CARLINGS | ADDRESS THE FUTURE | 2019
Wearing Clothes That Don't Exist, for €10 / CARLINGS "ADDRESS THE FUTURE"
You buy clothes, wear them, take a photo, post it online. But what if those clothes never actually existed? In 2019, Norway's CARLINGS released the world's first fully digital clothing collection, and honestly, my first reaction was "wait, what?" But this campaign went on to win the first-ever Grand Prix in the Digital Craft category.
The problem
Clothes become waste the moment people stop wearing them. In the UK, 9% of shoppers say they buy clothes purely to post on social media. CARLINGS is a casual brand with more than 200 stores across the Nordics, but it was a bit late to the game, only launching its online store in 2018. That meant it needed a bold move.
The insight
"#outfitoftheday is one of the biggest hashtags in the world. But most of it is just people showing off clothes they'll wear once and return," says Creative Director Morten Grubak. So why not skip making the clothes at all? Inspired by the skin culture in Fortnite, they imagined a world where clothes only exist inside photos.
The idea
The 19-piece "Neo-Ex" collection was priced between €10 and €30. Customers sent in their own photo, and CARLINGS's 3D team used Marvelous Designer to craft every seam and wrinkle, then digitally dressed them in the clothes and sent the image back. The designs were made to fit any size or gender. Virtual influencer Perl became the face of the campaign and helped it spread across Instagram.
What happened
At Cannes Lions 2019, the campaign won four awards, including the Grand Prix in Digital Craft — the first Grand Prix ever awarded in that category. Jury president Rei Inamoto called it "the entry that confused the judges most across the whole category." All proceeds went to WaterAid, and the collection sold out within a week.
Afterthought
I love that word "confused." Even the judges must have gone "wait, what?" at first. The idea that what people are really buying isn't fabric but the right to be seen is razor sharp. And the price, somewhere between €10 and €30, hits that perfect sweet spot of "well, maybe I'll give it a try." Honestly, now I kind of want some digital fur myself!
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2019
