Designers take to the web
2008-05-09 09:20
London - Young designers competing to
get noticed by fashion labels can now launch their careers
online through the fashion world's answer to the social
networking website MySpace.com.
Fashionspace.com was created by 23-year-old London fashion
graduate Holly Bellm last October and is fast becoming to
fashionistas what MySpace is to amateur musicians, with 20 000 members in 120 countries frequenting the site every day.
"While I was studying fashion... MySpace was becoming the
best place for (talent scouts) finding the next big band and
unsigned artists," Bellm told Reuters.
"I saw all this amazing creative talent around me and
thought: why not do the same for fashion?" she said.
The website www.fashionspace.com features photographs of
models posing in higher selling members' designs, and
advertisements for their fashion shows.
"Our core is to try to help young designers break into the
market... we're looking at the tools to get them more sales," Bellm said.
Fashionspace allows members to swap, buy and sell their
original designs, second-hand clothes and accessories, with a 10%
commission of every sale going to Bellm and her team.
Members can create personal profiles on the site with
photographs to showcase their wares online.
"We provide a networking platform but more importantly the
added elements of having your own personal boutique," Bellm
said.
Bellm says a number of designer brands like British lingerie
label La Senza have recently contacted her to launch their
corporate profiles on the website as a means of networking with
up-and-coming designers.
Many fashion students that find it difficult to raise enough
money to advertise their designs upon graduating use the website to attract potential employers.
Emma Payne, a 24-year-old fashionspace member, says the site
has helped her portfolio stand out in job applications.
"(Using the site) I've been able to see what the market
might be like, and expand from that, it's been very useful to
test the market that way," she said.
The website's popularity has spread rapidly in the past six
months, with advertisements on Facebook and word of mouth
generating on average 800 000 page views a month.
Most members are female fashion students between 15 and 25
years old who use the site to buy and swap clothes.
"Everyone wants to be individual. No one wants to wear the
same thing from Topshop or generic brands," Bellm said.
"It's almost like a big Portobello market, you can find
quirky things no one else has," she said.