Chloé Adelia of chloédigital

For this week’s Fashion Tech Insiders interview we’re talking to Chloé Adelia, founder of chloédigital, a boutique agency specialising in digital experiences within the fashion industry. As a web developer who’s totally immersed in the fashion world, we thought she’d be the perfect person to talk to about mixing fashion and tech!

Read on to find out about why she set up chloédigital, how she uses social media platforms for business, and her top three tips for fashion brands who want to improve their websites.

 What led you to set up chloédigital?

After having a key interest in technology since a young age I found myself in web development as a teenager and have now been a developer for the past six years.

With a paralleled interest in the fashion industry, I always knew that in some way these two loves would combine to make the ultimate role for me. Moreover, whilst working in agencies and as a freelancer I found that the people talking the fashion tech talk primarily didn’t have a high interest in fashion, they had only spotted the gap that tech could bring to an industry, that industry just happened to be fashion.

I thought, what better to create a house full of people who understood fashion AND technology (fashion technologists) as one in the same, what benefits could this bring to an industry.

I set up chloédigital in 2012 to be that place for fashion and technology. As a business we offer boutique digital solutions to help develop and market fashion businesses including pr agencies, brands, startups and bloggers. However the ultimate goal is to craft a community for this niche industry for people to learn and share.

What do you think the biggest challenges are in mixing fashion and technology?

Technology in the fashion industry can be used primarily in two ways; One as a portal to get people to buy something and two as an aide to build relationships between the parties involved that make this happen: brands and retailers. Online content strategy is of high importance here, well curated editorial content can help bridge the gap between the two giving the consumer a great more rounded insight behind the product, transcending the product to a story.

Brick and Mortar retailers have years on the digital game perfecting the art of the a consumer experience, so mixing physical and digital effectively is key . At the same time it is important to have the right type of implementation, as what works for one may work for another. Unique luxury experience with digital mirrors may work for Burberry but not necessarily on the highstreet.

Which social media platform do you find the most useful for your business, and why?

It depends, for community building we use our blog as a platform to collate and share what we find from around the web including what we deem relevant as fashion technologist, this could be from digital campaigns to new technology. As for Pinterest this is a great aide for our blog content, allowing us to engage further with our readers visually. For listening and engaging it’s got to be Twitter, not only is it great to share our knowledge on fashtech but it is also a good way to connect with people in the industry. Last but by far not least is LinkedIn – who could live without a platform where you have the ability to connect with incredible people in the industry doing incredible jobs AND have the ability to send them a direct message? I could not!

Do you think mobile is important to fashion consumers? How can brands make the most of mobile?

Mobile is important for all consumers as we all move about and at it’s basic level that is what ‘mobile’ means. Brands can make the most of people being mobile by starting consumer focused rather than technology focused. Just because augmented reality existed doesn’t mean someone wants to raise their brand new smartphone in the middle of a crowded street so they can see what stores have sales on right now (not to say that would not be cool!). The consumer has basic needs which drive them to act in certain ways, intrinsically and extrinsically and brands should be mindful of this when implementing new technology.

What would be your top three tips for fashion brands who want to improve their websites?

• Make it visual
  People like to see images as it is a quicker way to process information along with that it looks pretty. For your website this could include large detailed product thumbnails and featured images see chloedigital.com and vaunte.com as examples.
• Make it easy
  People should be able to navigate your site to find key and useful information easily, for example your contact information. These people are your potential customers and therefore you must find easy ways to give her what she wants.
• Make it informative
  Some people do not like to contact you direct so making sure the information they need is readily available on your website is another way to enhance sales, a detailed FAQ is a great way to achieve this.

Huge thanks to Chloé for taking the time to answer our questions. Check out the chloédigital website here, or follow them on Twitter @chloedigital.

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