The Online Fashion Agency is now live.

There will be plenty of online fashion industry and consumer news updated regularly in the coming weeks, meaning this blog will change focus somewhat.

Do send your comments for improvement to talk.to[@]theonlinefashionagency.com.

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Last week I was invited to Paris to see the Vente-Privee.com operation and meet the founders of the business which turned over €510 last year.

With plans for expansion in the UK the company faces a challenge to gain share in a mature market, often seen as Europe’s most demanding in terms of product and service.

Vente Privee works by calling in stock from brands that have been sold in one of its online sales, and once it’s in the Vente Privee warehouse it is shipped to the customer. Anything that isn’t sold stays with the brand.

The millions of users on its database has certainly given Vente Privee clout with brands, who have everything to gain by hosting a sale.

Research suggests 4 in 10 shoppers on Vente Privee go on to visit the brand in a bricks and mortar environment.

Not only is it an opportunity to clear stock (and attract people to store), for larger sales Vente Privee reports back to the brand with customer intelligence data.

Me with Vente Privee CEO Jacques-Antoine Granjon

Multimedia is high on the agenda too. With each sale comes a photo shoot and recording session – an in house team puts it all together to create a video to entice customers to visit a sale, a process CEO Jacques-Antoine Granjon described to me as “giving life to the product”.

I think Vente Privee is going to be giving life to many a wardrobe across the UK very soon.

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Where Google innovates in text search Empora leads the way in visual search for fashion.

Empora.com the place to shop the uk’s top retailers

You thought shopping by shape meant body shape, but now, thanks to Empora, it can mean shopping by the shape of an item, not to mention colour and price.

How does it work you ask; Well, click ‘view similar’, on any item that you like the shape of, and Empora returns other items of a similar shape.

Take a look at this example.

Top row – shape matches.

Middle row – shape and colour matches.

Bottom row – Colour matches.

Give it a go at www.empora.com

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Check out the recent online fashion revamps of department stores Harvey Nichols and John Lewis.

Both brands have bought media on Handag.com to drive traffic and build awareness.

Harvey Nichols is sponsoring a daily handbag giveaway and has a live product widget that I’m liking a lot.

Harvey Nichols daily handbag giveaway and product widget

John Lewis has taken out leaderboard and above the fold MPU slots, both of which are interactively controlled by the user.

John Lewis advertises on Handbag.com

In terms of media buys I think there is a tad bit of conflict having the two brands run promotions in the same categories.

However, both creatives have been executed well it shouldn’t pose a huge problem.

I would like to see Handbag.com open up banner clicks in the same window to get around pop-up blockers - I think that’s something quality advertisers, such as Harvey Nichols and John Lewis deserve.

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As an online shopping experience it’s one of the best provided.

Firstly the site is clean and perfunctory, without being bland – the products, the sole focus (quite rightly) of the Shop Online page, have been beautifully shot.

Page and product loading is fast, and searching through the line-ups of products is smooth.

Mulberry has certainly accomplished its online shopping research, and is one of the easiest sites to navigate.

They have fantastic product detail – of the product as a whole, then the different materials used and “product advice” which shows different ways a certain bag or item can be utilised.

There is also a “material and care advice” section for each product.

Viewing is great too; they have the customary “magnify” but also a tool that allows the customer to see the product shot from a variety of angles.

This is instead of a 360-degree view window, and I can’t quite decide which I prefer.

Their lookbook is an absolute gem; the latest autumn and winter collections are there for browsing on an interactive book.

Once you decide on a product you like the look of, one click gives product detail and the opportunity to go straight to “buy online”. 

It really couldn’t be more simple, or functional: much like the bags they sell.

www.mulberry.com

‘The Mulberry website is faultless. Simple and functional, like the bags’ by Amy Tipper-Hale

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Acceptable

Gorgeous Couture – rollover to see the back view of dresses, on category level

My-Wardrobe.com – links embedded within video content

Unacceptable

River Island – bad website (but good financial results!)

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Ever wanted to know what it’s like to run the Drapers Online website? Keely Stocker has been managing the fashion business magazine’s website since the beginning of this year.

Keely, what are your main responsibilities as Digital Content Manager for Drapers?
As Digital Content Manager I am responsible for the day-to-day running of the site.

This includes uploading content and optimising with key words, links and general SEO.

I also work with the editorial and commercial teams to develop new ideas and launch new areas of the site. An example of this is Ask the Expert which is a great tool to allow users access to experts.

I am also in charge of all video content on the site including the filming and editing for Drapers own videos. On the social networking side, I have now set up Drapers, Facebook and Twitter pages which allows us access to people that might not have been aware of Drapers before.

We also have 3 groups on LinkedIn (one for Wholesalers, one for Independents and one for Etailers) where members can network with others in their specific field and start discussions which enables me to see what it is that the industry is looking for and try to provide this on our site.

Which aspect do you enjoy the most, fashion or digital media?
I would have to say both.

I love the digital side of my job because it allows me to be creative and challenges me to enhance the user experience online, but I also have a real love of fashion (especially shoes!) so what better environment to do this in?

How did you get to the position where you are now? What career steps did you take?
I started at Emap four years ago as an administrator. During those years I have always tried to show enthusiasm and initiative (even when filing!) and always volunteered for everything!

I then moved into ad operations but soon realised I was more interested in the development and content side of online which is how I moved into this role.

Myself with Keely at the Online Fashion 100 event

What advice would you give to someone wanting work experience at Drapers?
I would advise them send in their CV with as much information as possible including any previous work experience they have.

If they are given an opportunity to do work experience they should make their most of that time, meeting as many people as possible, showing eagerness to help out whenever they can and having the confidence to take on any task that is given.

And finally, what can we expect in the coming months from Drapers Online?
Drapersonline.com is going to continue to evolve over the coming months with aims to develop a clearer online prospect for specific channels and encourage more interaction on the site.

I am looking at how I can develop our Ecommece channel online to cater for this ever growing audience. We will continue to be the first to bring all the latest fashion news including breaking news updates and are planning more catwalk coverage over the coming fashion weeks.

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The Fashion Business Club had a focus on Online for its most recent event.

Malika Dalamal of Daily Candy interviewed by Alison Whelan

Malika Dalamal, London editor of Daily Candy who I featured on the blog a while ago (here), was the special guest, interviewed by the club’s co-founder Alison Whelan.

She’s in good company as previous guests have included Alexandra Shulman and Harold Tillman.

If you missed the event Fashionista-at-Law has an excellent overview on what was discussed.

Daily Candy has been very much an email based media platform, but this will change at the end of the year with a new website , containing city guide information, due to be launched.

A new wedding website is in the planning, as is video content for Daily Candy New York.

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Fashion, vintage and bijou living.

After blogging about all things stylish for two years Mademoiselle Robot (Laëtitia Wajnapel) has launched Mademoiselle Style, a style consultancy service for the online generation.

Picking up on a trend led by iStylista, Laëtitia has noticed a need for online personal styling – not everyone can afford a personal stylist by their side for shopping trips and virtual styling is the way forward.

Those that can, are able to meet Laëtitia in person, making Mademoiselle Style a truly flexible option for personal styling.

Laëtitia has seen the development of her fashion blog following as an opportunity to provide a sound commercial offering offline.

It proves making money from blogs, doesn’t have to mean on page adverts.

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Matthew Williamson’s Autumn/Winter collection is available online.

After launching his flagship store in Mayfair in 2004, the company has spread to West 14th Street in New York, and most recently in the Dubai Mall.

The designer’s profile is spreading, and surely the last frontier for mass appeal is trumping the worldwide web.

What a collection to launch online with: The Autumn/Winter is a distinctive shift for Williamson, “There is definitely a moving forward, or maturing of my collections. This sleeker look reflects the more sophisticated look of my customers” says Matthew.

It’s certainly an eloquent tribute to a colder climate with luxurious furs, bejewelled warrior-like eveningwear, and a rich palette of watermelon and Kingfisher blue.

The website is perfectly polite – easy to navigate, and each viewing item has alternative views and a “you may also like” section.

Collections are easy to view and don’t take forever to download, as well as enlarging immediately if you pause in the search.

I do like the website’s design, but I can’t help feeling that the collection looses some of it’s magic.

It might be the white backgrounds and rather stark contrasts, which are user friendly but slightly sterile.

www.matthewwilliamson.com

‘Matthew Williamson Online’ by Amy Tipper-Hale

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‘My-Wardrobe.com – Model vs Mannequin, which do you prefer?’

Have your say on Drapers Online.

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I can’t believe no-one’s thought to do this before – the Hed Kandi ladies, those glamorous graphic body poppers should already be synonymous with Miss Selfridge: the concept is perfect.

The collection will be launched online on Monday, and available at Miss Selfridge stores. Those who register their interest online can buy a day before it goes into shops.

Graphics for the website surely won’t be an issue; Hed Kandi is one of the most fun, recognisable pop-culture peacocks, perfect for site design.

The website will be aiming for an interactive experience, and with a fairly small collection (10 dresses in total) this ought to give more scope for playful extras – catwalk shows, good soundtracks and a taste of Ibiza online.

Hed Kandi illustrator Jason Brooks will finally see his girls brought to life.

www.missselfridge.com/hedkandi

‘Hed Kandi teams up with Miss Selfridge for body con dresses’ by Amy Tipper-Hale

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The London Fashion Network recently held an event on e-commerce merchandising.

The panel: Lee Friend, Zia Zareem-Slade and Gary Day-Ellison

I recommended two of the three panellists, Lee Friend and Zia Zareem-Slade, both extremely knowledgeable in all things online retail, but specifically visual merchandising on the web.

Myself with Fashshot’s Lee Friend

Along with branding expert Gary Day-Ellison the trio offered some helpful tips to up and coming retailers.

Some of the tips offered by the panel…

- If you decide to use model shots be aware some customers can be put off by models with certain hair colours
- Write decent copy about fabric and materials; how will it sit, feel, flow etc?
- Design your website to show as many preview images as possible
- Don’t be distracted by innovations in mobile technology, get the basic offering right first
I’ll post the podcast of the event when it becomes available

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Featured in Joanna Perry’s ‘The next generation of e-tail’ in this week’s Retail Week.

Read the article on the Retail Week website

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The future of fashion magazines has made me loose sleep over the past few weeks. Their demise is predicted as imminent and now the only discussions worth having are how we’re going to format it all online.

I think Fashionair.com may have it cracked. Fashionair is a new website launching in September by Spice Girl’s ex-manager Simon Fuller. Whilst we were gagging for girl power and plastic pop back in the mid nineties, the end of the noughties has bought about a more pressing need – an interactive, fashion forward and graphic conscience website.

Fashionair looks like a cut out collage of my favourite issues of Vogue. The imagery is busy without being overwhelming – you want to click on everything because it’s bright, sparkly and inviting.

Fashionair has a good use of space and colouring, and so far – no irritating pop-up ads.

Where the site really excels is on video content. They have ‘Style Council’ which is basically a fashion-shopping channel for discerning customers. The joy being that whilst the video is playing you can click on the product, which is being displayed on the site at the same time.

‘Fashion Insider’ gets some of the biggest names in fashion on the site so that we can go poking around their wardrobes and interactively living their fashionable lives.

The Personal Style section really works – items such as ‘7 Days of Chic’, with designer Saloni Lodha, takes us on a fashion guide through her holiday wardrobe – this time we can buy high street replicas of what she’s wearing by clicking on the screen.

I suspect in September Fashionair will be in every favourites bar, and the ultimate lunchtime browsing experience.

‘A preview of Simon Fuller’s Fashionair’ by Amy Tipper-Hale

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