Lufthansa offers FlyingLab to passengers on flight to New York Fashion Week
Two live fashion shows on board – one from designer Rubin Singer
Inflight conference will highlight the influence of digitalization on the fashion industry.
Fashion and technology is the theme of the second Lufthansa FlyingLab on 8 February 2017. During the course of flight no. LH400 from Frankfurt to New York, passengers will be treated to two fashion shows and three expert talks, and they will also have the chance to test out a range of innovative wearable technologies. The target group are passengers on their way to New York Fashion Week, which starts on 9 February 2017.
New York fashion designer Rubin Singer will present a selection of pieces from his women’s spring/summer collection 2017, as well as elements from his upcoming autumn/winter collection. This will be the first time a new designer collection has been shown at a height of 10,000 metres. “As a designer I’m always looking for new ways to showcase my designs,” says Rubin Singer. “I’m looking forward to glamourous, unique and simply unforgettable moments in the clouds.”
For the show, the models will be turning the central aisle of the aircraft into a catwalk. And so that all the passengers have a good view of the models and can hear the presenter properly, wherever they happen to be sitting in the aircraft, Lufthansa is installing an in-flight conference system with six cameras. As the first airline worldwide to do so, Lufthansa will also be setting up live video stream on board which each guest will receive via the aircraft’s Wifi hotspot. To do this, all they need is a device capable of Wifi reception, such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. The expert talks, each 20 minutes long, will be broadcast in the same way to every seat in the Boeing 747-8. Passengers on this nine-hour flight will also be given the chance to test out a range of fashion wearables, from bracelets through headphones to health trackers.
The FlyingLab will be rounded off with a special fashion show put on by a Lufthansa crew. They will be showcasing the influence of fashion trends on flight attendants’ uniforms over the past 60 years. To fit in with this theme, the passengers will in fact be sitting in a jumbo jet that has been specially repainted in the Lufthansa livery design of the 1970s. “Our FlyingLab means that Fashion Week can get started before we even take off from Frankfurt. Our program for the event gives a clear demonstration of the way current events influence our visual appearance as well as fashion trends,” says Alexander Schlaubitz, Head of Marketing at Lufthansa German Airlines.
The FlyingLab is an open innovation platform for the Lufthansa Airlines. “Passengers use the time during the flight more effectively with a FlyingLab and get into the right mood and frame of mind for when they arrive at their destination,” says Schlaubitz. Themes for the FlyingLabs are taken from current areas of technology, health and sustainability. The premiere for the FlyingLab was the theme “Virtual Reality” held on 1 July 2016 on a flight to Silicon Valley. A FlyingLab comprises two parts – on the one hand, talks or presentations and, on the other, product testing. Taking part doesn’t cost anything – passengers need only buy a ticket for the flight in question, and it doesn’t matter which booking class they are in. “A FlyingLab actively integrates the passengers into the current innovation considerations of the Lufthansa Group,” says Dr. Torsten Wingenter, Head of Digital Innovations. “Together with our partners, we are testing innovations on board and are thus gaining knowledge for further development”. Future plans also involve offering the FlyingLab platform and broadcasting technology to other companies for their innovation efforts, so that their guests can also prepare for an event with presentations and individual content on their journey.
Digitalization plays an important role in all of the FlyingLabs. “In some industries it is taking effect more quickly and more manifestly than in others. In the world of fashion, it is not quite so apparent, yet fashion wearables make these developments tangible,” says Dr. Wingenter. Dr. Amanda J. Parkes, Chief of Technology and Research at Inkubator Manufacture NY will be speaking on board about advances in technology in the fashion industry. Heiko Hebig, responsible for Strategic Partnerships Northern Europe at Instagram, will highlight the significance of the fashion industry for their photo platform. Digital expert Maks Gioardano from the consultancy firm Kreait, takes a look ahead at coming developments in wearable technologies.
The upper deck on flight LH400 will be used as a changing room and backstage area for the fashion shows. During the flight, passengers will be given the chance to get their hair done professionally by a Redken stylist so that they are perfectly prepared for their arrival in the fashion metropolis. Selected guests will enjoy an exclusive presentation of watches on 9 February in the Breitling flagship store on Madison Avenue.
