FASHION Magazine

Each Friday, we’ll be profiling one of our favourite movers and shakers on social media. From the pop-up power of Pinterest to the beautifully crafted images on Instagram, we’re learning the tricks of the trade from the ladies that do it best (and most stylishly, of course).

Stylist, personal shopper, mother and social media maven Alexandra Evjen is the definition of a tastemaker. Based in Phoenix, Evjen founded her own styling business AVE Styles to “help men and women feel confident in their appearance.” Like us, Evjen is a firm believer in the power of social media, and credits her Instagram and Facebook as valued networking tools. Most impressive, however, is her Pinterest account that has over 900,000 followers! Not your average fashion-obsessed pin-star, Evjen’s Pinterest influence branches far beyond outfit inspiration to the worlds of home décor, food and more (though she says fashion is her biggest obsession).

Evjen credits her impressive number of Pinterest followers to “joining the social media platform early.” We think it’s more a reflection of her covetable style. Between appearing on Good Morning Arizona’s “Pinterest Interest” segment to being featured on Arizona Midday, Evjen’s presence on Pinterest is the stuff social media—and mainstream media—dreams are made of. The list of opportunities she’s been offered through Pinterest is a long one. Her favourite experience so far: “working with Glamour magazine and Revlon… to curate a dedicated board to 2013’s hottest colours.” And Evjen’s not slowing down anytime soon. Her expertise in Pinterest marketing has provided her with a slew of new opportunities, including “styling content for brands specifically for Pinterest.” If Pinterest is the marketing tool of the future, Evjen is steps ahead of the game.

We got to know the multi-tasking pinner for our Social Media Star feature.

Listen up scrapbook enthusiasts. Pinterest is going all access for fashion week and the news may have just made our day.

Collaborating with 100 fashion influencers, from designers to magazines to big-time bloggers (Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, Phillip Lim, Harper’s Bazaar, Garance Doré, Man Repeller), Pinterest’s fashion week hub is giving us the front row seat at fashion shows, behind the scenes, street style looks and designers’ inspirations.

Since its launch three years ago, the social media platform’s popularity has grown immensely and with more than two million fashion pins each day, there is no doubt it has also been the place to get inspired for fashion.

We’ve already seen how much the platform has transformed the connection between brands and followers: Oscar PR Girl has been live pinning Oscar de la Renta’s fashion shows for the past few seasons and J.Crew just previewed its fall lookbook exclusively for pinners. So it comes as no surprise when Pinterest decided to join in on the biggest fashion event of the year by giving its members a whole new way to experience the most exciting time of the season.

“Just for our friends on Pinterest,” the caption reads at the top of the newest board on J.Crew’s Pinterest account. The brand, known for its versatile knits and colourful separates, has taken to the digital world to give fans a first glance at its highly anticipated September catalogue (which features a variety of our Fall 2013 trends, we might add). The caption also gives instructions for eager customers to pre-order their favourite looks before the collection hits stores this Wednesday. The choice to use Pinterest for a sneak peek was promoted this morning on J.Crew’s Facebook page and Twitter account with a tweet: “Want an exclusive first-look at our September Style Guide before anyone else?” And what could be more tempting than that?

Each Friday, we’ll be profiling one of our favourite movers and shakers on social media. From the pop-up power of Pinterest to the beautifully crafted images on Instagram, we’re learning the tricks of the trade from the ladies that do it best (and most stylishly, of course).

It’s hard to imagine that a just-out-of-college Pinterest user would make headline news, but that was the case for Lauren Zwanziger. She’s become a local legend in her hometown of Nashville thanks to her dreamy photos and enviable inspiration boards. Pinning since 2010, this budding fashion designer credits Pinterest not only for her virtual fame, but also a confidence booster for her work.

As a recent graduate of O’More College of Design and a tastemaker on the Pinterest marketing website HelloSociety, Zwanziger has connected with many brands as well as the international community through her pins. Boasting a following of 4.9 million, it’s needless to say that Pinterest has been a life changer for the 21 year-old.

We’re catching up with this social media star to find out how she pinned her way to the top.

Each Friday, we’ll be profiling one of our favourite movers and shakers on social media. From the pop-up power of Pinterest to the beautifully crafted images on Instagram, we’re learning the tricks of the trade from the ladies that do it best (and most stylishly, of course).

Bay Area power pinner Christine Martinez was one of the first to hop on the Pinterest bandwagon back in 2010. The 8th to receive an invite to the now hugely popular online scrapboard site, Martinez pinned her way to the top with her penchant for quirky interior decorating, fashion, vibrant prints and of course, dog accoutrements fit for her dog Miles. “It was a very cool and unique experience to be on Pinterest when only a handful of others were, and to be able to have so much influence over how people use Pinterest today,” she says.

With over 5 million followers, it would be an understatement to say that the popular social media platform hasn’t changed her life. Not only has she travelled to exotic places to live-pin fashion shoots with brands like Calypso St. Barth and Cole Haan, but her Pinterest reputation has also led her to the role as the creative director for the up and coming shopping social media platform luvocracy.com. To let fellow pinners into her psyche, she’s even written a whole book, The Complete Idiots Guide to Pinterest Marketing.

We did the book one better and got to know more about the girl behind the screen for our first Social Media Star feature.

Another Parisian extravaganza is over with, and we’re left with nothing but a world of beautiful imagery to fantasize over. And well, from Giambattista Valli’s over-the-top layers to Maison Martin Margiela’s floral masks, it’s a wonderful world at that. We’ve pored over the collections and selected some of our favourite photos from Fall 2013 Couture […]

The post Couture Fall 2013 roundup, Pinterest style! appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

5 fashion websites and apps that you need to know about now »

Without a doubt, it’s time to take a closer look at what designers, fashion brands and industry fans have been getting up to online. From live-streaming fashion shows, envy-inducing social media chronicles, mobile shopping apps and e-retailer pre-sales, the fashion world is becoming more and more tech-oriented. And while customers love these new innovations, brands are also loving the benefits that come with increased technological and online engagement.

Rebecca Minkoff is one company that has had business thrive thanks to its digital presence, which includes an e-commerce site, blog and social media presence across Twitter, Instagram and, most recently, Vine. However, the biggest payoff came with the launch of the Rebecca Minkoff Spring 2013 jewellery collection via a YouTube video featuring Man Repeller blogger Leandra Medine. Uri Minkoff, CEO of Rebecca Minkoff, told WWD, “January [2013] became the biggest non-holiday e-commerce month sales wise in the company’s history. January jewelry sales specifically have increased by 250 percent over sales from November and December combined.”

Indeed, partnerships do make a difference, especially for fashion brands. Earlier this month two fashion-themed hackathons took place during New York Fashion Week. (Don’t worry, we also needed to Google the definition of hackathon: they’re collaborative events where developers gather to create a new app or software platform in a limited amount of time.)

Last month, we had the chance to get into the soft leather Obakki shoulder bag belonging to our amazing Alberta editor (and one of the newest additions to the FASHION team), Caroline Gault, when she was in Toronto for our semi-annual conference along with Vancouver-based editor Joy Pecknold. Naturally, the first thing we asked her upon meeting her was to get a closer look at her personals. Want to take a peek while we’re at it?

Let’s explore! »