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Spotted: The Australian brand P.E Nation collaborated with Creative Agency Andpeople to resolve the issue of how to market and display their latest ‘Sustainable In Snow’ collection, amid widespread lockdowns and travel shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Yet even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the way in which customers wanted to experience retail was changing rapidly. The digital dressing room will play to new demand, using a snowy Instagram AR filter, created by Andpeople and the Institute of Digital Fashion, through which customers can ‘try on’ clothes from the collection. These custom-created, floating 3D garments can be tried on through AR in the P.E Nation’s filter tab on Instagram, which is divided into three segments to allow you to try on three different pieces of clothing. They can then simply be placed in the immediate environment of the user, ready to be bought directly through the company’s website.

Moreover, the snowy, apres-ski vibes of the filter aim to play on customers’ desires to go on holiday and let loose — an opportunity denied to them this year. “We wanted to launch this new innovative range by bringing the experience of the slopes to the people,” says Andpeople MD Andrew McDade. 

P.E Nation and Andpeople are just a few examples of brands keeping up with both their customers’ desires for retail experiences and engagement, as well as the challenges posed by the pandemic.  According to co-founder Pip Edwards, “Products are no longer limited to curated imagery and look books, but rather experiences that have augmented the way our customers interact and engage with them,” she said. This sort of engagement and innovation is double-ended too: if customers are engaged and have loyalty to the brand, they are more likely to buy the products and thus help them to survive such periods as the coronavirus lockdowns. 

Written By: Holly Hamilton

Explore more: Fashion & Beauty Innovations | Retail Innovations