You can learn a lot about people from the apps on their phone. If you investigated mine you’d learn that I take the TTC a lot from Rocket Man, the app that tells you when the next bus is coming. From my tip collector, you’d guess I frequently eat out and I’m bad at simple math. The BBC World News app might lead you to believe I’m up on current events, but I’m far more likely to get my news from Twitter. I don’t have Grindr, just so you know and if I did, I’d think it was filled with a bunch of time-wasting losers. First dates would be more informative and fun if we snooped each other’s smartphones, though I wouldn’t trust some of the people I’ve dated with an iPhone worth $600.
I don’t have Shazam, the app that identifies songs that happen to be playing. I’m not as into music as the rest of the world is. While Shazam is great for settling bar room debates (“No, it’s Kate Bush! Trust me!”) I’m not convinced it leads to a ton of iTunes sales. But Shazam claims to be adding two million new users around the world each week. They’re doing well enough that their CEOs are trying to make Shazam into a verb, as in “Will you Shazam that song for me?” Sounds pretty dorky, but then again so does “Google.”
Now that iTunes helped shut down HMV, the owners of Shazam have their eyes set on H&M. They’re working on a new app that will locate where you can buy the clothing you see on television.
“We have the ability to identify the product in a TV show so that when somebody Shazams it, they could find out where a presenter’s dress is from in one click,” CEO Andrew Fisher told the Guardian. Covet Shoshanna’s butterfly dress on Girls? You would be able to purchase it online before the scene is over. I’m not exactly sure how the image recognition technology will work (black magic, I’d say) but the Shazam people seem pretty convinced that they’ve invented a “new category” of “brand engagement.”
Although the project currently focuses on TV, The Huffington Post‘s Lauren Leibowitz wonders how long before we can ID real people’s clothing on the street. “That would save us the trouble of awkwardly approaching strangers in cute clothes,” she writes. It would also make it easier for the robotic remains of Joan Rivers to find out whom Willow Smith is wearing at the 2025 Academy Awards.
With the future of print advertising up in the air, TV shows and movies are an appealing platform for apparel companies intent on reaching the 18-35 year old demographic. Less and less people are watching the ads that pay for TV networks. I’m sure I’m not alone in watching most of my programs on DVD or the Internet. By working with Shazam and retailers, networks can place advertisers back at center stage.
Everyone who knows me knows I love me some TV fashion. I could better describe the items in Carrie Bradshaw’s closet than in my own. But I have some concerns with Shazam’s foray into fashion. Costumes may seem like a less intrusive form of product placement than characters slurping giant Pepsi bottles or talking about going to Pizza Hut. But costume design can be an art form, even on TV. A character’s clothing, while aspirational for the viewer, should also reflect her personality and stage in life, and fit the broader look of the show. The network’s sponsors shouldn’t determine costumes. Nobody wants to watch a live-action catalogue.
Shazam makes sense for music. When you like a song, you want to track down the original version. (Or maybe the cover version they did on Glee.) Fashion is very different. Perhaps occasionally you’ll see an outfit on TV and think, “I need that exact jacket! Where do I buy?” But a lot of times the inspiration is enough. After you notice Shoshanna’s butterfly dress, you remember it and the next time you see something like it at a store and you try it on. It may be a knockoff of the original, it may have dragonflies instead of butterflies, or it might even be nicer than the one Zosia Mamet wore. Either way, when you wear it you make it your own. We like to be inspired by our style icons, not carbon copies of them.
Your phone may be able to identify song titles and fashion labels, but personal style is one thing you can’t Shazam.
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Max Mosher writes about style for Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @max_mosher_.
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