All Bow To The Power of the Internet

This just in from Vogue's Leisa Barnett:

INSTANT HALSTON

THE first Halston line hasn't even hit the catwalk yet but demand for it is already unprecendented - and NETAPORTER.COM has signed up to support it in a suitably groundbreaking way. The e-tailer will offer two looks from the collection for sale the very next day after its New York Fashion Week debut. "As the collection goes down the runway on February 4 and the press and buyers are seeing it for the first time, two of the key pieces will be sitting, wrapped, packed and ready to go in our distribution centers in Manhattan and London for worldwide delivery," says NETAPORTER.COM's chairman and founder, Natalie Massenet. "We will go live within 24 hours of the show, with exclusive content of the show. The customers can log on and be the first women around the world to wear the new Halston." The move bucks the trend of the fashion cycle, where collections are shown six months in advance of going into stores and lower-end labels have time to work on copies. "This is offering a luxury brand a lifeline in an age when the high street chain will deliver their product to customers faster," Massenet explains in today's WWD. "We are allowing a luxury brand to reclaim the right to sell to the customer first. We are only doing it with two looks, but hope that we are offering a glimpse to brands that we can change the fashion system and say, 'We can get the product to the customer, because we can market and distribute in the world. I am sure this will be a shock to the brands that specialise in knocking off some of the talent in the fashion industry. They had their cake and have been eating it for a while, and we're now saying, 'We work with the brand to reclaim their ability to sell their product first'." If that sounds good to you, remember to log onto www.netaporter.com on February 5 for a piece of the glamour. (January 29 2008, AM) Leisa Barnett