Moda Operandi is a website that lets its users purchase clothing from designers the minute they are presented. The fashion technology company was announced in 2010 and is under the leadership of co-founder, Lauren Santo Domingo, who is well known in fashion circles for her work with Vogue Magazine. The website also had a spot at Startup Alley at the New York Disrupt 2011 conference and has had impatient buyers very excited. Moda Operandi works by creating partnerships with select designers. They develop a online trunk show that utilizes 16 pieces from the designers that are directly from the latest runway showing. The site only displays the trunk shows for three days and buyers can purchase the clothing only during this short period of time. They will be required to pay half the price of the latest piece up front while the remaining payment is made when the item is ready to be delivered.
Buyers that want cutting edge and exclusive fashion will be delighted by the site because it offers them the ability to order directly after pieces are presented. The only issue that some users might find annoying is the fact that after a user places an order, delivery can take up to several months. The long wait for orders to be fulfilled comes from just how the fashion industry works. All designs that are showcased on runways are meant for the upcoming season and do not go into production until then. The runway show is a way to present the latest designs to buyers who then place their orders which are fulfilled int he upcoming months. However, this decade old way of doing fashion show now seems outdated since presentations are instantly posted online for the world to see.
The Moda Operandi website is designed to look like any other ecommerce site that sells clothes online. The site showcases a complete outfit from the designer and when a users clicks it they can further see the different parts separately. So a buyer can purchase a shoe, coat or skirt separately but get a chance to see how a designers wanted their product to be worn.
Signed up users receive a daily email that announces upcoming sales and ones that are currently under way. Once a user finds what they are looking for they can check out and receive a confirmation. This will usually tell them when they should expect the item which can take several months before the shipping confirmation is sent out.
The startups business model does have some problems though. A major issue is that even though not every thing that is displayed on a runway makes it to mass production, some items do. If a user submits an order for an item that ends up making it into other retailers, they will not have an exclusive piece and also will probably have to wait much longer for an item they could have bought directly from an outlet. Another quirk is that the site offers no tracking code to see how far along shipping has come along.
Overall the site is expanding and offering more ways to search what is on sale. The fashion site is also offering international fashions now allowing for a user to purchase items they might not have been able to buy before.
Source: TechCrunch
Knowillage Aims At Taking Learning to the Next Level
Microsoft’s New 128GB Surface Pro Tablets Sells Out Instantly
Lunches So Good Kids Can’t Ignore Them
Invigorating Ginger Smoothie
The U.K.’s Youngest Parents Ever
The new hair Jennifer Lawrence