Where’s Fashion Going? GPS Knows.

What a great invention!

During Fashion Week, everyone is searching for the next important new idea that will translate into big money. Most are looking for it on the runway, but one local upstart, Fashion GPS, hopes to make a bundle from a pre-catwalk concept.

The idea is simple: get the fashion flock into shows faster, and, afterwards, let the designers know who actually come to their $500,000 extravaganza. To do that, a dozen top designers, including Donna Karan for her DKNY 20th anniversary show and Calvin Klein for his hot-ticket 40th anniversary party tomorrow, have turned to Fashion GPS’ web-based invitation, scheduling, and seating chart system. The cost is $7,000 to $12,000 per show. The high end of that range includes rental of scanners that let designers use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to turn invites into fashion EZPasses.

“I go to football game and they have [RFID], and we were looking at this and wondering, why is the fashion industry not using this,” said Kevin Spector, vice president of marketing for Fashion GPS. “The fashion industry is constantly evolving, but not on the backend, and we are helping bridge that.”

Since debuting last year, Fashion GPS has won business from many top designers including Marc Jacobs and Zac Posen. Most of these firms are clients of KCD Worldwide, the powerhouse PR company that manages the shows from invite to tent, and worked with Fashion GPS founders to develop the technology. KCD’s shows start tomorrow, and Fashion GPS is going to have to show its technology can deliver. Revenues are just below $1 million, and Mullon claims the company is turning a profit.

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