Style Coalition, a coalition of independent online publishers in the fashion and lifestyle vertical, is proud of the return of Inside The Tents – an exclusive look at the action – as it’s happening – from inside the Bryant Park Tents of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in New York City. InsideTheTents.com, an initiative of Style Coalition, provides fashion fans around the world with a front-row view at what’s happening on the runways, through continuous coverage from more than 40 select bloggers and new media journalists who are in attendance from popular outlets such as SheFinds, Nitrolicious, Unbeige, Jess Zaino, FashionWindows, RunningWithHeels, TheMakeupGirl, JetSetGirls, and, recently added, my blog- Backstage with Victoria Stiles, and more!

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, scheduled for February 13-20, is typically covered by an exclusive group of magazine editors who often don’t provide extensive coverage until their spring issues hit the stands. In contrast, Inside The Tents provides an instant insider’s view - providing a fresh voice in real time through the use of the Web’s best social technologies such as Twitter, Flickr, live blogging and video streaming. Inside The Tents also provides the opportunity for fashion bloggers to engage a wider audience for their content. Coverage will include designer and celebrity interviews, feedback from attendees, overviews of the new trends, insight from fashion experts and advice for taking the runway to everyday.

In addition, this year’s Inside The Tents will also include a private event on February 17, allowing emerging designers an opportunity to showcase their designs to the online fashion publishing world and key tech/social media influencers. The event is an innovative alternative to the traditional runway shows typically seen at Fashion Week and will be part of the featured content covered online at Inside The Tents.

“Bloggers are the new media and we created Inside The Tents as an opportunity for them to be taken more seriously as valid members of the media, as well as an opportunity for fashion lovers everywhere to get closer to the action through valuable and instant content in one location,” said Yuli Ziv, founder of MyItThings, one of the most influential online fashion communities, and one of the founding members of the Style Coalition. “Our mission is to bring fashion and tech together – making fashion contributors’ news and observations easily – and instantly – accessible to an audience hungry for live coverage of this extremely popular event.”

Founding member, Ms. Yuli Ziv, was recently featured in the The New York Observer for her work with uniting Inside the Tents and Fashion Week.  The story notes her efforts in getting IMG to upgrade events with more places to connect laptops in order to upload videos, pictures, information, and more.  The article goes on to quote Ms. Ziv as saying, “We just want to cover their events, and help them understand the opportunities in social media. That’s what frustrates me sometimes, that we have to fight for everything as bloggers. I’m only doing this because I love fashion.”

Style Coalition’s Yuli Ziv and her laptop! Photography by Melissa Hribar, Wardrobe by Gilles Montezin

Ms. Ziv’s partner in Style Coalition, Mike Pratt, had an interesting quote in the article as well.  He says, “The whole industry is going through a metamorphosis, and it’s very painful for it.” He goes on to say, ”Some people will feel like their empire is being encroached upon, and fashion is queen of exclusivity.”   He added, “But clearly, it’s getting out of their hands. A designer can become very successful without any blessing from the big folks.”

Founding members include two popular fashion bloggers, Jean Vouté Pratt of GiftGirl and The Style Observer and Yuli Ziv, founder of MyItThings.com.

I am personally excited to be a contributing member of Inside The Tents and look forward to reporting for my blog as well as contributing to Beyond Beauty Basics! Check InsideTheTents.com for the latest blogs, videos, and even Twitter updates from Fashion Week!

More Information
Inside The Tents
Style Coalition
Mercedes Benz Fashion Week
Twitter hashtag #NYFW