Don’t just think about it: go digital. Loads of brands are doing it, on the social networks. There are plenty of examples in footwear, too

[On the cover: Velasca]

The whole world is online these days: 4.54 billion people used the Internet in 2019, 5.19 billion used mobile devices and 3.80 billion used social networks. Italy has 49.5 million Internet users, 80.4 million mobile devices and 35 million social network users. Italians spend almost 2 hours a day on social networks.

These and more figures were discussed in a webinar on “Social Media in fashion: how true it is that we live and choose our clothes online!” organised by Assocalzaturifici and presented by social media expert Federico Demartini. 

The figures are impressive, in Italy as elsewhere: 41.5 million Italian consumers placed e-commerce orders in 2019, representing 70% of the population, 8% more than in the previous year. But only 12% of Italian companies sell their goods online! It is no longer enough just to “think” digital; we need to “act” digital, too.

There are plenty of success stories of companies that have taken the big step. From Gucci, which has been using memes to talk to millennials and present its watches for several years now, to the American company Fashion Nova, whose #novababes operation has more than 16 million Instagram followers, and was the most searched-for brand in the USA in 2018, ahead of big names like Vuitton, Versace, Givenchy and Gucci.

Cotonificio Albini Fabric Butler

 

Then there are examples such as Cotonificio Albini, a manufacturer of shirt fabrics which guides users in the discover of tailors and workshops that use its cottons, or Carlings of Norway, inventor of the first digital collection, adDRESS THE FUTURE, combining the values of fashion and ecology for people who want to dress 100% digital.

In the world of footwear, the Velasca brand emphasises the concepts of smart buying and craftsmanship and the Milanese soul of the brand, which is however made in Italy’s Marche region, with classic, timeless styles given names in dialect such as Lattee, Caffettee, Cavadent, Urtulan, and so on.

These case histories demonstrate how important it is for brands, and therefore consumers, to use integrated communications consistent with their mission while building a relationship of trust on the social networks through the values of integrity, transparency and availability.

Carlings adDRESS