“Fashion used to be a much smaller and more insulated business,” said Kate Betts of Time magazine. “Then it became more of a global business, and now it’s in many respects a part of the entertainment business.” The result, she said, “is that the curtain is being peeled back.”

Of course, few people polled by WWD wanted to complain about the effect this might have on an industry where exclusivity and mystery are part of the sales pitch, or at least were, until fairly recently.

Perhaps this is because two women whose on-screen lives are central to the question are among the most powerful women in the business. Designers need to remain in the good graces of Vogue because it’s generally considered the preeminent American fashion magazine. And designers need Zoe because she’s perhaps the most powerful stylist in Hollywood, thanks to clients such as Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Debra Messing, and Anne Hathaway. Zoe may be whiny and slightly ridiculous, she may not have the slew of erudite cultural references top-drawer magazine stylists do, but almost everyone admits she helps move merch.

Ed Filipowski, president of fashion public relations firm KCD, wanted to avoid disparaging Zoe, but he admitted, “There is something about the exposure of the celebrity process that’s become crass.”

Certainly, fashion is embracing an entertainment apparatus that is more unapologetically commercial than ever—even Lindsay Lohan, who can barely keep her clothes on, is “designing” for Ungaro. And while founder Emanuel Ungaro, the legendary couturier who was trained by Balenciaga himself, is probably getting ready to jump off a ledge over the results on the runway, there’s no doubt Lohan’s involvement has generated more buzz—for better or worse—about the house than it’s seen in years.

So if Ungaro chief executive officer Mounir Moufarrige set out to get attention, he certainly succeeded, proving that if everything is going to be exposed—via tabloid shows, leaks to Gawker, etc.—why not take charge of the story line and make some money off it? And while the critics were busy calling the Lohan hire cynical and desperate, a whole crop of anonymous commentators were taking to the Web, which now provides them with a forum to defend a favorite starlet.

Commenter Rubkarib wrote on WWD.com: “I think it’s funny how some clothes are considered fashion and others aren’t. I didn’t think this collection was as bad as people say. Most things on the runway don’t get used by the everyday public anyway. I think she did good for her first time. Some of these pieces are wearable. It’s just the critics looking for something else to slam Lindsay on.”

“Some of the mystery is gone,” said Joe Zee, creative director of Elle. “We live in an age of technology and immediate information. Like it or not, things have become more democratized. Is any magazine going to have less impact after having appeared on a reality show? No. No one would be doing those shows if they didn’t help grow their brands.” (Of course, what might be good for the magazine might not be so good for the editors when it comes to reality TV—just ask Elle’s fashion news director Anne Slowey, whose turn on Lifetime’s Stylista was widely considered a disaster and did nothing for her image in the industry.)

“A generational divide is taking hold,” said John Demsey, group president of The Estée Lauder Cos. Inc. “Young people today grew up on instant messaging and reality TV shows. Stars are created by popular votes on American Idol. The way people interface is not mysterious. So if you’re in fashion, you join the crowd or you get left behind.”

Zac Posen agreed—up to a point: “I think there’s a great divide in fashion right now between the desire of the old school, which valued being hidden and shy, and what is going to bring our industry forward, which is connection, personality, and craft. Because none of those things can really take you there without talent.”

That’s actually the argument of people in the entertainment business when asked whether the shows they’re producing wind up diminishing the industries they’re supposed to puff up.

In a conversation with WWD about fashion reality shows, Project Runway producer Harvey Weinstein said, “If it’s done right, what you see is the sweat, the blood, and the tears. I don’t think people ever knew how difficult being a designer is and what the good ones have to endure to be successful. Designing clothes by the nature of it always looks easy, and by lifting the veil you see just how tough it is.”

Valentino thought that argument extended to the message of his documentary, as well as The September Issue. “We are not only people having fun or partying, traveling in private jets, and kissing celebrities,” he said. “We are hard workers, responsible for thousands of people’s jobs.”

Concurred Donatella Versace: “These documentaries show how fashion is a serious and fiercely competitive business. They aren’t killing the mystique—they are actually keeping it alive.”

Frida Giannini also didn’t believe the 24-7 coverage of designers and magazine editors is having a deleterious effect, though she offered up a slightly different reason. “Fashion’s true appeal is not wrapped up in the antics or eccentric behavior occurring behind the scenes. That’s entertainment. The real dream for consumers is the product.”

Steve Stoute is a marketing expert who’s spent the last decade helping forge relationships between celebrities and consumer brands. He said the increased interest in the behind-the-scenes of the fashion industry might make people feel more like insiders, but that it does little to diminish the stature of the business’ most high-profile players.

“Every time you unveil an industry, and use media to do it, people say, ‘The magic is gone. You’ve shown too much,’” Stoute said. “But no one can crack the code for why Karl Lagerfeld has done what he’s done. You can show people where to buy the fabrics, you can show them how to sew, but magic only happens when there’s talent. Tom Ford is magic. Valentino is magic. Karl Lagerfeld is magic.”

And, he added, in an apparent dig at shows like America’s Next Top Model and So You Want to Be a Supermodel: “Those shows don’t create the next Cindy Crawford. They don’t create the next Naomi Campbell.”