Fashionistas, take heed: There’s a new app offering instant access to the the New York Fashion Week runway, with real-time, closeup glimpses of the trends and looks being shown this fall.
Called Heed, it’s the latest technology from Israeli entrepreneur Mati Kochavi, who lives in the US and made his millions managing his cybersecurity company AGT International.
Kochavi developed the app with Ari Emanuel, brother of Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, and CEO of talent agency WME-IMG, known for his knack for figuring out the next big thing.
Designed to bring people closer to their passions, Heed is an official partner to the 2016 New York Fashion Week, but it can be used for other events, such as sporting or food demonstrations.
In fact, when Maccabi Tel Aviv didn’t make it to the Berlin Euroleague basketball final game last May, Heed’s sensors were attached to referees and coaches at the game between CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce Istanbul, offering Israeli fans at home the opportunity to experience the game more intensely, according to Ynet.
At New York Fashion Week, the events previously reserved for fashion insiders, Hollywood stars and models are now available to any Heed user. The company first deployed their web-enabled sensors at last year’s fashion weeks in September and February, linking them to the Heed app so that users could watch the models backstage and on the runway.
Kochavi told the Financial Times that the sensors created data that the app uses to “tell stories,” he said. “One of the things we wanted to do was capture how the models were feeling as they prepared for the runway.”
The app allows users to see what’s going down the runway in real time, to buy certain designer pieces right after the shows, and to chat with leading stylists, such as Preston Konrad and Sam Escobar, who are working with the Heed app during the current fashion week.
Konrad has worked with such stars as Chris Pine, Jack Gleeson, Kings of Leon and Renee Zellweger, and Escober is a Brooklyn-based beauty editor.
The Heed app has other fashionista features, such as selfies that help determine a user’s mood, a real-time lottery for winning clothing from certain designers and documentary-style clips from behind the scenes.