Lauren Santo Domingo is a woman who wears many hats. She is a Vogue contributing editor, stylist, socialite, modern fashion icon, and wife to Andrés Santo Domingo, a member of one of South America's wealthiest families. Now she has added entrepreneur to her long resume. Santo Domingo has developed, what I believe, is a brilliant business concept: an online trunk show that will have clothing straight from the runway available to those who can, well, afford it. The new enterprise is called Moda Operandi and it will launch on February 15th (Robert Sullivan, vogue.com).
What I love about this concept is that it makes runway fashions available. So many times, pieces from the runway are presented and photographed, and then tucked away into fashion obscurity for all eternity. Or, the piece is altered so severely after it is produced that it no longer resembles the original runway creation. If you are someone who saw the original on the runway and want that dress, Moda Operandi will now make it available to you, albeit you are willing to wait at least six weeks or more for the ensemble to arrive (which LSD believes women will not mind).
Upon first inspection, this concept might seem elitist or completely antediluvian, which in some respects it is. However, if you truly love fashion for fashion's sake, then this modern trunk show might just be what the doctor ordered in terms of preserving couture and ready-to-wear. Fashion critics have been warning about the end of couture for decades, much like bibliophiles have worried about the end of print media. I believe that Moda Operandi will extend longevity to fashion and bring more utility to runway shows (not that you should have to justify art for art's sake, but now there is even greater purpose for runway shows).
It will be interesting to see how the designers respond to this concept, though. According to Sullivan's article for Vogue, Calvin Klein, Thakoon, Derek Lam, Altuzarra, and Prabal Gurung have already agreed to make their fashions available for the trunk show. That's fantastic, but many of those designers are personal friends of LSD, so it makes sense that they would take part in her new venture. Let's see if she can attract the high-end designers (Galliano, Lagerfeld, Ghesquiere, Elbaz, et al).
I'm optimistic about this project and highly curious about it. Let's hope Moda Operandi's clients are as well.
(** information in this post is from "Lauren Santo Domingo: Lady and the Trunk," Robert Sullivan, vogue.com**)
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