Give the People What They Want: Derek Lam to Produce First-Ever Crowdsourced Collection for eBay

This just in from The Recessionista’s radar alert system.  High-end designer Derek Lam has announced plans to design and produce the first-ever crowd sourced collection exclusively on eBay.  Coach previously crowd sourced a handbag collection by letting customers vote online for their favorites. Lam will unveil a ready-to-wear collection of original designs at a presentation during New York Fashion Week in February 2011 and invite shoppers to vote for their favorites on eBay.com. The voting will allow consumers to raise their collective voice about which pieces are produced for the exclusive collection. This is quite a different approach than the usual fashion week routine of exhibiting for retailers, who choose which pieces from a designer’s collection to stock in  stores.  I like this approach.  Fashion Week should be for the end-user, the customer who wears the clothes, not the buyer for the department store.  The final collection will be available for purchase in Spring/Summer 2011 at  fixed price points (read that as “Buy It Now”).  The goal is to deliver shoppers immediate, in season access to Lam’s signature designs at prices that will presumably be below his collections at Barney’s, exclusively on eBay.   Kudos to Derek Lam for taking an innovative approach to fashion week. I look forward to voting on the collection!