I've recently read somewhere that "The fashion industry is a premier success story of leveraging social media to convert posts into purchases and that Pinterest, bloggers and Facebook have partially taken trendsetting out of the hands of ragmags and put it on-line into a more easily accessible and visually appealing formats."

     Even though, I'm kind of a old school girl and prefer good old fashion shows and magazines to bring me all the newest trends and information, the pace the fashion world is moving kind of makes it inevitable for the designers not to move along and keep up with new formats of social media and digital technology, that makes them more accessible and available to masses.

     Since I'm not as informed as one should be, I browsed a web and came across an article in CNN that explains how social media fundamentally changed the way people shop and discover fashion.    
   
     Consumers have greater access to brands and expect open, authentic dialogue. With the social media everything became more instant. Sites like Style.com beam images directly from the runway, so do fashion bloggers who take pictures from the front row and instantly share the images on social media. So the moment the designer or the brands show their goods, through platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest you're getting real time critiques, that can actually help the designer to get an instant feedback before finalizing production decisions.

     The fashion shows use to be for editors and buyers mostly and the consumer was kept in a dark for another six months until the actual product became available. These days designers are reaching out to consumers in any possible way whether it is through their direct web site or selling collections off the runway allowing them to pre-order looks through e-commerce site like ModaOperandi.

     Some of the designers are experimenting with digital fashion shows, which are usually staged ahead of time, don't cost as much as the real thing and are much more accessible not only to editors and buyers but masses as well. KCD, the talent and production agency, which produces most of the live Fashion Week shows launched the product at last season's shows in February. In September, designers as Chloe, ICB, and Pierre Balmain debuted their first digital shows, which are not suppose to replace traditional runway shows, but provide an alternative for brands that might not get the same audience or attention.

   After all my research, I can finally see why are designers embracing these new developments in social media. Not only they enjoy more direct interaction with consumers, but can easily become globally well-known in ways they couldn't possibly imagine a few years ago.

      My obsession with FENDI's Spring / Summer 2013 collection has gotten me in real trouble with my inner-self since naturally, it is not something I would be able to ever afford. However, looking at it doesn't really hurt, it feeds my soul and costs me close to nothing...so when I started to look for an interesting look book or press kit that has recently made a huge impression on me, it was more than obvious that it would be probably FENDI.
      Not to let anyone down, I did seriously try to find something else, but my hand kept clicking back on this link to a visual or digital image of their Spring Collection 2013.

      It contains everything from the colorful accessories as bangs and bracelets through Fendi's most iconic bags as Baguette, Peekaboo and the 2Jours, stripped of their logo-ified buckles in colors as scarlet red, dove gray, cobalt and terra-cotta that remind me of Lego bricks or Rubik's cube. There are glimpses of fabrics, color palettes and style looks as well as the peek behind the scenes with the famous Karl Lagerfeld, who has collaborated on this collection with Fendi's head designer Silvia Venturini Fendi.

    This is a look of a Spring Heaven of mine:

    Trunk shows have been best know for their highly beneficial advances, not only for the designer himself but the stores or boutiques as well. But what if the reason behind such show is not entirely recognition or profit oriented? What if there is a deeper more meaningful reason in showing off or introducing some one's merchandise?

     In honor of International Women's Day, Donna Karan, my muse and inspiration as well as one of my favorite designers together with SAME SKY, hosted an ethical shopping event to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements women have made around the world.

     SAME SKY is a fair-trade company producing collections of hand blown glass beads crocheted by artisan women in Africa living with HIV/AIDS. During the trunk show, SAME SKY debuted their new collections Faith Earring and Harmony Bracelets, as well as showcased its first product for men, stunning beaded cufflinks. In addition to purchasing products that help empower artisans in Africa, guest were given an opportunity to shop DKNY's Spring 2013 collection and receive 10% off all DKNY purchases, from which a portion was donated to the SAME SKY company.

    Reading through the Daily News, I stumbled upon an article with a same interesting headline "Saks + SAME SKY Ethical Shopping Event". As I've read into it, I've found out that on Saturday, April 6th and Sunday, April 7th, 2013 Saks Fifth Avenue will play host to an ethical shopping event, or as we say in our fashion jargon a "Trunk show" featuring SAME SKY Jewelry. The event will commemorate the anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide.

   I've researched the company a bit more and found out that SAME SKY is a fair-trade company whose mission is to empower women worldwide and inspire a movement of women empowering women. Founded in 2008, SAME SKY aims to be a part of the global movement lifting women out of poverty by giving them the tools to become the entrepreneurs and lead self sustaining lives.

    If the movement behind this organization doesn't give you a reason to throw a good and beneficial trunk show, then what does?

Well done DKNY and well done Saks Fifth Avenue !!!

    If it made you interested even a little bit and maybe melted your heart just as mine, check out this video about the SAME SKY's mission: