It’s the week that many eagerly wait for, when fashion designers, icons, models, bloggers, and fanatics come together as one—it’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City.

During the week of February 9-16, designers including Diane Von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger, Nicole Miller, Donna Karan and Rebecca Minkoff showcased their fall 2012 collections. In the same week, a group of four alumni designers from the Fashion Institute of Technology displayed their designs at the barrier-breaking, all-blogger runway show, Polyvore Live.

Polyvore is a fashion start-up that allows users to virtually create collages, or “sets,” featuring clothing, shoes and accessories that are “clipped” from websites and online stores. Polyvore essentially creates a space where people can develop content and create a following, based on the company’s belief in democratizing fashion. Polyvore grounds itself on the “next generation” of fashion, the belief that anyone who has access to a platform where they can distribute their ideas and content can bring change.

The company took a significant leap forward in the fashion world when they teamed up with COVERGIRL and the four alumni designers from FIT to create Polyvore Live, a full-scale fashion show featured on February 13 at La.venue in New York. The show connected both bloggers and up-and-coming designers to create a point of inspiration and collaboration.

In a non-traditional approach, a group of prominent fashion bloggers were selected to walk the runway to display the designs of Lauren Bagliore, Vengsarkar Budhu, Sergio Guadarrama and Dana-Maxx Pomerantz.

Backstage, a team of hairstylists led by Sarah Potempa, makeup-artists, including Beau Nelson from COVERGIRL and styling duo, Anda and Masha prepared the looks for 23 bloggers as they prepared for their big moment on the runway.

The show was streamed live on Polyvore.com, allowing users at home to sit front-row on the action as the bloggers strutted their stuff on the catwalk, featuring day and evening wear, soft beach waves and side braids.

At the show’s conclusion, there was an unsounded notion of optimism, as Polyvore Live shifted the focus from the traditional ideals of fashion to all of its possibilities.

Nelly Adamietz can be contacted for comment at [email protected].