Crowd Sourcing comes to fashion in the US

Crowd sourcing has been a growing trend in other sectors but, according to a report from Reuters, it is soon to make its appearance in the fashion arena thanks to US company called Fashion Stake.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, Crowd Sourcing is a way of allowing consumers direct access to the manufacturer. The audience is able to invest, vote and contribute to direct to the organisations, avoiding the middle men altogether. It has been hailed as a great way for new entrepreneurs to find funding that may be incredibly hard to find from traditional sources.

In this case the idea is that consumers can buy a stake in a new designers collection in return for credits to buy clothes. According to the firms chief executive it will transfer the margins direct to the fans and cut out the retailers altogether but is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Obviously if it becomes the norm it will be a bad thing for retailers as they will essentially be unnecessary but I don't think that's likely to happen. I have no doubt there will be a strong following for this sort of website, for fashion lovers the opportunity to be directly involved with the designers is sure to be attractive but it is unlikely to ever replace traditional retail.

Why? Because there are a whole load of people who want to shop. They want to look for new, interesting clothes but they have no desire to get more involved than seeing something they like and buying it. Even those with a love of fashion don't always have the time to search out new designers and invest in them in order to get their fix.

Personally I think it will become a fun part of the fashion experience but it will never take over from "traditional retail" (which would now include e-commerce) but what do you think?

Read the full article from Reuters here