Temperley and Net-A-Porter create first shoppable fashion film: But is it just style over substance?

Temperley London has teamed up with the bright sparks at online luxury fashion retailer Net-a-Porter to create the world’s first ‘shoppable’ fashion film. But is a dreamy video of supermodels frolicking in a field really likely to flog more dresses?

We’ve come across a range of different ‘shoppable’ videos from fashion brands and retailers in the past, like these from French Connection and Ben Sherman, but the Temperley and Net-a-Porter collaboration is the first time people can shop directly from within a short fashion ‘film’ that’s much more reminiscent of a high-end editorial photo spread than the clunkier videos we’ve seen from brands in the past that essentially just show you what clothes look like to walk in.

Temperley is a much more aspirational brand that doesn’t want to show you that you can walk in its high-end clothes, it wants to show you just how fabulous, fashionable and fantastic you will look when you’re wearing them. And that’s the appeal. You’re transported from the racks and fairly uninspiring e-commerce solutions you’re used to into a world where the dresses and clothes literally come alive. Granted it’s still hard to gage whether the clothes will suit you given they’re hung on supermodels, but it is a way of bringing a more luxury offering to online shoppers.

The film, called ‘Temperley’s Enchanting Summer Party’ plays and while you watch the lens flare and blurry faces dance around in fields you can click anywhere in the frame if you spot something you like. Click on the icon in the right-hand corner to go and grab the clothes you’ve flagged straight away or wait to the end of the video and feel free to browse the whole collection.

We doubt the film will be a huge online shopping game changer, but we do think that luxury retail needs to differentiate itself more and more and experimenting with this kind of immersive digital content is a great step in the right direction.