Fashion Bloggers Make Art, Model in Windows

Just yesterday I posted that Sea of Shoes blogger Jane Aldridge has landed her debut designing gig with Urban Outfitters. The fashion blogger and shoephile will debut three footwear looks this summer, with three to follow come December. While Urban Outfitters and other major retailers have teamed with countless designers, this is the first partnership of its kind. And considering the increasing influence of style bloggers, it likely won't be the last. Take for instance recent reports that Canadian retailer Holt Renfrew is hopping aboard the style blogger love train.

“Due to be unveiled Friday, the windows [at the store’s various locations] will salute high-profile names in the fashion blogosphere, notably The Sartorialist’s Scott Schuman, Bryanboy, Tommy Ton (Jak & Jil) and 17-year-old Texan Jane Aldridge (Sea of Shoes). Engineered by Holt Renfrew’s creative director John Gerhardt—and apparently with no direct input from the bloggers themselves—the windows will include captures from the blogs and possibly mannequins dressed as the bloggers,” says Women’s Wear Daily. Not to mention, Absolut Vodka has enlisted the help of fashion bloggers like aforementioned Bryanboy, Cobrasnake, and Facehunter for an exhibit titled “Visions in an Absolut World,” just launched in Munich, adds WWD. The show, which features 121 works by 11 style bloggers opened last Thursday. In other words, from artwork to accessories, it looks like style bloggers have collectively solidified a reputation as personalities with selling power. But what this means for the community’s ever-evolving relationship with the already established fashion industry will be interesting to watch.