Project Runway

My family has grown attached to Bravo's reality show Project Runway. Of course we love it's entertainment value. The colorful characters. The drama. The stress. The reviews. I like looking at the models. My daughter loves the clothes.


During last night's episode, I had an epiphany of sort, and yes this will tie to technology. In the episode the panel needed to eliminate two designers, reducing their number to three for a show at Bryant Park. Instead, though, the panel had deadlocked on two designers and concocted a run-off for the final spot.


During the panel discussion, the judges criticized work they felt was good and commercial viable. The problem was it didn't fit their perception of "fashion". Here's the thing; I always felt fashion was driven by consumer demand and that designer's true goal was creating clothing that people desired. Silly me.


The Fashion industry isn't about wearable clothes. Instead, it's about creating an artistic vision around clothing. This is an important distinction. Fashion designers, especially at high levels, think of themselves as artists. Entire economies and sub-cultures have formed around this concept. Those artists with the most successful vision can attach their names to commercial garments. In a sense, the Fashion industry is all about building a "brand" for the designer/artist that.

So what does this have to do with technology? Well, in case you haven't noticed, our industry works in much the same way. Think of ventures like Delicious, YouTube, and Facebook; what commercial value do they provide? Do they even make money?

I would venture to say that these firms, and the people who formed them, see themselves as technology visionaries. Like fashion, entire economies and sub-cultures have formed around their offerings. And although their technology may not be profitable, their brand has great value.

Ironically my former manager at Information Builders, Gerry Cohen, used to say "we're not in the fashion business." Firms like mine that grind out a living supplying technology and it's not very sexy or glamorous. It begs the question: is it necessary to have a visionary brand that brings attention to more commercial offerings? Or can non-sexy technology exist simply on the value they provide.