#imchat

Wednesday night I participated in the #IMCchat and was inspired to share my experience. The fashion industry has begun to see a spike in social media tools, connecting fashion advocates globally. I was able to experience this hands-on during New York Cities Fall Fashion week, where runways were livestreamed and tweets included the #nyfw hash tag. The #IMCchat topic was “Fashion-centric in a fashionista world. Is being customer-centric appropriate?” @BethHarte This focus opened the doors for a discussion on fashion in relationship to consumers, and whether or not individuals thought social tools are applicable. I consider the fashion industry to cater its needs to a specific audience. Although the typical consumer may not be purchasing a lot of the luxury brands, many still want to be part of the experience. Many individuals are tweeting about fashion trends, engaged in blogging, and even working in some facet of the industry. The fact that consumers are expressing interest by building brand loyalty and commitment to this subculture increases the importance of a consumer-centric approach. This TweetChat was not only a way to review diverse responses and opinions, but to see the benefit of creating a community by bringing together fashion enthusiasts alike. This concept alone should answer the question of whether or not the fashion industry should be customer-centric, because if so many people engage in fashion then why wouldn’t the industry utilize this?