New York-based fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff has asked her Instagram followers to help in making her first print ad which will run in October.

Rebecca is known for her line of handbags and is asking her fans to tag their favourites with the hashtag #RebeccaMinkoff till 1 October. Fans can edit their pictures on this application and submit the best ones which will be included in the final campaign. It will also have photos from her Resort 2012 ready-to-wear collection and this ad will run in the first issue of Style.com magazine.

The brand decided to hold this crowdsourcing contest on Instagram as this application is known for its editing and filtering features. Also Instagram being a public platform, it gives them more visibility. Considering it's their first print ad campaign, crowdsourcing ideas for design will help them gather consumer feedback which they can include in future campaigns.

This is not the first time a fashion designer has turned to crowdsourcing, earlier Derek Lam also attempted to crowdsource best dresses for his spring and summer collection. In that case he took the consumer's choice to the ramp and here Rebecca is going a step further and including preferences directly in ad campaigns giving consumers more liberty to state their choice.

- Prerna Arora