Net-a-porter Pulling An H&M Of Its Own

Everyone knows the bad economy is driving shoppers away from store retailers and into the arms of the internet to seek the best deals on clothes. As such, wealthy shoppers, who used to have lots of liquid money to play with, are now more guarded than ever and will only choose to splurge on the pieces that are worth the price.

However, every time I grace the pages of Net-a-porter, perhaps the most successful eluxury commerce site today, high end shoes like Christian Louboutin‘s $1500 bootie or a cute Oscar De La Renta sweater, sell out immediately (at least in my size). They’ve also broken ground on pushing the online experience by collaborating with designers to be the first to exclusively sell pieces from runway shows before any other retailer can get their grubby little hands on. Last season it was Halston. This season it’s Alexander McQueen, with a sneak peak look at his collection, behind-the-scenes videos, and yes, be the first to shop 8 exclusive looks from his Pre-Spring 2009 collection right there on the site.

It would seem that designers these days are willing to take a risks in collaborating with non-typical retailers. H&M set the example by having a well-known designer (or at least bleeping on our fashion radars) create a collection exclusively for H&M for November. It’s been a smashing success and the crowds can’t get enough. Target and Gap did the same with Izaac Mizrahi and Roland Mouret. And now, Net-a-porter is boosting its profile as a premiere eluxury commerce site by featuring exclusive pieces from runway collections. Like H&M, I get the impression that perhaps brands like Alexander McQueen and Halston needed some of the publicity to boost up sales, especially with such a current economical meltdown Americans are having. The unique take on this is that neither brand had to resort to designing an affordable collection for the public, they are selling high end collections right off the bat – and they’re flying off the virtual shelves.

Net-a-porter has crafted a great presentation of videos, with an informative and attractive narrative describing the clothes (albeit sometimes a lil too promo for my taste). But it’s great to see the clothes in movement without the “noise” of media people crowding on the benches. There are also bits of slow motion, which is great to really analyze and see how the clothes shift (an option you’ll never get by being at a live show or by watching tv).

Were it not for the fact that money would be an issue, I would’ve definitely snatched up the Column Dress (with removabe shoulder pads!) and the white tuxedo jumpsuit. Hats off to Net-a-porter!

Image credits: Net-a-porter