High profile clothing designer Derek Lam recently announced that he will be collaborating with online shopping giant, eBay, on his next line of clothing. The former Michael Kors assistant stated that he will be revealing a full line of clothing during New York’s Fashion Week in February. Online shoppers will then be invited to vote on the specific designs they’d actually pay for. After vote collection, Lam will send the designs to production and will be available for purchase next summer at “accessible” prices. Lam is touting this strategy as “crowd-sourcing”; a term normally used to describe business strategies including consumers submitting their own created designs. Analysts say this strategy is more “crowd-curating” than anything else.
This strategy will be good for both consumers and business, says Lam, as it calls for a “direct and intermediate” dialogue between the two. In a press release, Derek Lam stated “eBay’s technology offers me a unique and innovative opportunity to reach new and existing customers directly, and to create fashion they desire.”. While some middle-man businesses fear that this will eventually cut them out of the picture when consumers purchase clothing, most analysts believe that it will take some time before designers and consumers will consistently have a direct interaction exclusive of the traditional store-front.
The line will be exclusive to eBay.
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