Fashion Groups - Fashion Industry Network Groups
The network's groups, and how a new group was added
This page describes the groups of the Fashion Industry Network, the Apparel Search Company's fashion industry community - the sub-communities by which the network organized its members. It is kept as the historical record; the network's closure was announced June 21, 2024.
Its premise is that a shared industry is not a shared specialty: although everyone on the network had an interest in FASHION, not everyone had the same area of expertise. Many members had a niche interest in a particular area of fashion - some in fashion design, others with experience in garment manufacturing. The goal was to help each member locate other members with similar interests and similar work experience, and so the network developed different groups within itself.
Network Groups and Rules
How to Add a New Group
New groups could be added for members on request. The network asked for four things: the group name you suggest; a group description of a few sentences (if you could not think of one, that was fine - the network would brainstorm together with you); an image, if you had a suggestion for the group's icon; and links, if you had suggestions of relevant websites to link to from the group - for example, a fashion week group for a particular event might usefully link to the official fashion week event website. Requests went to the network's Apparel1 account, or by email to appsearch@aol.com, making clear the message was suggesting a group to be added.
The mechanism mattered to the community's design: groups were not self-service. A suggestion was reviewed, named, described and iconned collaboratively, which kept the group list coherent - the same quality instinct that ran the network's rules.
The Standing Groups and the Joining Rule
In the groups section a member would find the fashion design group, the fashion students group, the New York fashion group, the jewelry design group, the fashion stylist group, and more - the example page linked from this page illustrates the system. The groups visible across the network's pages also included fashion marketing, fashion week, fashion bloggers, fashion PR and California fashion groups.
Membership carried one discipline: as a member you were welcome to join any group of interest to you, but please only join the groups in which you have a specific interest - do not join groups simply for the sake of joining. Discussions held way off topic in a group risked the member being banned from the network, under the network rules linked from this page. Groups were working rooms, not collectibles.
Common Questions
Why did the network have groups?
Because a shared interest in fashion is not a shared specialty. Groups let members find others with similar interests and work experience - design, garment manufacturing, styling, students and other niches - and talk within that segment.
How could a member add a new group?
By requesting one with four things: a suggested group name, a short description (the network would help brainstorm one), a suggested icon image, and any relevant websites to link from the group. Requests went to the Apparel1 account or by email.
Could members join every group?
They were welcome to join any group of genuine interest, but asked to join only groups they specifically cared about - off-topic discussion in a group risked being banned from the network.