Social media is taking center stage at this year’s New York Fashion Week. Since revolutionizing the fashion industry’s fan base and branding strategies, the show simply cannot go on without Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.

NYFW runway shows held at Lincoln Center, locations around NYC or in designers’ showrooms are arguably some of the greatest A-list events of the year. The front row presence of fashion icons, like Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, are extremely important for designers when it comes to getting press in all the right places.

The input of bloggers and fashion-savvy users on Twitter is increasingly important in developing new fan bases and bringing whole new points of view to the seven-day fashion extravaganza. Those coveted front-row spots now include seats for bloggers who cater to many fans at their homes with updates, photos and videos of the runway shows.

Lubov Azria, chief creative officer of BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP, told Agence France-Presse after her show last spring that social media has made a big difference in how the fashion shows are covered.

With the shows available to live stream through NYFW’s website, just about anyone can watch any runway show and millions of people worldwide have tuned in the past few seasons.

From there, users will tweet about the collections and may even re-gram photos from designers or audience members of their favorite pieces on Instagram.

I’m very familiar with the new technology surrounding NYFW. As a part-time fashion blogger and full-time student, I’m obviously not able to report from every show. But with live streams, I feel like I’m in Lincoln Center. It’s so beneficial to get a look from the outside in and see the shows as they happen.

These new initiatives were first introduced during the NYFW spring-summer 2010 season. That year, the venue changed from Bryant Park to Lincoln Center.

There was improved cell phone reception, Wi-Fi reception and kiosks for guests to check into shows electronically, instead of presenting the typical printed invites. The transition wasn’t welcomed unanimously, but many bloggers and online editors said it made reporting back to readers much easier.

Before the changes occurred, editors visited showrooms and judged the collections themselves. That’s what everyone used to read about. Their opinions would reflect the changes made in the collections before products were available to consumers in the marketplace.

“Now with social media, we have a voice. We have a way to express what we feel, why we feel certain things. It’s incredible,” Lubov Azria said to the Associated French Press.

Not only are online users introduced to what’s shown on the runway, but they’re also given a taste of what happens backstage. This is a big step for the notoriously private business of fashion.

Social media makes it easier for people to warm up to the industry because they can see what it’s like to produce the show and ultimately have their own front-row seat from home. It’s made my love for fashion grow, and I’m more apt to purchase clothing from a brand that has fun shows, advertisements and a lot of consumer involvement.

We don’t have to wait and see what editors publish in papers or magazines; we can make decisions about our favorite looks ourselves. It makes the industry a lot more inviting.

That being said, designers love the social media revolution. It’s bringing them new audiences during and immediately after their shows and engaging potential buyers. When bloggers send tweets during a show, they engage their readers with the designers and bring everybody together. It creates one giant conversation.

Marc Jacobs is one designer who encourages his fans to engage in social media. At the Daisy Marc Jacobs Tweet Shop, fans get a free perfume sample for any post that includes the hashtag #MJDaisyChain. He encourages creativity, and the better the posts, the better the prizes.

Tommy Hilfiger also works hard with his team to provide personalized access to those who engage with his shows online. Dozens of renowned New York City Instagrammers are invited to his shows every season for an inside look at his collection.

Designers are embracing the social media trends to bring in as many users as possible, as this results in sales and a better reputation for them.

Modern technology has helped redefine branding relationships between designers and consumers during important times like NYFW. These new relationships give a voice to those who wouldn’t have been heard before, and they expand the fashion community beyond the doors of Lincoln Center.

Zoe Malliaros is a sophomore advertising major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at zmalliar@syr.edu.

Published on September 8, 2014 at 12:01 am