Canali puts craftsmanship on display in museum-style space

Canali’s “The Gallery”

Italian apparel and accessories house Canali is taking inspiration from the art world to immerse consumers in the craftsmanship behind its creations.

“The Gallery” presents Canali products in a virtual space indicative of a museum, inviting consumers to explore the making of its garments in greater detail. Canali has recently been reinventing the craftsmanship film, finding new ways of telling its production story to a digital audience.

“This presentation focuses on the importance of the details that make up a bespoke shirt, as the shirt often gets overshadowed by the suit around it,” said Simon Gerard, content director at Luxury Branded. “It would be interesting if they developed a 360-degree video version that works with virtual reality.

“This virtual space gives an atmosphere of intense focus on the shirt, putting the viewer in the darkened room,” he said. “First I thought the shirt would be presented as an art exhibit, but it came across more as a exhibit from a natural history museum, which I found much more engaging.”

Mr. Gerard is not affiliated with Canali, but agreed to comment as an industry expert. Canali was reached for comment.

Gallery opening
Canali’s film, “The Gallery – The Art of Creating a Canali Shirt,” unfolds with the help of a narrator, who begins to speak as a gallery space appears on-screen. He relays the words featured on the gallery wall, which explains that the shirt is “merely a sum of its parts” and describes the garment as “a murmur from beneath a jacket.”

Next to this text is a podium holding a listening device. A man walks up and picks it up, placing the attached headphones over his ears.

Throughout this virtual gallery, the brand displays photos from various steps in the shirt making process. Along with the man, the consumer explores these in greater detail in silence.

The man sits down on a bench within the exhibit, and a video begins to play. The same voiceover explains the steps that turn fabric into a garment as footage rolls.

Video still from Givenchy’s film

Patterns are placed and a textile is cut into pieces, which are then tagged and added to a kit.

The visitor gets up an investigates these pieces on the wall of the gallery, as the voiceover says, “Picked apart and laid flat, the shirt takes on a new relevance, defined be clean lines and details, as the whole breaks down into a series of standalone parts.”

As if a dossier, the voiceover continues to explain the making of a shirt, as the fronts and backs are sewn together and the tailors begin to construct collars, cuffs and button placket separately. The voiceover also asks the visitor to note the folding and sewing techniques that go into these elements, which might not be apparent to the wearer.

The Gallery – The art of creating a Canali Shirt

The narrator also compares the Canali label to an artist’s signature, and describes the customer as “the man who likes to wear art, not just hang it.”

Step inside
While film alone is a transportive medium, evoking a sense of environment in digital marketing can help create a more memorable experience.

For instance, French apparel and accessories label Kenzo took consumers inside the atmosphere of its fall 2014 collection with a 3D digital museum.

Kenzo’s “Grace to the Nth Power” let consumers use their phone or mouse to navigate the virtual space, which was complete with videos and a gift shop. Taking consumers on a physical journey through a video series led to a more immersive experience than simply collecting films on a flat microsite (see story).

Prior to The Gallery, Canali took a reverse look at craftsmanship through a film that begins at the end.

The brand’s “Rewind” follows the journey of a jacket from the consumer’s unboxing back to conception, running the footage backwards to create an artistic effect. With the craftsmanship film fairly standard in the luxury sector, brands are thinking of out-of-the-ordinary ways to tell their particular creation story (see story).

“I found this video very effective in telling the shirt’s story in an unique way,” Mr. Gerard said. “A traditional craftsmanship film would focus more on the tailor as a artist and the shirt as art, like their previous ‘Rewind’ blazer video.

“This video was unique in that it was more on the ‘biology’ that makes up the shirt,” he said. “I see it as similar to a nature exhibit that would break down why a certain plant or animal is special.

“For example, an owl is initially impressive to see in action, but once you learn about its specialized eyes, ears, skeleton, feathers, etc. and how they all work together, you appreciate the owl that much more. Breaking down the shirt into its elements make the viewer appreciate it in a similar way.”

from Apparel and accessories – Luxury Daily https://www.luxurydaily.com/canali-puts-craftsmanship-on-display-in-museum-style-space/
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