Elitism and the fashion industry are synonymous. Realistically, and no matter how hard we try, it feels like we’ll never quite match up to the celebrities, models and “it-girls” who strut around looking flawless all the time. But one past-time has opened up a new space for us to feel part of the industry: blogging.
Blogging and being a “blogger” has taken off like a rocket in the past few years, with countless men and women monetising their blogs, or being paid by brands to wear their clothes. But fashion’s biggest commentator Vogue has had something to say recently about the whole past-time-come-business.
In an article published on Vogue.com, various editors of the publication used discussing Milan Fashion week as an opportunity to lash out at bloggers. Sally Singer kicked it off by saying: “Note to bloggers who change head-to-toe, paid-to-wear outfits every hour: Please stop. Find another business. You are heralding the death of style.” Bit extreme? And then you can read Fashion News Editor Alessandra Codinha make this rather cruel comment: “Rather than a celebration of any actual style, it seems to be all about turning up, looking ridiculous, posing, twitching in your seat as you check your social media feeds, fleeing, changing, repeating . . . It’s all pretty embarrassing…”
Well, I can understand the annoyance of a glamourous event such as a fashion week being overshadowed by bloggers changing in streets and getting snapped constantly. But my Pinterest feed sure likes street style and it is great for inspiration. Plus, is this not all a tad hypocritical? The magazine itself has connections with almost every fashion and beauty brand under the sun, borrows clothes for fashion shoots just like bloggers do, and gets paid.
But let’s be honest, bloggers are like the in-between of us and the fashion elite. They’re the “normal person who loves fashion or beauty” turned influencer. Blogging is not just a past-time now; and it’s not just spilling your thoughts onto a computer screen. It’s now a career choice, with a good pay cheque if you acquire a following large enough for brands to take notice of you.
Of course, Vogue, amongst countless of other fashion-related publications, will see the bloggers as a threat; their readership turning to the words of bloggers for inspiration. In all honesty, bloggers definitely provide a space of inspiration that fashion magazines just seem to lack nowadays. So you would think that Vogue would want to collaborate with these young influencers and brand ambassadors taking the industry by storm, surely?
