Sojin Lee, Co-Founder, Fashionair.com

LONDON, United Kingdom — Over the last decade, the internet and the mp3 have revolutionised the way people access and consume music, fundamentally threatening the system of controlled distribution that traditional record companies had built. Now a similar digital tidal wave is giving consumers unprecedented access to the once closed, “insider” world of fashion.

The rapid pace of chance is causing disruption across the industry and calling into question the logic of the current fashion calendar, where consumers have access to collections online months before they arrive at retail and fast fashion copycats create and market look-a-like merchandise faster and cheaper.

In the context of these underlying shifts, Sojin Lee, former chief buyer for Net-a-Porter, has teamed up with multi-millionaire and founder of 19 Entertainment, Simon Fuller, whose impressive track record in the music industry includes managing the Spice Girls through the peak of their success. Together, they have launched Fashionair, a new platform for “fashion entertainment” that’s both digital and democratic.

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Fashionair.com homepage

Showbiz moguls target the world of style (FT)
“This week pop culture maestro Simon Fuller, the man who created the Spice Girls and the American Idol format, launched his new venture, Fashionair, an online fashion-meets-entertainment platform.”

Web fashionistas are just a click away from high street acceptance (Times)
“Sir Philip Green is famously reluctant to follow slavishly the latest fashionable idea unless it makes good business sense. Asked for his opinion on a social-networking proposal called Mint by fashion students, a site that had won plaudits from hard-nosed types such as Terry Green, Tesco’s fashion supremo, Sir Philip curtly renamed it Skint. It was his shorthand for dismissing it as an extravagance.”

Jaeger chairman eyes Aquascutum bid (Reuters)
“Harold Tillman is considering a bid for 158-year-old fashion brand Aquascutum.”

Celebrity clothing ranges in the men’s market (FT)
“If, thanks to the likes of Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Lopez and Elle MacPherson, the women’s wear market has long accepted direct celebrity involvement, it is – apart from the hip hop and urban clothing market – still a new idea for men’s wear. Until now.”

The Fabric of New York (New York Times)
“The blocks from 34th to 40th Streets between Broadway and Ninth Avenue have been home to America’s fashion industry for more than 100 years. But all that could change. The district is in danger of disappearing, with its factories and workers forced out by landlords seeking higher-paying tenants.”

Vuitton to Sponsor Film Award (WWD)
“Louis Vuitton said Monday it would bestow $25,000 prizes to the two student filmmakers who make the best two-minute works on the theme of “life as a journey.”

Dishevelled London mayor graces fashion cover (AFP)
“London’s famously dishevelled mayor, Boris Johnson, will grace the cover of fashion bible Elle next month in what many will see as a surprising partnership to mark 25 years of London Fashion Week.”

Burberry has come home (Telegraph)
“The launch of this collection will be a massive event, the highlight of London Fashion Week. Not only is it the 25th anniversary of LFW and the British Fashion Council, it is also the first time since Bailey joined the brand as creative director in 2001 that Burberry has shown its collection on home ground.”

Fashionair on hunt for next presenting star at Selfridges (Drapers)
“Fashionair.com, the fashion website launched by pop svengali Simon Fuller, will host a series of events at Selfridges including a competition to become one of its presenters to celebrate the site’s official launch later this week.”