An upcoming Internet start-up company named Fashion Stake is poised to change the fashion world. The site will allow fashion designers to get funding directly from interested customers. People can browse the designer’s collection online and buy a stake in it.

The project was born at Harvard Business School. The firm’s chief executive and student Daniel Gulati said that the model aims at moving away from the typical ‘gatekeeper’ model where the executives decide what the public wears.

The site is obviously influenced by the growing popularity of sites such as Facebook and Twitter. It implements an evolving business model called crowd sourcing where entrepreneurs can approach customers directly for funding, content and distribution.

Fashion experts say that this site will help customers to find cheaper, more flexible alternatives without having to endure the obstacles created by big companies. On the other hand, designers would gain by bypassing the retailers and directly reaching out to potential buyers.

“We think this can be a real game changer,” Gulati said. “What we’re basically doing is redirecting the margin to fans and cutting out the retailer altogether.”