds by merging both high fashion and street.
The newest drop in the Burberry B Series for the month of February is the mini Title bag. It is made of black leather with a polished top bar and triple-stud closure.
Burberry says this is a teaser to its Title bag collection set to launch this summer, coming in a profusion of styles and colours.
As for the approaching March edition of the Burberry B Series, it is hard to fathom what Tisci has in store, but we bet it will spark the same amount of suspense and anticipation.
Millennials and their Instagram feeds
Behind this movement is a motivation to increase audience engagement. Burberry is changing the way people buy their clothes and more than that — revolutionising what it means to be a luxury brand in fast fashion.
There is no better way and time to zero in on their target group: Millennials, or digital natives aged 23 and older.
Instagram is the definitive platform to connect with the growing number of these youths, including offering unfettered access to pop culture and fashion news around the world. More importantly, Instagram is where one can find the largest group of millennials spending most of their time — these numbers don’t lie.
Fancy a Burberry piece your favourite influencer wore on Instagram? Look for the buying links on Burberry’s Instagram page and voila, your purchase will reach your doorstep before you know it. Convenience has never been a more optimal strategy.
Reaching the Asian markets
The brand hasn’t forgotten about Asian markets on this side of the world, too. The Burberry B Series is available via other socials like Kakao, LINE and Wechat, the most popular apps in South Korea, Japan and China respectively.
From an Asian lens, markets like China are on their way to becoming the global leader in retail spending. According to CNBC, the world’s most populous country is expected to see its total retail sales grow by 7.5 percent to US$5.6 trillion in 2019, compared to the US$5.5 trillion figure projected for the US. This would be a plum opportunity to tap on.
Who would have thought that the number one complaint millennials get for being glued to their phones, has become the number one strategy for proliferating fashion news today? The best way to reach them, it seems, is through their smartphone applications.
Amongst the fleeting trends in the fashion wave, it appears “millennial” and “social media” are the current buzzwords to stay.