Now that fashion has moved online the industry must look to the future. How will social media and falling sales in luxury products change the way high-end fashion houses do business?

Once exclusive fashion shows are now streaming live online. The consumer has more opportunity to see the products months in advance. Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Prada and Louis Vuitton have all streamed their fashion shows live on the Internet for potential customers to see. We have also seen high-end fashion houses such as Christian Lacroix fall under the pressures of a struggling economy.

Some believe that streaming these show live opens the designer up to a new audience. The shows themselves are still exclusive, but fashion lovers can get a taste of what it’s like. It also taps into a younger audience who are increasingly interested in fashion trends and designers.

This article from WWD talked to a number of fashion brands to find out how the industry is changing with the times.

One idea, that we at Real Style Network really like, is to change the timing of fashion shows to give consumers a look at items that will be going into stores right away. Meaning the fashion shows in February and March would show spring collections as opposed to the fall garments we are seeing now.

Ralph Lauren recently showed their Rugby line in a virtual fashion show on their website right before the line hit stores. The company saw an increase in sales 10 fold. This may prove that consumer don’t want to wait for the items they are seeing on the runway. Some suggest this could open up new business ideas for fashion labels.

Other designers such as Marc Jacobs felt the shows were fine at their current dates. And others would rather not see any of this. At a recent event Donna Karan suggested that the fashion industry stop this whole Internet trend and make the shows more exclusive once again.

The question is: In a world where information is instantly available anywhere we go through Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube should the fashion world join in? If they do, a new era for fashion is approaching. What do you think? The fashion houses keep with Internet live shows and go back and make it more exclusive?

[photo courtesy of Karl Lagerfeld]