Have you ever wondered who decided that strapless and tube tops would be the “it” style this summer? Or have you pondered who decides that taupe is the new black? In the past, those decisions were made by retail store buyers and fashion editors. Not anymore. Thanks to social media, those decisions are now being made by the people who buy and wear the fashions, according to a report from Mashable’s Lauren Indvik.

New and established designers are turning to social media platforms and web apps to give consumers a voice in what gets produced and designed:

• Designer Derek Lam invited eBay shoppers to vote on which of his 2011 Fashion Week designs they liked best.
• A web app from retailer Burberry allows customers to create custom apparel by choosing patterns, materials, and other details.
• Rebecca Minkoff, accessories designer, tapped fashion styling community Polyvore to design a clutch. The result was more than 6,000 design submissions from 4,000 users. The winning design debuted during Fashion Week and was distributed this spring under Minkoff’s label.

I’m a bit put out that I wasn’t aware until now of this particular shift in fashion design. I’d have been a very vocal presence against this summer’s whole strapless thing…Aside from that, although some companies are already tapping into the conversation to inform product development, some fashion designers are taking online engagement to the next level when it comes to production. I can’t help but wonder if this suggests a more significant shift in how non-fashion brands will build products in the future.

Your thoughts?