Remember that cool site to discover and buy from emerging luxury desginers we talked about a little while back? Yes, you remember the one, StyleTrek. Well, two weeks ago, this amazing site founded by Cecilia Pagkalinawan started selling items from their first round of designers. We spoke with Cecilia on how the site’s community members, known as Style Trekkers, have taken to the designers.

The crowdsourcing site aims to change the way luxury consumers buy luxury fashion by implementing a more social, consumer-centric business model on it’s site by allowing feedback at every stage of the design and production process.

Luxury consumers will have the opportunity to read and respond to designers’ updates, fan reviews, watch collection videos and order apparel and accessories directly from designers’ pages.

In a similar fashion to ModCloth, StyleTrek will not only provide new ways for designers to reach consumers online through social media and eCommerce tools, but also offer a robust eCommerce platform, contacts with manufacturing facilities and regular access to its experienced management team and advisors. Purchase data will be tracked.

“A regular store doesn’t know which items you touched, which items you’ve taken off the rack,” says Pagkalinawan. “We’ll track the items you interact with. If we know you like red, we’ll show you a red bag that’s beautiful.”

StyleTrek predicts that designer revenue will increase tenfold through StyleTrek’s eCommerce platform which will provide regular income for the luxury designers who will receive revenues on a monthly and not pro rata basis. StyleTrek will reach a global audience. What’s even cooler? When someone in New York visits the homepage in the winter, they may see winter coats, while someone in Brazil will be shown bikinis.

FashionablyMarketing.Me: What designers have the audiences gravitated towards most? Can you share any insight to their online shopping preferences or the site’s customer demographic?

Cecilia: We underestimated the market interest we’d receive from outside of the US and Canada. More than 50% of the traffic is international, spanning over 123 countries. I’m excited to announce that we’re bringing forward our international launch date to November when we roll out to 91 countries worldwide. Interest in product has ranged from across the board.

FMM: Tell us about the $1000 shopping spree with a stylist.  How many Trekkers entered the contest? Will the stylist provide traditional style advice and add the twist of how to buy investment pieces that will last longer than trends or fashion fashion purchases?

Cecilia: We’ve received over 5,000 entrants. The products will be curated and selected to the needs of the individual winner. The stylist may recommend items to complement her current style or recommend a look that is completely different but looks great on her.

FMM: What provided more awareness for the site, word-of-mouth, community referrals or mainstream PR and marketing efforts?  We think it’s all of the above.

Cecilia: We were very lucky to receive great support in terms of editorial prior to launch, which allowed us to generate a strong subscriber list. Media placement through Facebook has also driven considerable traffic to the site. We factor word of mouth into our social media marketing plan via Twitter and Facebook. Referrals have also come in thick and fast. We’re receiving interest through a broad range of mediums reaching out to our circle of friends, bloggers, media, and target members.

StyleTrek raised $1.5M in seed capital from angel investors and venture capitalists including RRE Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Primera Captial, Freestyle Capital, Madison Angels, and Angel Hub.

“Our first selection of designers represents a very talented group representing four continents and fifteen countries.  In the process of getting to know these designers and their fashions, we have also become further acquainted with their cultures and locales.” – Cecilia Pagkalinawan

StyleTrek launched its first round of domestic and international designers to the global consumer. Designers elected by StyleTrekkers and selected by StyleTrek were:

• A Peace Treaty (US)
• Bruce (US)
• Citrine by the Stones (US)
• Cornelia Webb (Sweden)
• Duffy (US)
• Elena Canter (Spain)
• Finsk (Finland)
• Grace Sun (US)
• H Williams (US)
• Karla Spetic (Australia)
• Kat Maconie (UK)
• Lelya (Indonesia)
• Lie Sang Bong (Korea)
• Marnie Skillings (Australia)
• Nanushka (Hungary)
• Of Handmade (Italy)
• Stolen Girlfriends Club (New Zealand)
• Teamo (Mexico)
• Trosman (Argentina)
• Twentysevennames (New Zealand)
• Vanessa Montiel (Indonesia)
• Wackerhaus (Denmark)
• Yrusha (France)