I am a social networking junkie. I love nothing better than sites that connect audiences together…especially fashion designers with fashion boutiques. Events like MAGIC are a fashion wonderland, but with so many brands to see, how do you set yourself apart from retailers shopping for the best lines? I’ve always felt that somehow the  two worlds must be used together…but how?

So, when I came across Madison Buyer, I had to find out more. If you’re a designer or a retailer, you’ll want to read this! We caught up with Shawn and Elizabeth, the founders of this new online platform. Here’s what they had to say:

LDB: Tell us about your vision for Madison Buyer. Who will benefit from your site?

MB: Our vision for Madison Buyer has always been to be an online industry tool, that compliments the face-to-face introduction and interaction between designers and retailers at trade shows. We provide a platform for designers to visually display the type of designer they are, and for retailers to be able to search for designers that fit their particular niche.

(It was born out of Elizabeth’s intention to open a boutique and stock it with her favorite Brazilian designers. However, we couldn’t find teh specific designers we were looking for. Then we realized we were missing out on up-and-coming designers because we didn’t know a specific name to google. And it was even more difficult to navigate the many trade show sites to determine which one(s) we should attend. Did we really HAVE to go to Brazil? Didn’t anyone exhibit here in the US? Should we do Vegas, New York, L.A., Miami? So we decided to try making the process a little easier by providing one place to search for designers by criteria such as categories, price points, tags, and trade shows)

LDB: What can designers and retailers do today to take advantage of the network you’re building?

MB: Designers can take advantage of the Madison Buyer platform by using their “real estate” as advertisement space, without the cost of advertising. Retailers will be able to take advantage of the search features that allow them to narrow their scope and discover new and emerging designers, or designers who are not exhibiting at the same trade show they attend.

LDB: What do you see the Madison Buyer network looking like five years from now?

MB: Global. The long-term objective is for Madison Buyer to become a fashion hub for the business side of fashion, with a solid representation of apparel & accessory designers across international borders, and across genres as well–outdoor sports, vintage, western. Our goal is to have retailers check out Madison Buyer before heading to market week or trade shows, and for designers to have Madison Buyer as one of their top three tools for promoting their product.

LDB: What advice would you give to designers looking to expand their customer base and establish their image?

Expanding your customer base and defining your image starts with how well you can capture someone’s attention. And capturing attention online often starts with an image. Our advice is to invest time, energy, and money into defining what you sell and converting it to imagery. Are you selling comfort? Success? Eccentricity? Your designs may stand out from the crowd, but do you online images stand out? We have a designer on the platform that understood the necessity of standing out right away. Oddiwear, a new children’s line, maximized the use of their platform by creating a rotating set of images. Of course, don’t stop at imagery. Explore every option…PR, Twitter, tradeshows, blogging, facebook, everything! If you have a great product, get it in front of people, talk about it, tweet about it…do whatever it takes!!