The Ford channel

In what may be one of the most innovative manifestations of Fashion 2.0 we've seen, Ford Models has brought fashion modeling to the YouTube generation -- quite literally. Under the careful watch of Katie Ford, daughter of founder Eileen Ford, and new CEO John Caplan, the once-embattled American modeling agency has creatively melded the rarefied world of Fashion with the openness of Web 2.0. And, in doing so, they have successfully reinvigorated the Ford brand and created brand new revenue streams that will see the company into fashion's future.

Web 2.0, of course, has already turned the music industry upside down and created a platform for influential web voices including everyone from political commentators like Arianna Huffington, to entrepreneurial gurus like Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin, and even the celebrity-obsessed Perez Hilton. But these online influencers have all been built by being open and open to criticism -- something the fashion industry isn't known for. And, they are individuals, not a monolithic company.

So, how does a modeling agency, built on the secretive glamour and exclusive allure of fashion, operate within the openness of Web 2.0 culture? By taking down the fashion barriers and letting everyone inside to get to know its people.

Working closely with YouTube, Ford created FordModelsTV, a dedicated YouTube channel with inexpensively-produced videos of Ford models and artists providing advice on how to up one's personal style and health -- everything from workout regimens from model Chris Comfort to organic recipe ideas from Leann Lazar. The most viewed video (1.6 million views) is a bikini fashion segment from a model named Desiree which seems to have attracted some of the core YouTube voyeur crowd along for the ride.

All the same, Ford has transformed itself from an agency that was just a go-between, brokering deals between models and brands, into an online authority, offering simple and down-to-earth expertise to millions of viewers while putting forth positive role-models for aspiring models to partially offset all the ridiculousness of better known celebrities on People magazine.

And now, fashion brands and online retailers are offering money to collaborate with Ford on sponsored videos that will enable them to access the notoriously-difficult-to-reach millennial generation, for whom YouTube is an important and credible media source. The challenge going forward will be to cultivate this new revenue stream while still maintaining Ford's new found influencer status.

For more details on FordModelsTV, check out this interesting story from February's Inc. magazine.