How Social Media Can Help You Be Fashion Forward

You know I often wonder that if designers had the means to gauge public opinion in the pre-social media era, would fashion crimes such as baggy pants, platform sneakers or shoulder pads, ever exist?

Today, networking sites, style blogs and such other social media avenues have given shopping for clothes a real facelift. Trends can catch on as fast as a viral video thanks to online sharing. And designers too acknowledge the voice of the consumer rather than simply thrusting a creation in their face.
I couldn’t help noticing four significant ways by which social media helps lead fashion trends.

1. Almost all the major fashion houses, retail chains and independent designers actively engage consumers through regular posts and updates on their latest collections. By encouraging comments from viewers they may also be able to determine the success rate of a trend even before it is introduced into the market.

2. Many designers and retailers today intelligently use the medium to find out and give the people precisely what they are looking for. Take Marc Jacobs and Ann Taylor for instance. After several consumers tweeted about wanting plus size clothing from Marc Jacobs, the designer decided to launch a line dedicated to women over size 14. LOFT by Ann Taylor too introduced a range of sizes in pants after women posted comments on Facebook pointing out that the said pair looked great on tall skinny models alone.

3. With a constant eye on the latest fashion hits and misses, celeb style watch and, attractive hauls & giveaways, several women on Youtube have been able to establish themselves as fashion gurus. These women are not only popular but somewhat opinion makers too. Style blogger Dulce Candy was even featured in Seventeen magazine.



(Source: You Tube)

4. I think the best thing about social media and fashion however, is the way it has opened doors for many young designers looking for inexpensive ways to reach out to potential customers. With an online existence, constant sharing of ideas and ready feedback, small scale designers can establish a sustainable business with the help of social media.

In what other ways do you think social media can influence fashion trends?

Fashion2.0: How Social Media to revolutionize Fashion Industry.

I happened to come across this article on the Forbes which particularly picked my interest for 2 main reasons:

1.     It had the magical words "social media"

2.     The Content had something that I and my colleague Vikram had been discussing lately – Taking Fashion Industry on the Social Media.

Whether you are interested in fashion or not, it is difficult to escape the constant onslaught of information on the latest fashions and trends that we receive through social media and the internet. This is a fact that none of us would deny. Considering the quantum of information one gets to see on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube the fashion Industry is definitely becoming accessible to the general public or should I say reaching a larger group of people.

 The beauty of this initiative of taking fashion industry on the Social Media is that one gets to see all sorts of opinions and dialog on a fashion trend or outfit rather than the traditional one way opinion of the designer. Just like in any other industry Social Media once again proves that would help bridge the buyer-seller relationship with its multi dimensional communication channel.  It also makes it evident that, in this era of the social media, fashion designers and retailers are no longer operating in an ivory tower or for solely the red carpet. Because of the close relationships they now have with customers on social networking sites, many have adopted an "ask and ye shall receive" policy.

As quoted in the Forbes article it’s undoubting that Social Media would the next big muse of the Fashion Industry and its here to stay for quite some time.

Just recently there has been a rush of retailers advertising & setting up programs to help gather customer feedback on the fashions and trends for the season ahead including Debenhams, ASOS, Calvin Klein and likes. This show much customer sentiments matter to the fashion designers and fashion brands. Now just imagine the same in case of private fashion boutique owners who have selected and limited customers. One bad design might just cost them a loyal customer... forever!

Yet another interesting website that I came across is www.jooraccess.com. Started by a Mona Bijoor who is a seasoned brand consultant for the fashion industry. Joor basically is a network that makes it easier for brands and boutique owners to connect and conduct business with their customers in an interactive and collaborative manner. It can be called as the Facebook of Fashion world in lay definition. This again shows how Social Media can play a vital role in the Fashion Industry.

Now considering all this above gyaan and cases on how Social Media can benefit the Fashion Industry, I don’t really know if this liberalization or the democratization of the fashion world by the social media good or bad as I’m not really a fashion expert. This is something that time shall tell us. But from a lay man’s perspective any creation created in an collaborative environment has always been a masterpiece. Hopefully such would also be the case in Social Media Fashion.