• Amazon is partnering with Vogue and the Council of Fashion Designers of America to launch a digital store that allows shoppers to purchase items from high-end independent designers.
• The partnership further solidifies Amazon's presence in the fashion world, which it has been trying to build for the past three years.
• But some fashion editors, writers, and critics don't think it's a good idea and worry about what it means for the future of the industry.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Amazon, Vogue, and the Council of Fashion Designers of America, are coming together to launch a digital storefront that will allow customers to buy luxury goods from independent designers on the e-commerce giant, reports Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times.

The partnership, called "Common Threads: Vogue x Amazon Fashion," is meant to help independent high-end designers that are being negatively impacted by the coronavirus, those behind the initiative say. Already, the storefront is selling notable designers such as 3.1 Phillip Lim, Derek Lam 10 Crosby, and Tabitha Simmons. Fashionista reports that more brands are set to join. 

"I'm thrilled to announce this partnership, and want to thank Amazon Fashion, not only for its generous support of 'A Common Thread,' but also for so quickly sharing its resources to aid American designers affected by the pandemic,"Anna Wintour said in a statement."While there isn't one simple fix for our industry, which has been hit so hard, I believe this is an important step in the right direction."

Amazon's next move towards becoming a top player in fashion

The deal has come as a shock to some in the fashion world. Many luxury designers have long avoided Amazon, both because they don't want to be associated with an "everyday store" and because of a hesitance to have their high-end goods sold alongside cheaper "dupes." 

But now, the pandemic has turned the industry on its head. In a world where brick-and-mortar stores have shut throughout the world in accordance with coronavirus lockdowns and online luxury e-commerce platforms, such as Net-a-Porter, have had to close their warehouses, many designers now see Amazon as a viable way to sell their goods during this time. Amazon has emerged as one of the most popular retailers amid the pandemic, as more people are staying home, browsing online, and doing their shopping on the internet.

As Friedman reports for the Times, the idea for the digital store stemmed from the "Common Threads" initiative launched by Vogue and the CFDA last month. The first iteration of the "Common Threads" grant program raised over $4 million for various designers, retailers, and garment manufacturers, to help keep them afloat amid the pandemic. 

Amazon is giving $500,000 to the grant program, and, according to Freidman, when the online retail giant asked Vogue and the CFDA how else it could help the struggling fashion industry, the digital storefront idea was born.

This partnership now solidifies Amazon's undeniable presence in the fashion industry — which began when Christine Beauchamp was hired to run the Amazon Fashion platform in 2017 and continued with the launches of Prime Wardrobe, styling tool Echo Look, Amazon-exclusive collections, and "Making the Cut,"a fashion competition show from the hosts of "Project Runway"— and could change the way luxury is sold in a post-coronavirus world.

Already, Amazon is innovating within the space, allowing shoppers to purchase winning designs from "Making the Cut" immediately after episodes air.

"Amazon is really starting to become a leader in the fashion space through initiatives like this," Jason Altuzarra, designer and judge on "Making the Cut,"previously told Business Insider. "I think it will make a difference." 

But fashion editors, critics, and writers have already taken to Twitter to express their disdain for the Amazon partnership

While many knew that fashion would be forever changed after the pandemic, this isn't exactly the way they wanted it to shift.

French fashion journalist Pierre M'Pelé, known as Pam Boy on Twitter, expressed that the partnership was simply Jeff Bezos' way of telling the "snobby luxury world that despises him" that he has "more money" than them.

Meanwhile, Tyler McCall, editor-in-chief of the digital fashion publication Fashionista, expressed her upset on Twitter, saying that"working in fashion is like being on the Titanic as it's sinking and everyone still getting fully dressed and sitting down for dinner at the appointed hour 'because that's what we've always done.'"

She then went on to characterize the partnership between Vogue and Amazon as "bleak" and wrote that the CFDA is "too in bed with Vogue."

Many on Twitter expressed doubts that people would go to Amazon to purchase luxury items, with luxury marketer Shelby Ivey Christie tweeting that"people want to see at LEAST 100 reviews on $2 + $20 products to feel assured," and asking, "how do we think consumers will feel buying $500 designer products with 0 reviews?"

Another fashion journalist, Alexandra Mondalek, known for features in Business of Fashion and Vogue Business, questioned whether consumers would care if "they bought $750 Chloe Gosselin sandals off of Amazon versus Net-a-Porter, if the product is the same price."

Later, Mondalek posted a poll to her Twitter page, asking her followers where they would most likely purchase their luxury goods: from Amazon, a luxury e-commerce platform, or directly from the brand. At the time of publication, less than 7% said they would buy luxury from Amazon.

SEE ALSO: Cashmere sweats for lounging and $18,000 silk gowns for parties that aren't happening: Here are the 7 biggest online luxury shopping trends right now

DON'T MISS: Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, designers and other industry leaders are finally reckoning with that.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

• Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour shared her thoughts on how the pandemic will impact the fashion industry in the long term in an interview with CNBC this week. 
• Wintour said that the entire industry is rethinking what fashion stands for and what it should be. This includes focusing less on newness and speed in fashion – a concept championed by fast-fashion retailers. 

• Experts say that coming out of the pandemic, we could see substantial shifts in how consumers shop and an end to "extreme consumerism" as people become more considered in their purchases. 

• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

When Anna Wintour speaks, the fashion world listens, so ears were pricked this week when the Vogue editor-in-chief – and one of the most influential voices in the industry – shared her thoughts on how she thinks the coronavirus pandemic will impact the fashion industry longterm. 

"I think it is really giving the industry a pause, and I think everybody is rethinking what fashion stands for, what it means, what it should be," Wintour said in a video interview with CNBC this week. 

"I think it is an opportunity for everyone to slow down, produce less, and make the world fall over in love with the creativity and passion of fashion, and maybe have less of an emphasis on things moving so quickly and emphasis always on what's new.

"Fashion should last, it should be emotional, it should have memories, it should be meaningful, and think that we need to reevaluate – all of us that work in this industry – how we can best present that," she said.

Wintour said coming out of the pandemic, she expects consumers to focus more on shopping at brands and designers that they feel reflect their own values and those that are more sustainability-minded. 

"I think they are going to care deeply about sustainability," she said, and "about the value of what they are buying."

Leading up to the pandemic, there had been a shift toward shopping more consciously. Consumers, especially younger ones, were prioritizing sustainability in fashion. Experts say the pandemic is only going to intensify this. 

In Business of Fashion's recent deep-dive into the impact of the pandemic on the fashion industry, the publication zeroed in on sustainability, concluding that ultimately we can expect consumers to make more considered purchases in the future, which could lead to the end of "extreme consumerism," it said. 

"The pandemic will bring values around sustainability into sharp focus, intensifying discussions, and further polarising views around materialism, over-consumption and irresponsible business practices," the report, which was created in partnership with management consultancy firm McKinsey, said. 

"This may signal the end of "extreme consumerism" for some consumers who reject the idea of buying goods in large volumes.

"Brands that are able to reorient their missions and business models in more sustainable ways will be able to cater to a more captive audience than ever before," it added. 

Those that don't, could stand to miss out. Fast-fashion stores immediately spring to mind here. While many of these retailers, such as H&M or Zara, have made significant strides in becoming more sustainable, the very nature of their business model – to churn out cheap and trendy clothing quickly– is at odds with the notion of being truly sustainable. 

SEE ALSO: Retailers with limited or no online offering such as TJ Maxx, Ross, and Dollar General are at risk of becoming 'irrelevant' in a post-pandemic world, analysts say

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid

Anna Wintour's grip on the fashion industry just grew stronger. 

On December 15, Condé Nast announced that Wintour has been promoted from being the company's US artistic director to its chief content officer, as well as global editorial director for its flagship fashion magazine Vogue. In this new position, Wintour will oversee all of the company's worldwide content except for The New Yorker, while remaining editor-in-chief of Vogue, a position she has held since 1988.

"Anna's appointment represents a pivotal moment for Condé Nast," the company's CEO ​Roger Lynch said in a press release. (Condé Nast declined further comment. A representative for Wintour did not respond to a request for comment.) 

Lynch's praise for Wintour reflects not just her positions atop the mastheads of prestigious publications, but also how she has permeated public consciousness and pop culture.

Her stewardship of the Met Gala has turned the annual fete from a charity fundraiser into an A-list event with hundreds of costumed celebrities that makes headlines worldwide and raising millions, with over $13 million raised for the museum in 2019. 

Her portrayal in mainstream movies — such as her serving as the inspiration for the Meryl Streep character in "The Devil Wears Prada" and her appearance in "The September Issue" documentary — adds to her reputation as fashion's most mysterious and powerful maven. 

Wintour started out like most do — as a fashion assistant, before working her way to becoming an editor, a department head, and then an editor-in-chief. In the chart below, we put together a timeline of Anna Wintour's rise as a powerful magazine editor.

When Wintour was 15 years old, she landed a job at London clothing store Biba, with help from her father. In 1966, she dropped out of North London Collegiate School to begin a training program at Harrod's. She then gathered up some magazine experience at Oz before landing an editorial assistant position at Harper's & Queen in 1970. As this latter move kickstarted her fashion career, this is where our timeline begins.

It was difficult to verify a starting year for Wintour's time at Viva, so we marked it as the late '70s. It was also difficult to determine some of the years when Wintour ended certain positions before Vogue, so we only included end dates for her titles at Vogue.

The snag in determining some of these dates might partly be because Wintour has downplayed and been opaque about parts of her professional trajectory, per her unauthorized biographer Jerry Oppenheimer in a piece he wrote for The New York Post: "In a London newspaper profile years later when she was at Vogue, which she joined in 1983, she stated, 'Once I got over being fired [at Harper's Bazaar] I did a little freelance again before getting a job at New York magazine."

Wintour's account in that quote excludes her stint at Viva, a sometimes racy women's magazine that shared staff with Penthouse.

She would then continue to deemphasize parts of her trajectory. "After a series of jobs that I prefer not to recall, I was hired in the early '80s as fashion editor of New York Magazine," Wintour said in a 2017 speech at a Women in Journalism meeting in London.

Regardless, we know this to be true: Anna Wintour came to New York via the UK in the late 1970s and began working at Harper's Bazaar in 1975 as a junior fashion editor. 

She briefly went back to the UK in 1985 to become editor-in-chief of British Vogue, before returning to the US in 1987 to work at House & Garden. In 1988, she was tapped to become the editor-in-chief of US Vogue and has stayed there ever since. 

SEE ALSO: Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour is worth an estimated $35 million. From her first job in retail to front-row seats at NYFW, here's what her career and life have been like.

DON'T MISS: Forget Louis Vuitton and Hermès — this luxury brand is the status symbol for the world's richest people

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what it's like to travel during the coronavirus outbreak