How do you use VOCAST in your daily work?

“It not only helps us generate press coverage but also allows our accounts to use the content we produce to sell our products better”. He elaborates, “We believe that the way we showcase our products is the best way, and we urge our accounts to use our images as much as possible. We provide thorough descriptions of the content and images we share in our digital showroom to ensure that our accounts have all the information they need to showcase our products effectively.”

Rains’ detailed product descriptions:

Alexander explains that Rains produces two collections a year, with e-commerce images for male, female, and packshots. They also shoot about 6 campaigns per year, selecting campaign images for each collection to upload to their digital showroom, created by VOCAST.

“We also provide brand guidelines, logos, and other branded images in the showroom. We understand the importance of producing content that works for magazines, e-commerce, retailers, and social media. Therefore, we think carefully about the images we upload to VOCAST and how we crop them to ensure they work well across different platforms.”

He continues, “We use the different curated lists that VOCAST provides. We look into the contacts and people in those lists and see who’s relevant to us. At the moment, we are mostly sending press releases to the curated lists and we continue doing that because we can see the opening rates are growing.”

The front page of Rains’ digital showroom:

“Having both the image bank and the press release on the same platform is great for us. We benefit from the flexibility VOCAST has to set up different landing pages on our digital showroom that corresponds with the visual language we have across other touchpoints. When we partner up with a new system that’s meant to be used externally, we want to showcase our content in the best way, and we have that option with VOCAST.”

Rains’ digital showroom’s weekly traffic:

Alexander explains that at Rains, marketing has a close dialogue with sales and their country managers around the world. He tells us, “It’s important for marketing to underline and remind everyone to update images to the newest and best ones and include updated descriptions. We want to make sure it is just as good of an experience on our accounts, as it is in our own universe. The product descriptions and the streamlined storytelling makes sure our products are communicated properly; both visually and in the copy.”

He tells us that they use detailed product descriptions in their digital showroom to support retailers that are selling RAINS and to make sure products are interpreted in the right way, “for example when it comes to how waterproof the product is, information about the filling, and so on. Some more practical information helps our retailers who are selling our products to get this core information 100% correct..” This is essential for rapidly growing brands like RAINS, which have thousands of visits and downloads each month from partners, retailers, and the press.

Rains’ top 3 content-type downloads:

What advice would you give to brands looking to integrate a B2B platform like VOCAST?

“It’s funny that you ask I had a friend working for another brand asking for an image bank solution, and I immediately recommended VOCAST. I definitely suggest VOCAST as an image bank and press platform.” He tells us that he would advise brands when starting up to consider who will need the content, how it should be showcased, and how it should then be built into a user-friendly structure that is also easy to search from.

 “With VOCAST’s help, we can streamline our content management and distribution processes. We are committed to maintaining a premium presence across all touchpoints, and we believe that producing and distributing digital content is crucial in achieving our goal of becoming a global lifestyle brand.”

How has photography changed over time?

Fashion photography today often reflects current society, addressing issues such as body positivity, diversity, gender, and social justice. It has become an important tool for cultural commentary and critique.

Consumers are beginning to demand a call to action from brands, asking them to take a stand in fighting for, and promoting, the social causes that punctuate our everyday lives. Photography becomes essential in this process; the visual representation of feelings and images easily sticks in people’s minds. It’s not just about increasing profit but is more about communicating a message, letting consumers know what the company stands for, and making them feel more aligned with these values.

Alessia Glaviano, Vogue’s Senior Photo Editor, states the following about this: 

“ High-level fashion photography is a language that goes beyond the mere representation of clothes because it speaks about society, and culture and reaches such a wide audience that it can often provoke changes in people’s outlooks, and opinions and can, therefore, succeed in breaking down prejudices ”.

She continues saying: “We can see this happening: it is a revolution that started in social media and has spread to more institutional media. This has happened, for example, with the more inclusive concept of beauty. I am convinced that fashion photography can help positive change if done in a certain way”

Celine tells us that “brands and fashion photographers have already started to adapt to this new reality, producing images that are more relatable, authentic, and socially conscious, nevertheless, boundaries still need to be pushed to normalize things”. She continues saying “it is a very long process, but the important thing is that we have all opened our eyes and are trying to change to be more diverse, inclusive, and respectful”.

Brand photography makes your brand more relatable and human. Living in an extremely competitive environment, a brand needs to differentiate itself and, create through storytelling, a relationship of trust with the customer. Brands need to promote trust with truth-telling photos.

Therefore, a new perspective is necessary to tell these stories, Celine mentions, “we are already making steps in being more open, and raw, to show reality as it purely is. However, I think there is still a lot of work to do. Regardless of the photographer’s experience, brands should be more open to trusting the photographer’s point of view and the story they want to tell, which is the key point in providing a unique and creative perspective on the brand’s products, helping to make them stand out from the competition”.

She continues by saying, “Sometimes it is not about the name and reputation of someone, but it is about the story we want to tell, no matter if you are experienced or not. No matter if you have a name or not. You can be a photographer from a village in the middle of America and have an amazing story to tell, never seen before… I would like to see a wider range of people that capture a brand’s story differently.”

International photographers across markets

Take a look at some of the world-renowned international photographers in VOCAST’s curated press lists: 

The shift toward gender-fluid fashion

The shift that is happening is clearly not only visible on high-fashion runways, but also in everyday shopping, with online searches for “genderless” and “gender-neutral” fashion increasing year-on- year. The result is a growing demand for fluid clothing, from high-end couture to everyday basics and streetwear. According to research conducted by fintech company Klarna, around 50% of Gen-Z globally have purchased fashion outside their gender identity, and around 70% of consumers say they are interested in buying gender-fluid fashion in the future, with younger generations leading the way. Consumers in North America, Europe, Japan, and South Korea, among other locations, are expected to be the most receptive to gender-fluid strategies from fashion brands.

Moreover, it’s important for brands to be inclusive, and as Thorn says, being inclusive to all genders contributes to that. Thorn explains it in the following way: “Thinking about ‘who can wear it’, ‘who can afford it’, ‘who has access to it’, ‘who fits it’, ‘who do we visually represent in our messaging’, etc. are all important questions that I think every company should ask themselves.” 

“The fashion industry has the power to break down barriers, and create a new, more inclusive normal. So lead by example”.

Jonathan Anderson, creative director of Loewe and founder of label JW Anderson notably stated: “Gender-neutral is not a trend, it’s a reality. My whole philosophy is that you cannot tell people what to wear. You’re not allowed to say: I want this to be bought by a woman or by a man.” Thorn completely agrees with this: “My identity is not a trend. For centuries, in multiple cultures across the globe, there have been people that have had gender identities that are not exclusively man or woman. This is not a new thing. We’ve been around for a long time. But for some reason, we only seem to be talking about it right now”.

An easy first step would be to make your shopping experience, both physical and online, more inclusive. Having a well-designed floor layout will allow customers to gain a new perspective of “personal style.” A gender-fluid layout will present multiple options to the customer without labeling it as menswear or womenswear. Thorn tells us how they feel ‘betrayed’ if they want to order an item from a fluid collection from a certain brand, and at the checkout, have to check a box whether they’re a man or woman. They elaborate by explaining: “Brands could ask themselves: How do we address the subscribers of our newsletter? Is it necessary to have separate fitting rooms? Is there a gender-neutral toilet? Keep asking questions”.

On the design side, clothing brands could offer more gender-neutral items and lines. This means that men, women, and non-binary people can wear the same items without feeling restricted by gender norms. This can include things like oversized jackets, baggy trousers, and unisex t-shirts.

Additionally, fashion brands are likely to introduce more gender-fluid sizing systems, allowing for a wider range of clothing sizes and styles to fit a variety of body types. In terms of style, brands could lean more towards experimental looks – playing not only with the fits and tailoring of skirts, dresses, suits, and basics but also with textiles and embellishments of pieces.

Marketing-wise, brands should feature gender-fluid models and influencers in their campaigns, and work with editors and stylists who themselves are gender-non-conforming. Brands can benefit from using VOCAST’s curated list: “Androgynous Style”. This list contains male, female, non-binary & gender-fluid influencers, stylists, editors & publications who wear, style, and work with both women’s & men’s wear fluidly. With their large reach, these individuals can help brands reach a wider audience and create a more inclusive shopping experience.

Androgynous contacts across markets

Take a look at some of the top Androgynous contacts across markets, that can be found in VOCAST’s curated lists: