Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Bloggers Get Under the Tent

Another article from today's Wall Street Journal, this one discussing the power of blogging. It has given online amateur fashion critics a new level of respect...

Excerpt below. Full article at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115801727410860002-search.html?KEYWORDS=bloggers+get+under+the+tent&COLLECTION=wsjie/6month

Pamela Pekerman, who blogs about handbags at www.bagtrends.com, had to sneak into the Bryant Park tents during New York fashion week in February. Unable to secure hot invitations, she had to settle for watching models strut down the catwalk on a large video monitor outside the shows, or, worse, on the Internet. If she was lucky, she got a standing-room-only ticket.

This fall is another story. Ms. Pekerman is one of about 40 bloggers, up from just a handful a year ago, who scored official press passes from IMG, the company that runs fashion week. "It's an evolving category," says Fern Mallis, vice president of IMG Fashion.

For Ms. Pekerman, the recognition led to invitations to more than 20 designers' shows, including one of her favorites, Badgley Mischka. "I was like, 'Wow that's phenomenal,"' the 22-year-old blogger recalls. "It's a sign that they respect your work."

Once snubbed by the insular fashion world for their sometimes snarky reviews and tiny audiences, fashion bloggers are now attracting the attention of the fashion establishment. As blogs claim bigger followings, and advertisers shift more spending to them, designers see these independent Web publishers as a new marketing opportunity.

Many small designers, in particular, now realize they can get valuable exposure on blogs that they might not get in mainstream media.

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