Anne Hathaway’s character in The Devil Wears Prada might have thought twice about tossing her cell phone at the end of the movie if Twitter and mobile apps had been available then. How these platforms and the real-time web are reshaping the fashion industry were the topics discussed at the Fashion140 conference in New York last week.

Many of the speakers agreed that fashion is a natural fit with social and digital media since it involves visually-oriented brands in a taste-based category where the opinions of one’s peers count. As Lauren Indvik, associate editor at Mashable commented, “Shopping is rarely a solo endeavor.”

Digital media advances have impacted many aspects of the fashion world, as evidenced by five key takeaways from the day:

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Left to right: Cynthia Lewis, publishing media executive; Tony Sardinas, Modern Luxury LLC; Lauren Indvik, Mashable; Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, Gilt Groupe Photo: Nancy Lazarus

The headline above was the advice to luxury and retail brands offered by Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, co-founder and chief merchandising officer of Gilt Groupe, speaking on a panel, “The Luxury Market and the Web.” The event was hosted by Goldstein Communications in New York on Tuesday.

Other panelists included Lauren Indvik, assistant editor, Mashable; Tony Sardinas, VP and Managing Director, Modern Luxury LLC; and Cynthia Lewis, publishing media executive. The event was moderated by Stevan Schwartzenberger , account executive, Goldstein Communications.

The definition of luxury has evolved and is hard to pinpoint today, according to Lewis. “Now luxury has become more democratized. Typically luxury was viewed as an indulgence and not a necessity, but it has become more personal as we see what consumers are willing to spend money on,” she said.

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