Fashion Gets Social

As of two days ago, it can now be said that the fashion industry has made its mark on social media. Because of this great immersion, Internet entrepreneur Jeff Pulver has decided to include the first ever Social Media Fashion Panel at his #140 Characters Conference that he founded. The event, named “Fashionably Connected: How Twitter is Changing How Customers Shop, Dress, and Think in 2010”, will be happening in New York on April 20th. The panelists include several marketers, editors, founders, and will have a social media expert to moderate them. Based on the SmartBrief article 1st Social Media Fashion Panel to be held during Jeff Pulver’s #140 Characters Conference: New York City 2010 on April 20th at the 92nd Street Y, Pulver says that throughout 2009 they have observed the impact of Twitter among celebrities, the media, advertising, politics, music, education, public safety, and public diplomacy and with the #140 Characters Conference events, the Twitter community around the world will be able to listen, connect, share, and engage with each other while simultaneously checking out the impact of live Internet on business.

Everyone attending will examine “The State of NOW” and how social communication platforms have changed many industries. These conferences have become well-known social media events and those who come can connect to other social media leaders. Los Angeles, Barcelona, London, and Tel Aviv are just a few of the places where the conferences have been held. The panelists are of course devoted Twitter users and use it as a means to connect to designers, magazine editors, stylists, bloggers, beauty artists, and models who provide critical input in how the fashion business works. Even the format of the conference reflects Twitter users in that individuals will only speak for 5-10 minutes, keynotes will speak for 15-20 minutes, and panel discussions are limited to 20 minutes. One of the panel discussions will be Twitter and the Fashion Industry.

2010 is really the year of the firsts for social media in the fashion industry. Style Coalition and ideeli in partnership with Lucky Magazine hosted the first annual Fashion 2.0 Social Media Awards this past February, according to StyleCoalition.com. The categories included Best Online Video, Best Twitter, Best Facebook Page, Best Website, Next Big Thing, and Top Innovator. While 200 industry representatives were there, hundreds more watched it streaming live online. Even the award presenters were top fashion bloggers including writers from shefinds.com, secondcitystyle.com, and fashionpulsedaily.com. These awards acknowledged the top members of the fashion world for their exceptional achievements and cutting-edge communication strategies across a medley of social media channels, networks, and blogs. Winners with the most awards included Chanel, Diane von Furstenburg, Dolce and Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, and Tory Burch.

Finally, fashion is being seen as part of social media, and a significant part at that.