Giambattista Valli Autumn/Winter 2010 | Source: Style.com

Inside a Jet-Set Designer’s Atelier (WSJ)
“Mr. Valli has become a go-to designer for the rich and royal. Producing confections of silk satin, cashmere and tulle that have been compared to Rolls-Royce sedans and have prices to match, he has dressed clients from Queen Rania of Jordan to Sarah Jessica Parker.”

Benetton CEO Leaving In April After Sales Drop (WSJ)
“Italian clothing retailer Benetton Group said Thursday Chief Executive Gerolamo Caccia Dominioni will depart after nearly three years at the helm, news that came as the company cut its dividend amid a drop in sales.”

Ralph Lauren Takes Online Marketing to Next Level (The Thread)
“Right now on Ralph Lauren’s website, anyone can watch a virtual presentation of the Lauren by Ralph Lauren collection, and — here’s the kicker — buy anything you like straight off the runway… Ralph Lauren has even created a virtual front row.”

Brazil: Lessons in luxury for an emerging class (FT)
“But it is only in the past 10 years that they have begun to develop an original style. Today, thanks to a flourishing economy, a growing middle class and increasingly sophisticated buyers, the domestic luxury jewellery market is thriving.”

CFDA Announces 2010 Awards (Vogue.com)
“Alexander McQueen will be honoured with a posthumous CFDA Board of Directors Special Tribute award in June, it was announced in New York last night.”

Zara Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Zara

Inditex profit climbs 17 percent as sales jump at start of fiscal year (Market Watch)
“Inditex posted a 17% rise in fourth-quarter profit on a 13% rise in revenue as the Spanish retailer saw strong growth in international markets and opened its fiscal year with rapid sales growth.”

Guess Q4 Profit Jumps 81per cent (RTT News)
“International fashion house Guess? Inc. said Wednesday its profit for the fourth quarter jumped 80.7% over last year, driven by higher sales and improved margins. Quarterly adjusted earnings grew 45.5%, and topped the analysts’ expectations.”

Lagerfeld to Help Tod’s With Its Hogan Brand (NYT)
“Karl Lagerfeld has a new world at his feet: The Italian company Hogan, part of the Tod’s footwear empire, said Wednesday that it had signed the designer for a special collection.”

Lessons Learned From Two Retailers (WSJ)
“What’s the difference between Amancio Ortega and Stephen Marks? Superficially, the two have much in common. Both started out as clothing manufacturers…Yet the fortunes of the two have radically diverged.”

All You Need Is Luxe (T Magazine)
“Midway through ‘Imagine: John Lennon,’ the 1988 documentary, Lennon and his new bride, Yoko Ono, are seen prancing through a London airport clad in matching white pantsuits… He knew how to have a good time and how to work a look.”

Alexander McQueen A/W 2010 | Source: alexandermcqueen.com

LONDON, United Kingdom — The passing of Alexander McQueen and the future of his namesake brand provided the defining background narrative of the Autumn/Winter 2010 collections. Everywhere a fashionista went, in every conversation, at every show, party and presentation, the ghost of Alexander McQueen seemed to linger as the industry struggled to come to terms with its most sudden loss of creative genius since Gianni Versace was gunned down in Miami in 1997.

But the shows had to go on. And, in a fitting tribute to Mr. McQueen’s futuristic fashion vision from last September, more brands than ever before experimented with live-streaming, digital innovations and new e-commerce models. And, while not all of the experiments were entirely successful, it was a great step forward nonetheless.

In our seasonal tradition, we give you a guide to the ins and outs, ups and downs, and random curveballs that kept fashion’s movers and shakers talking during Autumn/Winter 2010, the season that was.

1. THE MASTERY OF McQUEEN

Alexander McQueen digital tribute at On|Off, London | Source: The Business of Fashion

Right at the beginning of New York Fashion Week, as news of Alexander McQueen’s death spread on Twitter and Facebook, spontaneous memorials sprouted up in front of his stores on the fashionable boulevards of New York and London and industry observers speculated openly whether the McQueen business could survive without him. Then, catching everyone by surprise, Gucci Group announced in Paris that the McQueen brand would indeed live on.

Alexander McQueen CEO Jonathan Akeroyd told The Business of Fashion “There is a lot of emotion here and also we are all trying hard to push on and keep things going as usual. I am sure that the next year or so we will have a lot of challenges but at the same time I am convinced Lee left so much for us to build on, which means we can keep growing as a brand.”

“But who could possibly take over?” asked many a fashion insider. Some gossiped that Sarah Burton, Mr McQueen’s long-time assistant, was out of the running as she had already tendered her resignation. Others speculatively bandied about the names of Gareth Pugh and Olivier Theyskens while Gucci Group remained respectfully silent on the issue of succession.

As the Paris shows came to a close however, the focus appropriately shifted back to Mr. McQueen’s work. His final oeuvre, Angels and Demons, was shown to small groups of 15-20 people at a time in the gilded offices of PPR. So moving were the intimate and dignified presentations, that viewers left the room silently, respectfully, and sometimes in tears. It was a great honour to have seen the eerily-beautiful, final McQueen collection first-hand, reminding me once again of the depth of McQueen’s talent and his ability to move us.  He will be sorely missed. He already is.

2. MARKETWATCH: BRAZIL AND KOREA
Forget about China and India. Two other foreign markets dominated the fashion conversation this season.

In New York, a series of events were held under the banner Concept Korea, conceived by the powerful Samsung Fashion Division, Korean partner to scores of international fashion brands. From an event celebrating a fashion film by Nick Knight for Korean designer Kuho to an exhibition of designs from seven leading Korean fashion designers and a performance by Korean pop star RAIN, the Korean fashion industry did its utmost to demonstrate its growing influence.

Brazil, on the other hand, had a more stealthy — and thus, more powerful — presence during this fashion week season. The growth opportunities for fashion brands offered by Brazil, which had previously been in the shadow of its BRIC counterparts Russia, India and China, are in the laser focus of many a luxury goods executive. The topic of Brazil came up in conversation after conversation, over and over again.

We’re keeping our BoF eyes firmly fixated on Sao Paulo Fashion Week, Fashion Rio and Brazilian designers like Alexandre Herchcovich, Osklen, and Carlos Miele.

3. NEW YORK’S LOCATIONAL DIVIDE

Patrik Ervell Presentation at Milk Studios | Source: BoF

As fashionistas bade farewell to the Bryant Park Tents that have dominated the New York fashion scene for over ten years by doing what they do best — throwing a big party — Milk Studios solidified its status as the city’s unofficial new fashion week hub, with more than twenty shows and presentations, including Patrik Ervell, Band of Outsiders, and Joseph Altuzarra, some of the city’s hottest designers.  One little hitch to report on, however: we agree with Style.com’s prolific blogger and tweeter, Derek Blasberg who tweeted in frustration that Milk Studios needs to “organize some cell reception.” Once that issue is resolved, it could be the perfect fashion show venue, hands down.

As for the official fashion week site, the shows will move from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center at Columbus Circle next season, offering the IMG-sponsored event an opportunity to refresh its format and approach. No doubt, the biggest challenge will be attracting all those downtown-loving fashionistas all the way to the new far-flung uptown location.

4. BLOGGERS ENTER THE FASHION MAINSTREAM

Evolving Influence Conference | Source: Independent Fashion Bloggers

Jenine Tamm’s second Independent Fashion Bloggers conference in New York was a huge success. Not only was it oversubscribed two times over, the conference received prominent coverage from the mainstream media, including Women’s Wear Daily and New York Magazine. Most importantly, the IFB conference cemented the notion of a blogging fraternity, attracting participants from all over the world to participate in a discussion about the state of fashion blogging.

BoF was graciously invited to participate in a vibrant and interesting debate on the ethics of fashion blogging, but the final panel — featuring Bryanboy, Fashionista, Susie Bubble, Streetpeeper and of course, Tavi Gevinson, whose erudite commentary, peppered with genuine fashion geekiness, charmed everyone in the room — was undoubtedly the highlight of the day.

So now that bloggers have entered the mainstream, where do things go from here? We predict that those who are seduced by their newfound fame or use it simply as a way of getting free products and attending fashion events, will flounder and disappear. On the other hand, those who stay true to themselves, develop truly original content and take the opportunity to prove what they can do, will thrive over the longer-term.

As Tavi herself said recently on StyleRookie, “The same way teenagers can start a Flickr account and be noticed by a magazine, or a band can start a MySpace and be picked up by a label, blogs will act as jumping-off platforms for people that want to work in the industry.”

5. LIVE-STREAMING IS NOT AS GOOD AS THE REAL THING

Miu Miu livestream screenshot | Source: Dazed Digital

This was the season that live-streaming gained critical mass in the fashion business.

We agree with friend-of-BoF Thakoon Panichgul who told WWD “From seeing McQueen live stream last season, and then all of a sudden this season, 20 designers did it. It’s almost like everyone is already doing it and it feels kind of old already. It might become one of those things, like you need to do a look book, you need to live stream.” Such a smart boy, that Thakoon.

That being said, just as watching a basketball game or live concert on television doesn’t replicate the real thing, watching a livestream show, no matter how good it is, doesn’t replace the actual experience of attending a fashion show. So, while streaming fashion shows may be a great way to let consumers into the fashion show experience and a good back-up plan for buyers and editors who are otherwise occupied, methinks industry folk would still prefer to attend shows in person.

6. SALES DIRECT FROM THE RUNWAY

PS11 | Source: Proenza Schouler

The smartest brands didn’t stop at live-streaming alone. Proenza Schouler and Burberry gave real commercial meaning to the live, consumer-friendly shows, enabling fans to buy key runway items immediately after the show for a limited period of time, taking advantage of the post-show consumer frenzy of desire. The runway orders also offer a veritable crystal ball into future demand for the same products in-season.

In the case of Proenza Schouler, the key item in question was the PS11 bag, runway cousin to the classic PS1 bag, which has quickly become a modern American classic. Indeed, much to the jealous squeals of some fashionista bloggers we know, Lauren Santo-Domingo carried a different coloured Ps1 ever single day of New York Fashion Week. Yet another proof of the surge in Proenza Schouler’s reputation as a breakout fashion accessories business.

7. PHOEBE’S PHENOMENON AND RICK’S RULES

Celine A/W 2010 | Source: Jak and Jil

While many runways were replete with a dark palette of folded leather and draped jersey, an aesthetic movement pioneered by Rick Owens, an undeniable wave of minimalism crept onto the catwalks this season, following in the footsteps of the first highly-influential runway collection by Phoebe Philo for Céline, shown in Paris last October.

Judging by reviews from Suzy Menkes, Sarah Mower, and countless other critics who fell under Phoebe’s spell again this time around, Ms. Philo’s latest show was a raging success. And, while Cathy Horyn raised the spectre of the Martin Margiela’s influence on the new Céline, this didn’t seem to matter to the countless influential editors and buyers who were proudly wearing their Céline camel jackets and blazers around fashion week like the unofficial uniform of the cool fashion crowd.

The real sign of Philo’s influence, however, was on the runways of countless other designers who seemed to fall into line, wholeheartedly endorsing the new minimalism. From Reed Krakoff’s debut collection in New York to former design partner Stella McCartney’s collection at the Palais Garnier in Paris, unembellished clothes in modern, minimalist cuts flooded the catwalks.

But demonstrating yet again that he creates his own rules, one notable exception to the wholesale removal of embellishment was Mr. Rick Owens, whose signature silhouettes came down the runway in all sorts of new colours, baubles, fur and horn-appliqués, adding a fresh new energy to his now widely-copied aesthetic.

Imran Amed is Founder and Editor of The Business of Fashion

Tommy Hilfiger Spring/Summer 2010 | Source: Tommy Hilfiger

A big takeover brings cheer to gloomy fashion retailing (Economist)
“PVH’s acquisition of Tommy Hilfiger has aroused widespread interest, because it is a sign of life in an ailing industry. Analysts are predicting that more deals will follow this year. The cutbacks fashion companies have made in the past two years have left some of them with cash to spend on takeovers.”

Cost-cuts take shine off Bulgari (FT)
“Bulgari sank yesterday after the Italian watch and jewellery maker posted a €13.6m fourth-quarter loss in spite of an improving luxury goods sector. Analysts said the numbers were the result of poor fundamentals, adding that the company should expect downgrades.”

Moody’s lifts Saks outlook to stable (Business Week)
“Moody’s Investors Service lifted its outlook for Saks Inc. on Tuesday, saying the luxury retailer is likely to fatten operating income over the next two quarters.”

Retailer Liberty agrees sale of flagship store for £41.5m (Guardian)
“Liberty, the department store group, has agreed a sale and leaseback deal on its Tudor-style building in London’s West End… [the company] has exchanged contracts to sell the building for £41.5m to Sirosa Liberty, with the proceeds used to pay off its debt.”

Luxury Brands Declining Demand in Russia (Pravda)
“Decrease in demand for products of Luxury, Premium and Upper Middle segments in Russia in 2009 amounted to… 40-45% because of the exchange rate difference. Most luxury operators had stopped their expansion and focused on the development of their existing projects in large Russian cities.”

French Connection Spring/Summer 2010 Ads | Source: French Connection

For French Connection, a U-Turn, Nicole Farhi Brand Sold (WSJ)
“The British French Connection, known for its sassy and borderline-profane marketing, plans to close most of its U.S. stores and sell its Nicole Farhi brand, serving up a cautionary tale for Zeitgeist-chasing fashion retailers that fail to adjust to a rapidly changing market.”

House Of Fraser Set To Expand As Sales Jump 10% (WSJ)
“U.K. and Ireland department-store chain House of Fraser said sales have jumped over 10% since its Jan. 31 year-end as it confirmed new debt covenants that will allow the group to expand its own-brand lines and online sales.”

MCM’s Eastern Makeover (WSJ)
“Now MCM, rechristened Mode Creation Munich, is attempting a resurrection. At its helm is Sung Joo Kim, an outspoken Korean businesswoman who earned her fortune licensing European luxury lines in Asia—and who is now trying to make her country, a big consumer of luxury brand names, into a creative fashion force.”

John Galliano takes a seat for Fashion Fringe (Telegraph)
“John Galliano, the global fashion star and creative director of Christian Dior in Paris, will take over from the Italian designer, Donatella Versace, as the honorary chairman of the annual Fashion Fringe at Covent Garden talent quest – and he wants to find fashion rebels just like himself.”

Brand Recognition Is the Issue (IHT)
“What is the final assessment on the 321 collections shown over the last month in London, Milan, New York and Paris?… Brand recognition is the vital issue, especially now that collections go global and viral before buyers have even had a chance to get to the showroom and make a choice.”

Net-a-Porter features Utility Chic | Source: Net-a-Porter

Net-a-Porter is being acquired for up to £350m by Richemont (Telegraph)
“The deal, expected to be completed this week, will see founder Natalie Massenet, a former fashion journalist, become at least £50m richer as Richemont acquires the remaining 70pc of the company it doesn’t already own.”

Phillips-Van Heusen Acquires Hilfiger for $3 Billion (NY Times)
“Phillips-Van Heusen, the clothing conglomerate that owns Calvin Klein, announced Monday that it would buy Tommy Hilfiger, once a leading purveyor of colorful preppy clothing, for about 2.2 billion euros, or $3 billion.”

Prada accused of maltreatment (Japan Times)
“A senior manager at Prada Japan has filed a legal complaint against the Italian fashion label, accusing the company of harassment and discrimination based on appearance and alleging it maltreated other employees in the past.”

Liberty back in fashion as store weighs up bid approaches (FT)
“Liberty, the listed upmarket London retailer, is in take-over talks with Marco Capello, the former managing director of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity , in a deal that could value the group at about £40m.”

Gen Y Will End Luxury Drought — In ‘20 (Media Post)
“The last two years have permanently altered America’s relationship with the luxe life, says Pamela Danziger… While Gen Y definitely has champagne tastes, they won’t be able to back it up with real bucks for another decade or so.”

Womanity Mosaic screenshot | Source: Clarins Fragrance Group

PARIS, France — Last week, Thierry Mugler and Clarins Fragrance Group launched a major campaign under the banner “Womanity.” They have also registered the “Womanity” trademark in a number of product categories. There’s just one thing missing: there’s no product. At least, not yet.

At the center of the initiative is womanity.com, a content site “powered by Thierry Mugler” and deployed in collaboration with Microsoft’s MSN, who is handling online media and editorial strategy. The site features an interactive “mosaic” of tiles, each containing an article, video or other piece of content designed to inspire women, respond to their current mood — and importantly, invite them to share their thoughts on femininity and what it means to be a woman today. Indeed, throughout the site, users are prompted to add their own text, images or videos to the mosaic, in response to the omnipresent question: “What does womanity mean to you?”

Clarins describes the site as a “creative commons for expression and exchange.” But it’s also a massively multi-player focus group for gathering insights and ideas that will no doubt help drive the development of the Womanity brand and Womanity products yet to come. In luxury fragrance, a category that traditionally elevates the status of the “creator” and employs top-down, command and control style marketing, this represents a remarkable shift in thinking. BoF recently had a sneak preview of the site in the brand’s Paris offices, and afterwards, caught up by e-mail with Joel Palix, President of Clarins Fragrance Group, to find out more.

BoF: First of all, what is Womanity?

JP: Today, Womanity is a new kind of interactive site, powered by Thierry Mugler, where users can express their point of view and discover interesting and fun content about what it means to be a woman nowadays. Tomorrow, Womanity will evolve as a brand at the crossroads of media and products, merging design and concepts by Thierry Mugler with user-generated content and ideas.

BoF: How is the content on Womanity curated?

JP: A large part of the content is user-generated and we use standard moderation tools to administer the site. A second part of the content is [provided] by leading and creative personalities who have been approached to give their point of view on Womanity. And finally, original content developed by our creator, Thierry Mugler himself, is proposed on the site, giving another view into his creativity and inspiration.

BoF: How does the content reflect or respond to the mood of users?

JP: This is one of the most original features of the site. Instead of classifying the content by words or rational categories like most sites, we have taken a more poetic, and I would dare to say, more feminine approach, inviting women to tag their content with a colour of their choice.

As a visitor, you can access the site through a mosaic of differently coloured content or you can select content of the particular colour that suits your mood at the moment. Through the dominant colour of the content produced in the last 24 hours, we try to express the collective mood of women at the moment: it becomes like a barometer of women’s feelings worldwide.

BoF: What do you hope to learn from this barometer, the comments people leave and the content people share? How might you apply this knowledge?

JP: Reading the mood and ideas of women on femininity provides incredibly rich material for a luxury brand like Thierry Mugler. We will be able to develop projects and products inspired by this content. However, don’t expect us to just listen to the people. The Womanity brand will be more like a true conversation between the fans of the brand and our creator.

BoF: Ferdinando Verderi, creative director at Johannes Leonardo, which is working on the project said: “The brand is ready to become whatever the users want.” Are you, in essence, crowdsourcing the future of the Thierry Mugler brand, or the Womanity brand and any products yet to come?

JP: Thierry Mugler has long been known for proposing strong and innovative concepts and ideas in the fields of fashion, perfumes and even entertainment. He is not suddenly giving up on his role as a creator. In fact, he is already creating and developing products under the Womanity banner, which will serve as inspiration for other products proposed by the Womanity fans.

We are not suddenly substituting to the creativity of the designer with that of the internet “crowd.” We are enriching the dialogue between the two, recognizing that today’s “internet generation” is more and more interested in expressing themselves and participating in the development of its preferred brands.

It must be noted that we have been doing this with our Angel, Alien and Amen perfumes for many years, involving our fans through questionnaires, consumer groups and local events. Now, we are leveraging the power of internet to foster the relationship, boost creativity and bring the Thierry Mugler brand to a new frontier.

BoF: How will Womanity make money? Is there a revenue model?

JP: Womanity is both a platform for content and an inspiration for creating products. It can potentially make money in both fields. We expect the power of the community of fans behind Womanity to be a great advantage for the success of Womanity-branded products whether they are “crowd-inspired” or more directly proposed by Thierry Mugler.

OUR THOUGHTS:

Expectations? Unlike the monologue of traditional media, the internet is inherently social. We were excited to hear that a luxury brand like Thierry Mugler was embracing this reality and launching a site that’s open and conversational. But we were also curious to see how the brand would balance this openness with the singular point of view for which luxury brands are traditionally known.

First impressions? The “mosaic” of content is visually impactful and feels like a nice metaphor for the patchwork world we now inhabit and a correspondingly textured definition of womanhood. Placing all pieces of content on the same plane — whether they are created by Thierry Mugler, Womanity’s editorial contributors, or users themselves — also feels contemporary and in tune with the democratic nature of the internet. Each piece of content is also sharable across social networks like Twitter and Facebook, a seemingly obvious gesture, but one that we’ve consistently seen other luxury brands resisting.

Most potential? Gathering insights and driving what Mr. Palix calls “crowd-inspired” innovation by monitoring what kinds of content people like, share and generate is a powerful concept that has much potential to inform real business decisions. On a broader level, this reflects a promising realization at Clarins that today’s luxury consumers increasingly want dialogue and deeper participation with the brands they love and that the true power of a brand is found in the interaction between a company and its most active fans.

What’s missing? While the site aims to be a barometer of collective mood at the moment, the “mosaic” of content feels a bit static. These days consumers expect an experience that’s percolating with new content every hour, if not every few minutes. What’s missing, first and foremost, is an experience that feels more realtime. Why not partner with select bloggers to exchange content and audience in a way that keeps the site fresh and spreads the Womanity brand across the internet?

Second, if the site aims to reflect the collective mood of women, asking them to tag content by colour seems clunky, even if the underlying idea is interesting. Instead, why not employ a sentiment analysis engine that could automatically analyse content for feeling? These kinds of algorithms have already been deployed on a number of services, including Twitter search engines Tweetfeel and Tweet Sentiments.

And third, if the intention is indeed to crowdsource product innovation, why not take a page from collective innovation platforms like My Starbucks and Dell’s IdeaStorm which overtly ask consumers to contribute ideas for future products and provide mechanisms for the most powerful ideas to rise to the top?

“The ambitions are very large,” said creative director Ferdinando Verderi on the Womanity initiative. At BoF, we’re excited to see how things develop.

Digital Scorecard is your BoF guide to the latest in digital fashion innovation

Roger Vivier Miss Viv | Source: Holt Renfrew

What The Rich Are Buying Now (Forbes)
“While most consumers aren’t returning to their pre-recession shopping patterns, there has been a rebound in luxury spending lately. Ultra affluent shoppers … have started to come out of hiding”

Miuccia and Me (WSJ)
“Bertelli, is the mastermind behind a label most people associate with his wife, Miuccia Prada, the avant-garde designer who has created global sensations out of industrial nylon black backpacks, wallpaper-motif pleated skirts, tiedyed dresses and thick high-heeled wedge shoes, to name just a few.”

Italy’s Della Valle ups stake in Saks to 7.1 pct (CNN Money)
“Italian businessman Diego Della Valle increased his stake in Saks Inc with a series of stock purchases this week, strengthening his position as the second-largest investor in the U.S. upscale department store operator.”

Fashion to hit Tokyo’s runways (Independent)
“Japan has produced some of the world’s most famous designers – from Issey Miyake to Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto and Hanae Mori – and the Japan Fashion Week Organization is aiming to build on their reputations for a new generation of fashion geniuses at the same time as enhancing Tokyo’s reputation as the center of the fashion business in Asia.”

It bags are back as luxury brand sales soar by 60% (Daily Mail)
“Fashion insiders have long been predicting its death. But it seems there is still life in the old ‘It bag’ yet. Selfridges says that it has seen a 60 per cent increase in the past year in sales of ‘must-have’ luxury handbags.”

Olivier Zahm by Terry Richardson | Source: purple DIARY

The Future Of Fashion: Olivier Zahm (Style.com)
“The French editor and founder of the twice-yearly independent publication Purple Fashion has many other passions… but in an increasingly conformist world, Zahm offers an original, entertaining, and astute voice.”

Abercrombie Will Keep Discounting (WSJ)
“Abercrombie & Fitch said… it will continue its uncharacteristically high levels of discounting through the spring in order to boost store sales… it is willing to sacrifice margins if necessary to improve sales.”

Burberry accuses TJX of selling counterfeit goods (Reuters)
“Burberry Group… has sued TJX, accusing the operator of the off-price TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods stores of selling counterfeit goods.”

Céline starts from clean slate (Wealth Bulletin)
“After struggling for years to forge an identity, the label is finding influential retailers including Barneys New York, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman are clamoring to carry its collection, even as they cut back their portfolios to focus on best sellers.”

Paris: A Rounder Season (NY Times)
“Louis Vuitton seemed to provide the perfect bookend to the Milan-Paris ready-to-wear season… Between Miuccia Prada in Milan and Marc Jacobs at Vuitton we saw the return of the lush, full-hipped woman, her breasts served up like ripe fruit.”

NEW YORK, United States — For decades, a quick route to fashion world prominence involved a designer turning a youth culture trend into a runway-ready collection. Calvin Klein made heroin chic, Jean Paul Gaultier sampled from club culture, Marc Jacobs glammed-up grunge and Hedi Slimane turned Berlin punks into fashion plates.

The concept was simple, even if the design work wasn’t: find a scruffy outsider style that remained untapped, then spruce it up for the luxury market. But today, as high fashion becomes increasingly accessible, this approach may no longer work. Today’s internet-empowered youth have the tools, access and information to create and promote their own fashion culture.

While some in the fashion media have been fixating on the growing importance of editorial coverage by young bloggers, relatively little has been said about a broader democratisation that’s happening in the fashion industry overall. For one thing, runway knock-offs — formerly a marginal industry — have become a borderline acceptable business practice, with stores such as Zara and Forever 21 building successful franchises by copycatting high fashion designs. In a sense, fast fashion collaborations such as Jimmy Choo for H&M or Rodarte for Target seem to legitimise this practice.

At the same time that affordable imitations of high fashion have emerged as a widespread, easy option for budget-conscious fashionistas, the once closed system that has long dominated high fashion has become increasingly transparent and accessible. The latest runway images are available online for anyone to see, while the behind-the-scenes machinations of the fashion industry have become fodder for popular movies and TV shows, from The September Issue and The Devil Wears Prada to The Rachel Zoe Project. Within this context, the power dynamic between high fashion and youth culture has changed dramatically.

A generation of young bloggers like Tavi and Charles Guislain form the vanguard of the emerging fashion youth demographic. Following in their digital footprints, websites such as Lookbook.nu allow young consumers to compare and share looks assembled from fauxthentic fashions sourced at Urban Outfitters, Topshop, Uniqlo, H&M and vintage stores. Further facilitating this fashion fluency, the ubiquity of street photography sites now allows for a remarkably rapid global exchange of trends: something pops up in a street shot by The Sartorialist one week and is seen in Moscow on Slickwalk a few days later.

Charles Guislain in Vogue Italia | Source: Vogue Italia

The 16-year-old Guislain reminisces that, “The first thing which attracted me to fashion was Hedi Slimane’s work for Dior Homme,” but rather than waiting for a casting director’s call, Guislain teamed up with influential fashion blogger and champion of new talent Diane Pernet to post videos on her website, A Shaded View on Fashion.

He may say, “I don’t see myself as a style influencer — I’ve always dressed firstly for me,” but his modesty is undercut by the fact that Ms. Pernet’s videos of Charles are amongst the most-viewed content on her site and have already made him a budding style icon. Indeed, Mr. Guislain is featured in the latest issue of Italian Vogue alongside Stella Tennant, photographed by Tim Walker.

The looks showcased by Guislain and his contemporaries are certainly youthful, but they aren’t the byproduct of an isolated outsider culture blithely waiting for upmarket exploitation. In fact, with the easy accessibility and free flow of information that informs youth fashion today, that idea seems almost silly now.

In a relatively short time, young bloggers such as Tavi have gone from being outsiders submitting missives from the sidelines to challenging the dominance of major editorial outlets as arbiters of taste, with their front row presence denoting an important show and their opinions openly solicited. For an industry that has long thrived on hierarchy and insularity, this is a startling reversal of power, underscoring a shift that’s helping to drive a fundamental restructuring of an industry built on creating luxury through exclusivity.

Of course, none of this was possible before the internet. But today, young creative people, no matter where they are, have access to inspiration and powerful outlets to share their ideas. From articulate blogging stars to the young aspirants on Lookbook.nu, the new fashion youth are quickly sampling from the looks they see on the runways and creating mix-and match ensembles that are incredibly fashion fluent and often impressively innovative. Moreover, they are remarkably self-aware and savvy — seemingly immediately comfortable with and able to remix, communicate and capitalise on the high fashion aesthetics that have influenced them.

A month shy of her 14th birthday, Tavi has made videos for Rodarte, while Alie Suvelor was able to found the popular French magazine Dirrtyglam at the age of 18, attracting around a million hits each month. Indeed, the former outsiders are now the trendsetters and the idea of trying to repackage youth style without the participation of these young creatives seems woefully outdated.

Not all young fashion bloggers — even the ones getting the most attention today — will have staying power in the years to come. But the internet’s democratising effect certainly offers tremendous opportunity for exceptional young talent to break through and shape the new, digitally accessible fashion industry that’s emerging, while conversely making it less likely that anybody in the future will have as much consolidated influence as figures like Suzy Menkes or Anna Wintour do today.

Ken Miller is an editor, writer, and curator for print and digital media.