Imagine if a fashion runway show were more than a display of fantasia.

What if the clothes were actually available for the public to buy? Two industry veterans plan to do just that with the launch of an online venture during New York fashion week in February.

Collections of dozens of high-end design houses in New York, London, Milan and Paris will be opened up to individual shoppers, who will be able to place orders on a site called Moda Operandi, or modaoperandi.com. The concept pulls back the curtain on exclusive trunk shows, in which a hand-selected group of customers are invited to order directly from designers each season at selling events usually held at retail stores.

Moda Operandi promises to make collections from design houses including Thakoon, Proenza Schouler, Prabal Gurung, Narciso Rodriguez, Vera Wang, Alexander Wang and Giambattista Valli available within 48 hours of the runway show.
By CHRISTINA BINKLEY