Cool article about the emergence of the luxury tech sector.  It’s amazing to see how quickly the internet has gone from geek to chic if you will.

One of the great things that the internet has done for the luxury market is that it has given access to a much wider group of people to luxury goods.  Granted, you still need to have money to purchase a something, but the barrier to buy .  Frankly, I can’t afford to buy much of what I look at online.  And yet I still spend time pouring over Moda Operandi now the way I would have done with Vogue in high school now the latest information is always at my fingertips and I’m able to see live streaming fashion from Paris Couture Shows at the same time as Anna Wintour.

So, what good does this access give if you if you can’t actually buy something?  Access gives inspiration.  The same way young writers learn to hone their style from reading others, young creatives grow from seeing the works of others.  Plus, when you’re young and living in a small town in the midwest, it’s a comfort to know that there are others out there who dream of the same things you do.

I also love that a lot of these innovators are women.  When we think of technology I think that there’s still a tendency to think of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg…But the ladies on this list are proving that women are just as able to carve out a profitable niche on the internet.

For me, I have to say the gold standard is still Net-a-Porter.  They were really one of the pioneers of online luxury shopping and continue to innovate both with their fashion and technology.  From developing exclusive products to their website to introducing newer brands to consumers through their well curated mix of e-commerce and high quality editorial content they are still the leaders in the online fashion market.

Tracy Taylor, acting style director, Net-A-Porter

Which of these innovators are your favorites?

~Maggie

(Photo from article)