And though there has been early adaptors like Giorgio Armani wherein the company’s www.armaniexchange.com and www.giorgioarmani.com have online stores, what makes www.valentino.com and www.marni.com trailblazers is that the internet distribution channel will also offer high end lines of the brands.

E-tailing had come a long way since the pioneering days of amazon.com. First, everyone thought the road was paved with gold. Then, it lost traction during the dotcom bubble burst in 2000. But, though businesses became more cautious about e-commerce after that, they also cannot afford to shy away from it as more and more people go online.

Last month, eMarketer estimated that retail e-commerce sales would increase an average 18.6% per year between 2005 and 2009. That’s strong growth, but still a downturn from the annual 26% rate seen between 2001 and 2005.

It is not a cause for concern, however; but a sign of a maturing e-commerce marketplace. And another thing that we have to consider is that statistics only look at retail, and does not include online sales of travel services such as airline tickets, hotel bookings and car rentals.

In fact, it does not include the fees earned by internet auction sites like ebay.com which has at least US$25 billion worth of trade done each year. It does not include B2B transactions; for example, Wal-Mart’s proprietary system of purchasing from suppliers around the globe can easily have a turnover rate of over $250 billion, a very conservative estimate based on Wal-Mart’s business.

Still, even with eschewed statistics that is based on traditional metrics, the opportunities that e-commerce provides cannot be denied. And, if we consider that the web is dramatically changing consumer behavior, non-acceptance of the internet as a valuable selling tool can ultimately result to obscurity.

Studies have shown that consumers today do their research ‘online’ before they buy something. Car companies were the early adapters of that axiom, hence on their websites, a surfer can actually customize their own car and get a quote. Of course, in the end, the customer usually ends up buying the car in a dealership. But, the customer has been empowered with the knowledge. They already know what they want and has a budget for it. Some of them even bring a print out of their ‘customized’ car that they created on the car company’s website.

And since cars are big-ticket items, the car buyer’s mentality can easily be transplanted to luxury consumers.

"The luxury customer has become a very informed, active ecommerce spender," said Brendan Hoffman, president and CEO of Neiman Marcus Direct on the announcement of the Valentino and Neiman Marcus collaboration for the creation of Valentino’s e-commerce channel.

"We see that, with these brands, people go on the websites and they're expecting to shop. We're partnering with the brands to enable the customer to not be disappointed and to be able to have access to the merchandise wherever they live," Hoffman added.

Neiman Marcus, purveyor of luxury goods since the early 1900s really knows the luxury consumer. Even before teaming up with Valentino, NM had already hooked up with David Yurman, Salvatore Ferragamo, Baccarat, Elie Tahari, St John and Zegna and this week is expected to unveil similar ventures with Michael Kors and Juicy Couture.

With Milan as the home of some of the world’s most famous and high-end fashion brands, and with houses like Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Marni and Giorgio Armani having a pioneering spirit, fashion on the web can shift to high street sooner than we expect.

HighFashion.FashionWindows.Com, anyone?