Dive Brief:
- YSL, the beauty arm of the French fashion house, recently launched a temporary "immersive, multi-sensorial pop-up shop" called the YSL Beauty Hotel in SoHo to coincide with New York Fashion Week in New York City on Sept. 8 and 9. The event was held at the World of McInstosh Townhouse, according to promotional materials.
- Attendees encountered five floors of YSL beauty and fragrance products based on different themes.
- The two-day event gave guests an opportunity to sample products and participate in workshops. Guests were encouraged to post Instagram pictures of themselves with the hashtag #yslbeautyhotel.
Dive Insight:
YSL Beauty's pop-up hotel experience guided influencers in attendance through multiple floors of Instagram-worthy vignettes, including a check-in area with a neon covered luggage cart, a bed strewn with guitars and a runway suspended over a pool.
The French fashion house is scheduled to reveal its next collection on Sept. 25 during Paris Fashion Week. Creative Director Anthony Vaccarello presented his Saint Laurent men's show this past June in New York but doesn't have an official presence during this Fashion Week. The beauty event was intended to keep YSL front-of-mind for U.S. social media influencers.
Instagram increasingly translates to big business as more brands recognize the potential of creating a "Gram worthy" experience. The platform is currently driving jewelry sales, and a study last year by Dana Rebecca Designs found that Instagram influences nearly 75% of user purchasing decisions. The platform is also reportedly developing its own shopping app spinoff that would allow users to make direct product purchases.
Beyond the direct selling opportunities available on an increasing number of platforms, brands are also recognizing the return on investment in social media. Gucci credits 50% of its sales to millennials and the power of its 27.8 million Instagram followers. At the same time, photographable experiences and the rise of the Instagramable-museum is pushing interest and attendance to places like the Museum of Ice Cream and Yayoi Kusama's "Infinity Room."
