Fashion brand “EN ROUTE” debuted in A/W 2014 with the concept “Cutting-edge Fashion Meets Sports.” The target audience is people highly sensitive to a lifestyle characterized by elements of fashion and sports. These influencers are constantly after the latest developments in their favorite topics, and sharing on social networks what they deem as valuable information. We started by focusing on raising brand awareness among this audience using VOGUE-organized annual event “Fashion’s Night Out.” We turned the streets of Tokyo’s “fashion triangle” (Harajuku, Omotesando and Aoyama) into runways for this crowdsourced fashion show. Hiring people as the brand’s “smartphone photographers” was the campaign’s key promotional element. These users physically experienced the brand concept, photographing and sharing nearly 30,000 images on social networks. This active involvement of users who are a mix of fashion-sensitive individuals and general public actualized an impressive brand debut.

The objective was to promote public awareness and understanding of “EN ROUTE” and its brand concept based on the functionalities of fashion and sports. A week before the first store opening, we showcased the debut collection at “Fashion’s Night Out.” Rather than predetermined runways, we deemed “the streets” as the appropriate stage. We transformed Tokyo’s fashion districts into our runways, and implemented gamification elements to reinforce users’ recognition of the brand. Our strategy was to involve the users as key players ("smartphone photographers") in the fashion show, who actively and physically experience the brand concept in entertaining and memorable ways.

In just three hours, the world’s first crowdsourced fashion show turned into a fashion extravaganza for all. Over 1,000 users downloaded the app and took 27,992 photos. EN ROUTE selected and purchased 1,997. The brand website attracted 10,089 PVs, 1,010 likes and 130 tweets. The brand Facebook page garnered 1,315 likes. The video generated 5,164 plays on YouTube, and 1,234 during YouTube Live. In addition to domestic media coverage in Japan including 100 reprints and 22 publications, international media such as Creative Review, Creativity, Contagious also featured this promotion and activation campaign.

Ultimately, these photos taken by the crowds in the streets and shared in real-time powerfully communicated to the world the brand concept and image of EN ROUTE. However, beyond the excitement, the true value of this event is opening up the usually exclusive fashion show to all people. With this, fashion is on the way to “democracy.”

We published a mysterious teaser video and press release to fashion media popular among fashion-conscious people, as well as technology-focused media for a fresh angle. Prior to the actual fashion show, numerous articles were published and led to countless shares on social media. At the “EN ROUTE” store in Ginza, Tokyo, we installed a fully equipped running station. This exemplified the essence of the brand concept “Cutting-edge Fashion Meets Sports,” which ultimately connects different fashion cultures through “physicality.”

Fashion shows have always taken place behind closed doors. “EN ROUTE: THE SNAP UP” dramatically changed the way of fashion by opening up the fashion show to the streets, and involving people to actually experience this keyword of “physicality” with their own bodies and senses. Moreover, the photos taken by the users became brand visuals for “EN ROUTE” and were communicated to the world.