Social Media Gets Into Fashion

New York Fashion Week is always a place for new ideas and changing trends.  One of the biggest trends to make a mark this year at New York Fashion Week is technology, specifically social media.  Designers and audience members alike are flocking to the tools of social media to share their fashion worldview.  New data released from eBay Deals looks at the influence and usage of social media during New York Fashion Week.  The data reveals that more and more people are turning to social media for fashion inspiration and advice.

In many ways, social media seems tailor made for fashion.  Look at Pinterest for example.  A site where people can go to curate a collection of looks and other items certainly is primed to play a role in fashion week. Some designers even put social media before the runway, with previews of their collections.  For example, Bergdorf Goodman and Badgley Mischka have previewed their collections exclusively on Pinterest.  After pinning only 42 items, they attracted 39,788 followers.

Social media provides access to the latest in fashion with a speed previously unavailable to most people.  People can use Twitter follow trends from their favorite brands and designers in real time. New trends can even go viral before they hit the stores.  Statistics show that at New York Fashion Week 2012, there were 50 top fashion accounts live tweeted from the runway.  Fashion shows can also be viewed live through YouTube, Ustream and livestream.  Livestreaming provides viewers at home with unprecedented access to everything that fashion week has to offer.

Social media has even become an accepted form of art.  Professional photographers are even using Instagram for their craft.  In fact, the Getty Images Library has now accepted into their collection many photos which have been taken by professional photographers using Instagram.  Though the data can provide us with the numbers, the true impact of all of the new forms of social media is almost incalculable.

[Image via contently]