Lanvin Spoof Video | Source:

NEW YORK, United States — At BoF, we’ve been ranking the top fashion films of the season since 2009, when the genre was still just coming into existence. But even back then, set against the staggering rise of online video consumption and the growing importance of engaging young digital consumers, the medium’s tremendous potential was clear.

Fast-forward to the Autumn of 2011 and YouTube-friendly short videos are practically de rigueur for fashion brands, large and small. But interestingly, it’s not digital “Geniuses” like Burberry who have been creating the most compelling fashion films. Despite being labeled “Challenged” by a Digital IQ report recently released by LuxuryLab, we think the Prada Group is making some of the best digital films in the industry, working with top fashion image-maker Steven Meisel.

But this season, it was Lanvin’s viral sensation (also shot by Meisel), featuring Karen Elson and Raquel Zimmermann dancing awkwardly to “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” by Pitbull, that proved to be the game-changer that propelled fashion film decisively into the mainstream. The film struck a chord with a broad internet audience, earning over 100,000 YouTube views in the first three days online, providing the spark for a real-life dance competition at a buzzed about and well-attended Fashion’s Night Out event at the brand’s Madison Avenue boutique, and even spawning spoofs, the surest sign of of viral success.

Notably, it was stills from the Lanvin video that appeared in print advertising, flipping a well-established paradigm and highlighting fashion film’s trajectory towards the very centre of seasonal marketing initiatives.

And while we continued to see some absolutely stunning examples of films that look and feel like print campaigns or magazine editorial beautifully brought to life, it’s ‘digital first’ fashion videos, conceived from first principles with the online medium in mind, that broke the mold with humour, quirky charm or unconventional visual techniques which seemed to resonate most with online audiences.

What follows is BoF’s selection of the most powerful and interesting fashion films of the 2012 Spring-Summer season. As you sit back and enjoy the videos, let us know which ones you like best.

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Chloe Raises the Roof at the Tuileries Tent in Paris | Photo: BoF

LONDON, United Kingdom — It was a fashion season of extreme weather. After the New York Fashion Week schedule was upended, first by an earthquake and then by the State of Emergency declaration that came courtesy of Hurricane Irene, an unprecedented heat wave in Paris threw buyers, editors and bloggers into a wardrobe tailspin.

The American editors were worst off, having packed for the European shows two weeks before Paris with no prior notice of the heat wave that was to come. After a few days of shows in impossibly hot venues, some of them resorted to ripping the sleeves off their outfits or just wearing their ‘airplane clothes.’

Brands tried to ease the pain. Fans were distributed at shows alongside champagne and much to everyone’s relief, Chloe arranged for the roof of the Tuileries tent to be removed for their show, letting in the sun and much welcome breeze. Meanwhile Net-a-Porter, always on top of a new market opportunity, delivered heat wave friendly clothes to editors caught without weather-appropriate attire.

But of course the real action was on the runway and in conversations between BoF and the good and the great of the global fashion tribe at a season filled with its fair share of events and parties.

Without further ado, it’s time to look back at Spring/Summer 2012, the season that was.

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L-R Altuzarra, Prabul Gurung, Alexander Wang | Source: Style.com

You Can See Spring Coming (NY Times)
“Mr. Wang is a boy disguised as a designer — or maybe it’s the other way around — but whatever the case, he doesn’t want to grow up, and the clothes naturally follow that youthful spirit… Prabal Gurung’s show on Saturday had a pronounced erotic undercurrent that in its blunt use of violet, and the transparent hems of silk print dresses, owed something to the style last season of Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy.”

Fashion week: The ordinary people who stole the show (BBC News)
“Many people might not have heard of Tavi Gevinson, Scott Schuman, Susie Bubble and Bryanboy but they are household names to dedicated followers of fashion. All four are big players in the blogging revolution that has turned the fashion world on its head… But bloggers have been chipping away at the mainstream media as more and more people want to hear about fashion from people who apply it to everyday life.”

Where Fashion Gazes at Itself (NY Times)
“Tumblr, founded four years ago, has reached out to the fashion community in a way no other social networking site has. For the second time, it has brought users to New York Fashion Week as reporters, paying for their trips and giving them access to the shows. Their coverage is being posted on a dedicated channel, tumblr.com/NYFW, made up of posts from 20 bloggers picked by Tumblr’s staff, along with contributions from magazines that have their own Tumblrs.”

Versace sees revenue up in 2012 on H&M and Versus (Forbes)
“Italian top fashion house Versace is expecting higher revenues in 2012 after launching a collection for Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz this year and revamping its Versus second line…The company draws most of revenues from its top Versace line, but it launched a “Young Versace” line for kids and bought back its Versus licence this year to boost sales and profitability after starting a deep restructuring in 2009.”

Luxury: the next generation (FT)
“One of the more astonishing success stories of the past century has been the evolution of luxury retailing, from small-scale family firms to an international, multi-billion dollar industry… Yet, as the modern industry struggles to reconcile its artisanal heritage with today’s public offerings and quarterly reports, it is the personal, family connection that bridges the gap.”

Iodice at Sao Paulo Fashion Week | Source: SPFW

Brazil’s prosperity bursts forth on catwalk (AFP)
“Brazil kicked off Latin America’s premier fashion event, Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Wednesday, with parades showcasing its economic prosperity and optimism.”

S&P removes upscale Barney’s from CreditWatch (Business Week)
“Standard & Poor’s on Thursday affirmed its corporate credit rating on Barney’s New York and removed it from CreditWatch…The rating agency also lowered its issue-level rating to ‘CCC-’ from ‘CCC’ and revised its recovery rating to ’5′ from ’3′, saying the company’s value has diminished over the past few years.”

Model students rewarded at Graduate fashion week gala (Guardian)
“Rebecca Thomson, a 22-year-old graduate of the Manchester School of Art, claimed top prize in the gala show at Graduate fashion week last night for a collection that mixed hand-pleated details with jogging bottoms – a look the designer dubbed ‘casual couture’”

Why fashion on screen lacks style (Independent)
“As a film on Isabella Blow is planned, Geoffrey Macnab argues that haute couture and cinema are more likely to clash than complement.”

Designer from Nepal who cracked New York (AFP)
“The young Nepalese fashion designer Prabal Gurung has been courted by the world’s top style magazines and won plaudits for his creations from some of Hollywood’s best-known actresses.But it was not until Michelle Obama attended a function wearing a dress he designed that his parents, who live in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, finally believed he had made it.”

Prabal Gurung and Joseph Altuzarra

Out on Their Own, and Making It Work (New York Times)
“Ever since Prabal Gurung left his employer in the garment district, last winter, and sank his savings into his own label – at the worst possible time – he has been more aware of the silly and duplicitous nature of fashion. It may just be him, or the economy, but he doesn’t think so.”

Italy Fashion Manufacturers Welcome “Made In Italy” Law (WSJ)
“Italy’s association of textile and apparel makers, Sistema Moda Italiana, Wednesday welcomed a new law that will force Italy-based fashion manufacturers to affix a “made in” label on products manufactured overseas.”

The Trouble With Jake (New York Times)
“Jake is just one store struggling to keep up with its bills during the worst retail economy in decades, but its troubles illustrate a dilemma facing an important swath of the fashion industry. While the recession has taken a toll on luxury fashion retailers of all sizes, it is the smaller, independent stores like Jake – known in the industry as specialty stores – that have been hardest hit.”

Giles Deacon Fashion in Motion at the V&A (Catwalk Queen)
“Giles Deacon will be showcasing a selection of his work in the V&A’s Raphael Gallery tomorrow as part of the museum’s Fashion in Motion programme.”

Ossie Clark to close (Drapers)
“Ossie Clark, the iconic fashion label which enjoyed huge popularity in the 1960s, is to close, just one year after it was relaunched.”