#lauren indvik

[nathaliegorman]

These are the kinds of pieces high-powered women looking for a sophisticated uniform could live in.

Fashionista's Lauren Indvik on Protagonist, my new obsession. 

[fittwo]

Shoptiques Lets You Shop Boutiques Like a Local

Name: Shoptiques

Quick Pitch: Shop local boutiques online.

Genius Idea: Brings an offline industry online; lets you shop by neighborhood.

It all began with Paris and a shoe.

by Lauren Indvik

[lindakonop]

Fashion Forward

With the help of social media fashion consumers are starting to get more of a say in what parts of a designer's collection are making it to the stores and available for purchase online. In her blog post How Social Shopping is Changing Fashion Production, Lauren Indvik discusses the many ways designers are using social media to engage their customers. One way social media is changing the fashion industry is by allowing consumers a say in the design and production process.

According to Vivian Weng who launched e-commerce venture FashionStake(along with Daniel Gulati), "Fashion is morphing into a two-way dialogue." Weng and Gulati realized that consumers wanted an opportunity to become part of the creative process.

Weng and Gulati created a platform where consumers and designers collaborated on designs which were funded through pre-orders. Consumers would vote on which designs they liked by pre ordering them and in turn designers had the money to produce those designs. This concept allows new and lesser known designers to get their pieces made. To me this is an excellent use of social media, it is giving the consumer a say in what they get to buy but also benefits the designer because they do not have to rely solely on buyers to decide what will be available to the consumer.

At Fashion Week this past February, Ebay worked with designer Derek Lam to unveil sixteen designs that Ebay shoppers voted on. More then 120,000 votes were cast to decide on six designs that were produced and went on sale through H&M.  This shows that consumers welcome the opportunity to have a say in what styles are offered to them.

It might be a hard concept for some designers or buyers to swallow, they might wonder what non designers or buyers know about what should go into stores. But to me it makes sense that people can and should have a say in what they choose to buy.

These examples demonstrates the power and positive impact social media can have on an industry. Personally, I think this is a great idea for the fashion industry to engage their customers in the design process. It gives new and lesser known designers a way to get new customers and get a better idea of what will sell. It can do the same with well known designers and companies while also giving their current customers a feeling of ownership and pride. 

I would find it cool to vote on a dress or shoe design and see it online or in stores. Seeing something I voted for or made suggestions on would make me more likely to purchase it.

Do you think giving consumers a say in the design process will benefit the fashion industry?  Would you be more likely to purchase clothing or accessories if you had a say in the design process?

Tell me what you think below!

[mashablehq]

Associate editors Lauren Indvik and Erica Swallow returned from an impromptu trip to Moscow, Russia on Tuesday. After finding a $400 round trip deal on Travelzoo, they recruited Rowan Wernham, founder of mobile photosharing service Snapr, to be their travel mate. The trio planned and documented the trip on the fly using a mix of paper guides, a shoddy Lonely Planet iPhone app, Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram, Snapr, Tumblr and Facebook, among other social tools.

If you weren't already jealous enough, you can see more photos from their journey on Erica's Flickr page. Thanks to Rowan for the photo above, taken with CrossProcess.

What's the best travel deal you've found online?

[mashablehq]

It's Formal Friday at Mashable HQ, and the ladies are donned in pearls!

Here's the lovely Erica Swallow looking ultra classy. (Thanks to Lauren Indvik for the Instagram pic.)