Fashion designers continue to use the past for inspiration. After the influences of the sixties and seventies that dominated fashion last summer, the next period goes back in time even further: fashion and accessories are full of references to the baroque and rococo periods, to the dandy style and the roaring twenties. All of them are styles with an enormous richness in detail and decorations. For web shops in particular it will be quite a challenge to visualise those details properly!

There are dozens of reasons why people choose a particular item of clothing or a complete outfit. One thing’s for sure, though: if you look around in a web shop, you tend to select on the basis of silhouette and colour first – details come into view after one or two clicks. And if it’s the details that determine a particular item of clothing, you need to be able to show them fast.

Big collars and puff sleeves (yes, they’re making a comeback!) are not much of a problem in terms of product photography: both are highly determinative for the silhouette. However, if things become more subtle, such as a very fine lace edging for instance, ton-sur-ton piping, mother-of-pearl buttons or subtle embroidery … then it’s a challenge to ensure the photos in the web shop are shot in such a way that visitors are immediately drawn to those details, or at least understand them, and make their choice on the basis of that.

There are various solutions for this. Of course you will be making detailed photos in addition to a photo of the entire item of clothing. It is also important to have the details appear in titles and descriptions (remember big brother Google). And even more important: create landing pages for the various style trends and introduce filters and categories for this. The landing pages will of course be filled with atmospheric photos. Allow your shop visitors to filter according to ‘lace edging’, ‘ton-sur-ton’ or other style trends, and you’ll see it will make it easier for them to make a choice, fast.