Fashionably Social.

The social media is coming! For the past few years, it seems there has been a gargantuan growth of social media and the people it influences and strives to influence. Every year the number of people jumping on the media bandwagon seems to grow exponentially. Lately, even fashion bloggers have been playing a major role in the fashion environment. Their influence, especially, has grown tremendously in past year.

One reason for this shift to social networking can take a cue from changes in advertising. No longer do people of younger generations scour as many fashion magazines and print publications. More and more brands are focusing on the internet to reach customers. In a world where it used to take months for fashions to be shown to consumers, it can now take minutes via photos from a runway show. Fashion is fast, and so are the people searching for it.

A great source of variety and inspiration has been found in the world of fashion bloggers. Only about one to two years ago fashion blogs began to grow in popularity. For something that was first meant to showcase personal style and opinion, they have grown to include a multitude of outside sources and networking opportunities. Recently, in New York Fashion Week, popular bloggers were sitting front row for a variety of acclaimed designers. Simply by having their presence designers are more able to reach a public that, normally, would pass by the fashion tents.

As these networks grow, then so do the possible marketing techniques. Interaction among fashion bloggers and readers is huge. One link about a product on a popular blog site could generate a great deal of income for a company. This is great opportunity for well-established and newcomers to the fashion world. Fashion social networking provides an opportunity for individuals to establish a customer base on a personal level. Making the product more relate-able and just that much more attainable for the individual.

Massive Fashion

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening." Was Coco Chanel right when she made this statement, perhaps, nearly a century ago. With the turn of the new millennium, fashion has become more accessible to the masses. Luella Bartley debuted her collection in January 2006 for Target's now prominent Go International Collection. The retail chain only holds a certain designers clothing for ninety days, then it disappears and the clothing prices are once again only available in the three-figure range. This idea has become so successful that Target has also had contributers in makeup, jewelry, and shoes.

Though Target's venture has been successful, some of the designers are relatively unknown in the majority of American households. Periodically, H&M will collaborate with established designers, or well-known celebrities such as Madonna, to increase buyers awareness. The first of their feats being with a mega-star in the fashion industry, Karl Lagerfeld. Launching this fall will be Jimmy Choo. His main collection will revolve around women's shoes, but there will be some ready to wear pieces and men's shoes available to complement.

Fashion boasts to be a billion dollar industry each year, and with good reason. The scene is constantly evolving, even in periods of economic stagnation. It is during these times that designers must become creative in finding ways to reach a consumer. Even someone who says they do not participate in the world of fashion does simply by getting dressed in the morning. To the normal, everyday person fashion does not seem to be that important. But this is precisely what Chanel was talking about in her quote. Even without the constant visual over the runways and multitude of fashion publications, an individual must eventually come face to face with the fashion world.

New York Fashion Week

Twice annually a plethora of designers gather in four fashion Mecca’s to present their collections. The first of these stops is New York City; subsequent being Milan, London, and Paris. While a few notable designers bowed out from the normal hubbub of the Bryant Park tents, but many still returned.

This year each collection seemed to have a very similar theme: simplicity. Though spring/summer runway shows have never been a time for overly complicated designs, the recent state of the economy could have played a role in each designer’s composition. Many designers choose to discard the rich colors and kitschy prints normally seen on a spring runway in favor of more muted palettes. As with any other spring/summer show the floral pattern was common. Even the more exuberant designers, such as Christian Siriano of Project Runway fame, opted for a collection of less structured pieces.

One of the only fashion houses to step close to detail work was Preen (see pic below), designed by Thornton Bregazzi. Many of the dresses looked to be painstakingly hand sewn; a work often only seen in the haute couture houses of France. The work was shown to be rather different from any other collection shown during the first fashion week. This handcrafted work offered a variance on the windswept, easy-going feel that assailed the runway.

However, there are a variety of other shows to be seen during the coming weeks. With Paris Fashion week not beginning until late September, it will be interesting to view the route more exuberant designers will choose. Perhaps simplicity is going to make the rounds once again in the fashion world.



Image source: wwd.com