The Runthrough

Yesterday, we schooled you (or told you stuff you already knew depending on how well-versed you are on the subject) on why there are so many fashion t

As anyone who has worked in editorial or PR knows, the process of sending and fulfilling sample requests can be incredibly stressful, confusing and time-consuming. Editors and their assistants spend entire work days shuffling through paper look books and finding points of contact for samples, while PRs and design houses spend as much time tracking, sending out and receiving those samples. The whole system is weirdly antiquated--a testament to the fashion industry's resistance to change. A couple of start-ups have popped up in recent years with the intention of using the internet to modernize and facilitate the process. For example, The Lookbook.com, which launched in 2008, aims to provide a directory for the entire fashion industry, giving members access to contact information for editors, stylists, PR reps, etc. FashionGPS, now known mostly for its fashion week check-in software, also provides easy sample trafficking for PRs and fashion houses. Now, a couple of former accessories editors have launched The Runthrough, a site that makes the sample wrangling process more like online shopping. According to WWD, the site runs like a high-end members only e-commerce site, where editors are given a log-in and password and can browse the products, organized by designer, season, price and category, and add them to a cart. Upon providing a publication, editor, stylist, shoot description and pickup, run-through and return dates, the request is sent to the design house. Mandy Tang, one of the co-founders, calls it a "one-stop shop for editors.”