Global Fashion Village

From a once fairly segmented industry, the fashion industry has evolved into a sort of global fashion village. In the past to properly review the USA clothing industry, we traveled to either the West coast markets, the East coast markets, Chicago markets, etc. Although, we still have the various regional markets, thanks to the internet we are no longer strapped down by the need to travel. From the convenience of our desk top (lap top or hand held device), we can review fashion collections or trim suppliers in an instant from any region in the country. For that matter, any region in the world.

The fact that we can visually travel the world and not leave our home, we have developed a global fashion village. Possibly, it is more accurate to call it a "virtual global fashion village" as we are now all connected via computers.

The fashion industry has changed dramatically over the last decade into a much more diverse and exciting industry. The world has witness several trends regarding fashion. Typically, when we think of trends we think of style, silhouette and colors. However, I think that one of the most interesting trends in regard to the fashion industry is the method in which we communicate with one another.

Clearly, communication in the fashion industry has greatly improved over the past decade. Fortunately, we no longer have to send faxes to our garment suppliers in China. Good ridden to the days when we left the office in the evening with hopes that our suppliers would receive a clear copy of our fax transmission in the morning (if you remember faxes or currently use one, you may know how blurred they could become). Now, with a click of the mouse we are certain that our clothing factories will have a clear copy on their computer in the morning when they return to work.

In the past, one would rely on contacts from apparel trade shows and word of mouth. Now, we can simply turn to the internet to find clothing suppliers from around the globe. In addition to using apparel directories, such as the ones found at the Fashion Industry Portal website, we can now look to networks such as the fashion industry network as a way to communicate with other members of the industry. We can find suppliers, pr services, pattern makers, etc. These types of networks serve as platforms to showcase fashion designers as well as suppliers. They are utilized to join the fashion community together.

As a young designer becomes ready to present their collections to the public, they simply need to become part of the global fashion village. The fashion industry network (and other fashion network sites), helps pool the talent and drive behind those young designers and reduce the expenses and hurdles young designers face when they first get started. We are all witness to a whole new approach to fashion whereby the world becomes a global fashion village and networking between anyone interested in fashion becomes a walk in the park.