Web Based World

Last week I attended a lecture by Kate Vandermeer of iSpyStyle who filled us in on all the ins and outs of the online fashion world.  For what can end up a relatively dry topic, she did a damn good job at making me realise just how huge the role of the internet is on fashion and actually got me rather excited by the idea of this global network that is practically uncontrollable and unstoppable.  You can access pretty well anything these days with a few clicks of the mouse and a well considered key-word search.  It would seem that barely anything (especially in the fashion world which is so fixated on the now) can be kept from instant, worldwide coverage which basically means that as consumers/designers/creatives/viewers or whatever category you would like to slot yourself into - we have to be a part of the world wide web to be a part of our industry.  For fashion, an industry which once relied on rather rigid hierarchal systems where only the privileged had access to designer goods and knowledge, we're suddenly in a world where every Tom, Dick and Harry can peer through the latest haute couture well before it gets anywhere near the magazine stands.

Some of you have probably seen this but I saw it for the first time in Kate's lecture and it somewhat blew my mind.  From what I can determine the video is about 2 years old which means the statistics are potentially even more phenomenal (or scary - however you want to look at it).  Anyway I hope you are as struck by all of this as I was.  It's a crazy, crazy web based world we're living in!