E-Commerce Gets Collaborative

Zentrend.com adjudged to be making efforts in promoting undiscovered designers, unique designer clothing from beaded corsets to silk and lace dresses right your way in an article by Robert McAllister, Technology Editor, Apparelnews.net

By Robert McAllister : Collaboration has been the buzz in B2B software applications such as PLM (product lifecycle management) and ERP (enterprise resource planning). Now it’s becoming more important in B2C applications. Two Bay Area Web resources have rolled out separate e-commerce entities that go straight to the horse’s mouth to determine what clothing styles to sell on the Web.

Mountain View, Calif.–based ZenTrend and Emeryville, Calif.–based IndiCustom are taking similar concepts of using consumer input to sell apparel, but they are taking different approaches.

ZenTrend (www.zentrend.com) is a collaborative e-commerce site launched last year by former HP and Symantec executive Lekha Srinivasan. The site offers clothing from up-and-coming yet undiscovered designers in the contemporary and misses categories with price tags from $30 to $120. Merchandise ranges from beaded corsets to silk and lace dresses.

The main thrust behind the business is a new technology called iStyler>, which is a collaborative platform enabling the site’s visitors to take the seat of “Project Runway” judge Nina Garcia to give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to designs via fashion illustrations by the designers. The input received helps determine whether the style makes the cut into next season’s merchandise mix at ZenTrend. Consumers providing input are entered into a drawing for a prize.

“It gives the consumer more power. They tell us things like ‘I really love that style, but if you offer it in taupe rather than red, I would buy it,” Srinivasan said. “Historically, consumers are never really asked up front in the process of apparel design and manufacturing. They’re pushed into what’s available, what the designer has to offer. I wanted to change that.”

ZenTrend actually contracts the production and manufacturing for the garments, using only illustrations, technical specifications, fit analysis or other pre-production processes from the selected designers, who receive compensation and are promoted and marketed through the site.

The company is currently working with several designers from Europe. Designers are required to have experience working with significant companies as well as have the ability to create sellable styles. The site features an area where designers can submit portfolios. And a portion of proceeds is donated to a number of charities.

“One of our visions is to promote these undiscovered designers and try to bring them to the forefront and provide them with a platform,” Srinivasan said. “There’s a lot of talent out there that does not have the capital and resources to get their names known.”

Source By: Robert McAllister, Technology Editor, Apparelnews.net (January 25, 2008)

Vote the best style, design your own and win a prize at zentrend.com

Just how many times have you looked and looked for an original dress, or a new skirt that didn't look like all the other skirts, or an elegant shirt that had personality, only to find yourself defeated in your quest, and walking to the cash register with a boring choice, because you had no other choice?

My answer? Many times.

If I had a nickel for all the times I have wished I could design my own clothes, or dreamed about having my own personal tailor, I would be very rich.

So many times I've found myself frustrated at the usual designs I see each year in stores, at the lack of enthusiasm behind these fashion lines, and at the incredibly expensive prices everybody tries to charge you for the same recycled ideas.

Well, finally a company is trying to make a change. This company is ZenTrend.

ZenTrend is breaking new ground with its "Open Source Fashion House" paradigm. The concept, already successful in the tech world, will bring together talented designers from around the world, with the starting line up from Europe (Paris and Brussels) designing for the American market. ZenTrend's achieves its mission to design a clothing line with a truly global inspiration through a completely virtual operational model.

Already a pioneer in global influences, starting with the East, ZenTrend is now raising their bar even higher. They will let people design for the people, and people pick the winning styles that ZenTrend will then manufacture.

Then, with “iStyler” an online voting system at ZenTrend.com, the shoppers themselves will vote and decide which styles they prefer. The winning styles will be manufactured and will become part of ZenTrend's collection.

Finally someone has given shoppers the power they deserve.

No more passive-aggressive shopping, where we passively buy but secretly wish we had better choices to pick from. Now we have a choice, a choice to say "yes, this is what I would like to wear"!

ZenTrend has just launched their new website together with the online style voting. Stop by and cast your vote to have your say on which styles should become part of ZenTrend's Spring/Summer '08 collection, and for your chance to win a prize! Yes, you've heard right! To thank their online voters, ZenTrend.com is giving away a beautiful COACH handbag to a lucky winner!

Plus, coming soon, ZenTrend.com will give everybody the chance to submit their original designs.

So what are you waiting for??? Sharpen your pencils and head on over to ZenTrend at www.ZenTrend.com

Zentrend-an Online Fashion Store

Being a big fan of unique high fashion clothing, I came across a fabulous online fashion store of my choice. I used to spend much of my time in searching fashionable clothes with a spark of new trend and that too in a reasonable range.

During my hunt for such an online designer clothes store, I came across a site http://www.zentrend.com that can serve my need and desire for designer dresses online.

I have used 2 of the dresses from Zentrend, one is the beautiful Silk Halter Contrast Dress made up of 100% silk and the other one gold accented Brocade Silk Corset and turned out to be more and more fascinated towards their awesome collection.

ZenTrend is an on-line fashion clothing store dedicated to high-fashion Eastern-inspired women’s fashionable dresses. The main focus of this online designer clothing store is basically on blending vibrant patterns, colors, textures and embroideries from the East, with graceful contemporary styles.

They offer contemporary style skirts, tops, shawls, stoles and other accessories. I like their accessories the most. I found most of the styles available on zentrend.com, hand crafted, embroidered, made up of 100% silk, dresses with chiffon, charmeuse and brocades.

One most important thing that I like about this site is that ZenTrend is actively seeking to promote emerging design talent, to augment its Eastern-influenced collections leveraging a truly global model. Soon they will be starting on online voting feature on their site which would make possible the reach to new, fresh and creative designer clothing.