• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, August 29, 2007

Just in time for New York Fashion Week, MySpace on Tuesday relaunched its fashion site complete with a redesigned landing page, higher-definition images, and serious video functionality.

The new site features video content from entrenched fashion publishers--including InStyle and other Conde Nast publications--like behind-the-scenes footage of photo shoots and how-to guides for applying makeup.

Also on view are celebrity video diaries being compiled in a section dubbed "The Fit." The first installments feature French rock group The Plasticines and actor/singer Hilary Duff.

But it wouldn't be MySpace without plenty of user-generated content like an avalanche of videos submitted by aspiring designers around the world. Also new is a price-tag graphic featuring daily fashion trends and images of fabric swatches.

Officially in beta, MySpace originally launched the fashion site last September to accompany the fashion shows in New York, which call all stateside fashionistas to be on high alert. New York Fashion Week runs this year from Sept. 5 through the 12th.

The fashion section represents a clear strategy by MySpace to build on and support niche communities that have formed organically within the larger MySpace landscape. Attention to particular music bands and genres has evolved into communities around every interest, from cars to comedy.

Fashionable or not, most MySpace users are now 35 years old and up, according to comScore, and the majority of MySpace households bring in $40,000-$59,999 in annual income. More than 15 million member households have incomes of $100,000 or more.

Along with MySpace, other Web companies attempting to foster communities among fashion-types include Glam Media and the Sugar Network.