Farfetch campaign addresses the new normal, stars its boutique community

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 14, 2021

Farfetch has unveiled a major new global brand campaign called The Perfect Match. Linked to its #onlyonfarfetch theme, it comes as it continues to stress that a “commitment to the boutique community” is “at its heart”. 

The new campaign focuses on many of the qualities that consumers have been seeking in the changed world we live in with Farfetch saying it unfolds “through a multi-layered narrative, with disarming simplicity, honesty and warmth”. Interestingly for an online specialist, it also “celebrates the joy of both physical and digital retail”.

It comprises 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.

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The focus is on “uplifting stories behind six very different shopping experiences” with the e-tailer having handed the creative reins “to notable customers and cherished boutiques”.

The creative shots and films show how the company 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”.

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 purchases from some of the stores that operate through Farfetch.

They include London concept store Browns’ new flagship, Carla Sozzani’s 10 Corso Como in Milan, Stadium Goods’ Chicago sneaker emporium, pre-owned vintage archive Dot Comme in Melbourne, Hong Kong retail destination Joyce, and Telsha Anderson’s TA, which opened in New York City during the pandemic.

It’s interesting that the campaign gives “equal importance to those who buy — Farfetch’s friends and customers — and those who sell — fashion retailers responsible for the industry’s most discerning stores”.

The new marketing drive comes as brands and retailers globally are navigating a very different world from the one they found themselves in before the pandemic. And it's one in which marketing campaigns are being adapted to take into account the ‘new normal’ and the new ways that consumers are thinking and acting, whether the country they live in is in an opening-up phase or is facing new Covid waves.

The launch is exactly a year after Farfetch’s #supportboutiques initiative, which provided marketing and logistical support to smaller boutique partners during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The firm’s Brand and Culture Director Ronojoy Dam said: “Farfetch operates a unique business around a very clear proposition. 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.”