Shoreditch, East London, party at Keira’s post-post-no wave flat.
I recently had a chat with a young lady belonging to the “OMGeneration”: ‘What do you do?’ ‘I’m a blogger’, she said, ‘it’s like claiming you’re a professional footballer’ I said ‘just because you kick a ball around on a Sunday, in a grassless traffic island in Mile End, with a couple of friends suffering from a monumental hangover’. She left.
I knew there are “fashion bloggers” out there, but I thought they were like mermaids, mythological aquatic creatures, half woman, half iPhone, that nobody has actually seen.
As usual, I was wrong.
Blogging has proved a crucial weapon, in recent years; from Egyptian activists to Iranian dissidents, blogs offer a true, insider view from the bowels of the volcano.
Bloggers get to be on the set of Peter Jackson’s new movie, “The Hobbit”, and even manage to dodge the bill in the trendy bistro (‘I don’t care if you’re running for a Michelin star, my review could make you cry, I’m a FOODIE!’), they get freebies and chill with bloggers’ groupies.
But the real deal is fashion blogging.
Fashion is an industry that does not need to be explained with data and numbers, as everybody everywhere knows how heavily it influences our lives – whether we like it or not, whether we are fashion victims or just ‘I-don’t-care-if-I’m-wearing-odd-socks’ kind of people.
Fashion is driven by trends, and it has always been preying on the streets for new blood and inspiration. And now, the street is asking for the payback.
Although the Urban Dictionary defines “blogger” as a ‘term used to describe anyone with enough time or narcissism to document every tedious bit of minutia filling their uneventful lives’, Pulitzer Prize winner Robin Givhan wrote in Harper’s Bazaar: 'The rise of the fashion blogger has evolved [fashion] from an aristocratic business dominated by omnipotent designers into a democratic one in which everyone has access to stylistic clothes...the average people, too often estranged from fashion, is not taking ownership of it’.
Constance White, Editor-in-Chief of Essence magazine and former style director for eBay, said something similar, arguing that the average Joe is finally taking ownership of the fashion world.
An interesting article about fashion bloggers, written by a fashion blogger, recently appeared on the Huffington Post – which itself is a blog – goes like this: ‘The blogging revolution has transformed not only the fashion industry, but in retrospect, any other creative industry whose topic is being blogged about -- whether it's music, culture, or food, this list goes on. Bloggers, in a sense, have almost become essential in terms of marketing for companies, as they reach a broader audience and establish a sense of personal connection. This has become especially true in regards to the fashion industry, as the rise of personal style and street style blogs have begun to help dictate what's "in" and what's "out," or at least what's currently trending…Yes it's true, once reaching a certain point, some fashion bloggers attain a somewhat iconic status and receive awesome perks, such as brand-collaborations, invites to industry events and parties and the coveted freebies of fashion designers.’
Interviews with fashion bloggers follow; Courtney says real people seek for inspiration on real people’s blogs, rather than in the “institutional” media; the same thing seems to be happening as a universal rule on the Internet, in which I have the impression that Twitter often replaces the Guardian/Times/Whatever as the reliable source of news. Chris says he started his blog because he ‘wanted to have a voice’.
Other interviewees stress the fact that people start blogging because they see the potential outcomes: freebies, recognition, and eventually a career, a seat in the first row at Paris Fashion Week and a collaboration with Giovanni Fashionelli Inventednami.
VIB – Very Important Bloggers.
Tavi Gevinson notoriously started “Style Rookie” (http://www.thestylerookie.com/) in 2008, when she was 11. She went from writing posts in her room to being the “darling” of Rei Kawabuco, the Mulleavy sisters (Rodarte) and several other Japanese designers.
She appeared on the cover (designed by Damien Hirst) of Pop magazine, while writing for Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and other “fashion bibles”, being interviewed by magazines around the world and having a TV character named after her in HBO’s How To Make It America. She has 55,000 faithful followers. Check also http://rookiemag.com/.
Scott Schuman, AKA the godfather of street fashion blogging, started “The Sartorialist” (http://www.thesartorialist.com/) in 2005, taking pictures of people in NYC, just like a designer getting inspired by the street cats. From there, he began to be a regular in every fashion week and fashion magazine.
Bryanboy (http://www.bryanboy.com/) is another “celeblogger”, whose popularity can be described in two points: he’s got a photo taken with Anna Wintour, sporting similar shades (she even smiles!) and 190k followers on Twitter.
Poppy Dinsey is 24. In October 2008, whilst working at Globrix, Poppy was voted the fifth most influential property blogger in the world by Global Edge. She started “What I Wore Today” (“WIWT”) in 2010; every day for a year she would upload a photo of herself sporting a different outfit. A simple concept that proved effective, since Poppy managed to gather 90,000 monthly visitors, and to finally turn a hobby into a job. Now, she is launching WIWT version 2 (http://wiwt.com/outfits/), which is community-based; thanks to an iPhone app, users can upload their own pictures.
Other influential blogs.
Style Bubble (http://www.stylebubble.co.uk/)
Highsnobiety (http://www.highsnobiety.com/)
Hypebeast (http://hypebeast.com/)
Go fug yourself (http://gofugyourself.com/)
Two of the basic rules of fashion blogging are: carve a niche and have your own voice; as the following blogs prove, the world changes, tastes change and new voices join the choir.
Fuck Yeah Chubby Fashion! (http://fuckyeahchubbyfashion.tumblr.com/) and Young, Fat and Fabulous (https://www.facebook.com/youngfatandfabulous)
Distant voices from the blogosphere – a thread on a popular networking site.
‘Here's the link to my blog with a transversal approach on 'high-low' fashion, hope you like it!’
‘Because fashion should not be a privilege!’
‘I love you fashion bloggers out there. God bless you all. Without you we would be lost.’
‘Please take a look and if you are interested in writing about our products and would like to interview the creator (me!) let me know and I will send you a sample to review.’
‘Nature becomes fluid through the multimedia net, no place, shape or identity anymore.
The phoenix show us how metamorphosis means rebirth.
Hegelian dialectics of death and destruction as necessary passages to regeneration.
The vital strength breaks the shell and from the cocoon one spreads one’s new wings.’
‘I am soon (sic) a fashion blogger, I’m launching the blog of my high end designer pre-owned boutique in Notting Hill next week! But the name is still secret ;) i ll (sic) tell you more about it later
In the meantime, I want to invite you to my new concept launch party next friday (sic) to offer you a very fashion moment...’
they will be guested to a private and intimate showing and "rencontre" of a local artist, fashion designer, celebrated blogger, photographer, or simply a guru on certain hidden specialties of Paris who will share his experiences, his stories and his art.’
London Web Agency Appnova – keep following us on Twitter @appnova and “like” us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/appnova) for useful news and tasteful digressions about geeky stuff.