Girls In Tech

By: Kayla Zerby

Years ago, you’d be crazy to think that a no-name blogger could ever rub elbows with the editors of Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar at a runway fashion show.

Today, it’s the norm.

And, as New York Fashion Week descends upon NYC’s Bryant Park next week, the industry’s shift from traditional media to social media will be more apparent than ever.

For an industry so heavily reliant on networking and word-of-mouth buzz, it’s no wonder that so many in the fashion world are turning to social media to build their brands.

Chictopica, for instance — “the most valuable online resource for style inspiration and shopping guidance” — is tackling the social media trends in the fashion world head-on during NYC’s fashion week. From February 13-14, more than 300 bloggers are expected to attend the “Social Influence Summit,” a two-day conference featuring presentations from the CEOs of Polyvore and Modcloth as well as online tastemakers, fashion and retail executives, brands and media.

If you’re not able to make it to the Chictopia event, you can always follow this fantastic list of the “Top 20 Fashion Sources You Should be Following on Twitter” to help you stay in-the-know.

And a testament to just how far the fashion world has delved into social media, check out the first-ever Fashion 2.0 Coalition Awards, sponsored by sample sale site ideeli and blogging network Style Coalition. With seven different categories ranging from Favorite New Social Media Site to Best Twitter Account by a Fashion Designer or Brand awards, this is the first time big-name fashion designers and brands will be recognized for innovatively connecting fans through social media. (Hurry! Voting ends on Feb. 8, 2010 at 11:59 p.m.)

What’s your favorite chic geek fashion site or fashion Twitterer? Post a comment and let us know!

Tags: Blogger, Chictopia, fashion, Fashion Week, New York City, Runway, social media
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What happens when fashion and personal style meets social media?  You get Chictopia, a fashion destination website and social network for fashionistas.  I recently met Helen Zhu, co-founder and CEO of Chictopia, while on the Geeks on a Plane tour in Asia, and her combination of style and substance struck me straight away.  While on a late-night, post-club stroll home in Shanghai, we bonded over our shared passion for the start-up life.

Although Helen had always wanted to combine her talents and personal interests to launch a company, it was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2006 cover article that struck a nerve.  Time Magazine’s 2006 person was You.  Time applauded people’s creative contribution to changing the landscape of global media and social interaction through blogging, social networks and sites like YouTube and Wikipedia.  2006 was about the power of individual contribution in the new digital democracy.

Helen and her two co-founders launched Chictopia in April 2008 as a place for trendsetters and fashion devotees to connect and share their personal style with others.  The site allows people to rate styles and encourages users to upload photos of themselves in their favorite outfits so that others with similar shapes and taste can learn from and be inspired by real people like themselves, rather than get ideas for fashion from what supermodels are wearing in magazines.  Ranked as a top 4 style site by Nylon magazine, Chictopia is already profitable, thanks mostly to their focus on revenue and growth.  Rather than start from scratch, Chictopia looked to sites like Facebook, Yelp, and Catster for inspiration when they started building the site.

Jump into the world of Chictopia – and while you’re there check out the newly launched fashion contest sponsored by Forever21, including a 10% off Forever21 promotion available exclusively to Chictopia members.  Congratulations to Helen and her founding team for delivering a unique offering and inspiring us to follow our passions!

Tags: Chictopia, fashion, Helen Zhu, social media, Tina Tran
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