For last season’s New York Fashion Week, Uber hitched a ride on the “democratization of fashion” theme by pairing riders with Rag & Bone tickets. This time around, the transportation service jumps on what is becoming this season’s hot issue: Giving fashion followers immediate access to the wares.
In a partnership with London-based e-commerce start-up Lyst, Uber will deliver “style packs” filled with designer items on Thursday to New York’s Uber users.
“E-commerce sites often struggle to engage with fashion week, since it’s a time when brands show clothing that won’t be available for months,” said U.S. senior vice president and Lyst general manager Chondita Chatterjee. “We love the idea of your phone being a remote control for your life and bringing fashion straight to the hands of our customers.”
Related Galleries
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, users in Manhattan and some parts of Brooklyn can enter code “FINDNYFW” in Uber’s promotions tab to request to receive a free bag; each will be customized to the neighborhood in which it was requested: uptown, midtown, downtown or Brooklyn). In addition to a $200 Theory gift card and a beauty kit by Violet Grey, it will include items like sunglasses, hats, scarves and backpacks from brands including Edie Parker, Jonathan Simkhai, Maiyet, Totokaelo, Alexis Bittar and Theory that are currently available on the site.
Lyst did not disclose how many bags in total that it would deliver through the promotion, which it is calling “I’ve got clothes, in different area codes,” but did say that bags will be available, through a lottery basis, for the entire four hours. For those NYFW Uber fans who aren’t in New York, Uber and Lyst will give away a custom Flavia clutch from Edie Parker and a neighborhood bag to two global winners.
“For Uber, this partnership is much larger than previous engagements because we were able to bring together more than 20 brands to participate,” Chatterjee said. “The personalization of the bag to neighborhood was inspired by the data we use to personalize the site for each shopper.”
This is the first time that the five-year-old site has done a promotion with Uber. In the past, in addition to the Rag & Bone partnership, Uber has given away tickets to events in places like Chicago and L.A. In October, it begin “Uber Rush,” which provides same-day delivery for businesses in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
With this promotion with Lyst, there is one small, but relevant, detail: Although it’s free to enter to win a bag from Lyst, Uber users can’t get a ride with their delivery.