Abstract

The pandemic created a huge obstacle: no event open to the public and partial interruption of the old fashion storytelling chain. The fashion sector involves many professional fields, a global extension, a huge economic value that in Italy generates a related sector that is worth the second item of GDP. The lockdown has accelerated the digital transformation leading companies to reconsider the history and representation of fashion, redesign visions and questioning about the future. Therefore, all the fashion brands have had to rethink not only the internal organizational structure, but also the way to tell about themselves and places to do it. The aim of this research is to underline the importance of storytelling in Milano-Fashion Week in a digital key. The scientific literature presents limited contributions that investigate the function of storytelling in fashion-related events, within the current digital and omnichannel scenario. The objective of this study is to understand how digital storytelling, even in an exclusive sector such as fashion, has managed to give the consumer a unique and authentic experience, by connecting brands and consumers in a way that makes people more engaged with their favorite brands. By conducting semi-structured interviews with some communication experts operating in the fashion sector, it was investigated how the storytelling process entered a totally digital event for the first time such as Milano-Fashion Week. The study contributes to literature and business practice by providing interesting insights on how storytelling is a useful tool for brands to arouse desirability and convey an emotion to end consumers on the one hand and, on the other, a useful tool for the consumer to express himself through the brand.