Manchester Arndale’s Fashion Flashmobs
It’s not easy to be a fashionista on the go—keeping up with the latest trends takes dedication and devotion.
Perhaps there’s a way around that time investment, though. If there is, Manchester Arndale may have found it last weekend. Over three days, the center managed to pull together over 50 fashion shows, for a total of over 1000 pieces shown from the spring collections.
How did they manage this? By doing away with most of the fashion show structure and replacing it with fashion flashmobs. All weekend, shoppers in the center were witness to pop-up fashion shows with professional dancers showing off the hottest looks, gone almost as soon as they arrived.
Each of the dances was clearly labelled by the retailer whose fashions were being shown off. After each five minute performance, the dancers took a page from the Pied Piper’s book, leading shoppers back to the stores. Those that came along and lucked into one of a limited number of special sealed envelopes had a chance to instantly win a giveaway from the retailer. Some retailers also put on flash sales in the hour following their slated performances.
“We wanted to do something a bit different instead of a usual fashion catwalk show and felt the immediacy of the flashmob fashion event was in keeping with our customers’ interests and lifestyles,” said David Allinson, centre director. “Everyone is so busy these days we thought it was the perfect way to showcase fashion on the move.”
