TrendMill Is a Good Workout
Handily designed, with a youthful, multitasking audience in mind, TrendMill is a site with striking gray-and-orange navigation, clean graphics and images, and wild fashion content.
The Montreal-based TrendMill (www.trendmill.com) is, for the moment, in a “soft launch” mode. Having just come online last month, some categories clearly have a way to go. But what’s already here is relevant, fashion-savvy and a breath of fresh air for smart consumers, designers and anyone else interested in what’s happening in fashion right now.
Every week in the section called “The Mill,” one best and worst item is shown and described, with information including where to buy the item (online and/or offline). Visitors who join (at no cost) get to vote and comment on the items. The votes (gleaned during the free registration process) become a part of that best or worst entry for the week. A nifty graphic calendar keeps these entries readily accessible.
There’s also the developing “Industry” area of the site, which at the time of this writing gave a brief history of Irvine, Calif.–based streetwear brand Stuuml;ssy. A unique feature is “Entourage,” consisting of profiles of complementary lines such as shoes and accessories. The commentary includes the musical tastes and other personal preferences of the company’s principals, as well as comments from site members.
Volcom, Sweetees, Kasil, Seven For All Mankind, Juicy Couture and American Apparel are just some of the other California sources represented among the global selection of brands. The “Editorial” area mixes it up with commentary on brands in their streetwise contexts. Current postings include: “Pocketless Pants Make Us Dance,” “Strip-Club Parking Lot Guys,” “Bandit T-Shirt,” “Thrift-Store Militia,” “Dude in the Pizza Place” and so on.
According to TrendMill Operations Manager Matt Bedard, “We are currently also building out ’Industry’ profiles for brands and online stores. This will be a virtual place for companies to post their latest products, news and events, [and] products for sale, and it will allow readers to learn more than just hype. There is no cost associated with this, and the purpose is to provide a service and content to our members while being a great new marketing tool.”
There are lots of sites and blogs offering information in the fashion arena. But few of them look or navigate with a contemporary snap as well as this site does.
If TrendMill keeps it current and fresh, we predict this site will be a big hit. —Jacques Marquette
