FARFETCH’S NEW CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS HOW THE PLATFORM CONNECTS PEOPLE THROUGH FASHION

Exactly a year after its #supportboutiques initiative, which provided marketing and logistical support to smaller boutique partners during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Farfetch continues its commitment to the boutique community at its heart with a new campaign celebrating the power of technology to connect people through a love of fashion. This new campaign, dubbed “The Perfect Match #onlyonfarfetch,” is the latest communication of its “Only on Farfetch” brand mantra, inspired by its unique business model.

Unfolding through a multi-layered narrative, and with disarming simplicity, honesty and warmth, The Perfect Match #onlyonfarfetch shows how Farfetch works and what it enables: giving millions of customers around the globe access to the world’s best fashion boutiques, retailers, and brands. At a time when physical retail has been challenged, the campaign reminds us of the influence of independent boutiques – and of the passion, individuality, and curation they represent.

A multimedia series of portraits and films, all shot remotely across five continents during lockdown by photographer and director Frank Lebon and styled by Max Pearmain, tells the uplifting stories behind six very different shopping experiences. The creative reins were handed to notable customers and cherished boutiques from the Farfetch family.

Actor Huang Jingyu, artist Chloe Wise, entrepreneur Tamu McPherson, writer and curator Antwuan Sargent, filmmaker Pam Nasr, and musician Tsunaina present journeys that juxtapose the global with the personal via their purchases from legendary London concept store Browns’ new flagship, Carla Sozzani’s iconic 10 Corso Como in Milan, Stadium Goods’ Chicago sneaker emporium, pre-owned vintage archive Dot Comme in Melbourne, Hong Kong cutting-edge retail destination Joyce and Telsha Anderson’s T.A., which opened in New York City during the pandemic.

“Farfetch operates a unique business around a very clear proposition: connecting the world’s best fashion boutiques and stores to a global audience,” said Ronojoy Dam, brand and culture director at Farfetch. “Our boutique community is at the heart of Farfetch and this campaign gives our platform over to them, putting them front and centre of our message and our media in a very simple way. People want to connect to something real and discover something new. The campaign is very true to who we are and what we do, and I think that’s very important today.”

As the world – and these boutiques – slowly begins to re-open, The Perfect Match #onlyonfarfetch celebrates the joy of both physical and digital retail and Farfetch’s role as a platform that proudly champions and facilitates innovation between both. This is reflected in the campaign being activated across today’s new hybrid virtual and IRL lifestyles across New York, London, Beijing, and Dubai from lockdown’s de facto media habits of on-demand TV including the choice of three TV commercials, WeTransfer takeovers, and TikTok to digital billboards in the heart of major capitals beginning to buzz again.

There will be intimate in-store music performances bringing customers together again, live-streamed via Farfetch’s YouTube channel and curated by progressive music platform NTS, plus Instagram filters and a special partnership with the forthcoming issue of System magazine celebrating the world’s best boutique directory. Farfetch has also introduced new site functionality and navigation for customers to be able to shop their favorite boutiques and discover new ones more easily with more than 80 featured across Farfetch’s content throughout the campaign month alone.

“We are hopeful that a new normal and getting back to doing what we love best is around the corner for us all; especially our retail partners that have been hugely affected by the closing of brick-and-mortar stores worldwide,” added Holli Rogers, chief brand officer at Farfetch. “As a platform for the luxury fashion industry, Farfetch has had the honour of championing our partners during this difficult time, and this campaign celebrates them, our customer’s love of fashion, and the customer-centric innovation at the core of everything that we do.”

The campaign was developed by Farfetch with New Systems for Ideas, a recently formed collective focused on pioneering the interaction between fashion and technology through innovative ideas designed to shape this ever-evolving landscape. New Systems for Ideas comprises a cross-disciplinary collective of talent, operating between New York, London, and Milan, that couples brand positioning and fashion art direction through a creative technology lens. Farfetch is partnering with New Systems for Ideas on a long-term strategy dubbed “Data Romance”, a storytelling program that explores the space between data and emotion, presenting Farfetch’s digital services as a tool to amplify the voices and perspectives of the community it serves.