BLOGOSPHERE, part 1
- Feb 6, 2017
- 3 min read
If there is a future, it's obviously online.
- Yours truly, 2017
Source: The Daily Beast
Following the recent visit of top Singapore fashion blogger Andrea 'Drea' Chong at college, I was inspired to talk about fashion bloggers for my next post. Blogception, you might say.
Blogging is a revolutionary career choice. Freedom of speech, freebies, working with your cozy Hello Kitty PJs, personally-adjusted schedules, and looking good for the world to see. In a recent Herworld interview, a local blogger gives "princess of possibilities or architect of dreams" as alternative job titles. It couldn't be more appropriate, if you ask me. They have seven-figure endorsement deals and their own TV show (see below).
The cast of E!'s Fashion Bloggers (from left: Kate Waterhouse, Margaret Zhang, Sara Donaldson, Amanda Shadforth, Zanita Whittington); on the cover of Renegade Collective magazine (Source: Harper and Harley)
Let's start with the first fashion bloggers I was acquainted to. I remember that the first fashion blogger I followed was Nicole Warne aka Gary Pepper Girl, even though I was aware of The Blonde Salad (run by I-so-totally-want-to-have-her-wardrobe Chiara Ferragni). And she's Asian! GROUNDBREAKING. I only saw American fashion icons on media during my junior high days. I found it refreshing to have people with my ethnicity to be style icons (this is before G-Dragon went to Chanel fashion shows).
Source: Gary Pepper Girl
Since I volunteered on a couple of fashion shows during my stint in Sydney, I got to see them up-close. such as Susie Bubble, Nicole Warne, and Margaret Zhang. At the recent Digital Fashion Week bloggers event at National Gallery Singapore, I also got the opportunity to meet other Southeast-Asian based bloggers, most notable those who hailed from my home country: Anaz Siantar, Olivia Lazuardy, and Sonia Eryka.
I didn't think that a talk on bloggers can evolve to a Asians-or-Chindos-underrepresented-on-mainstream-media opinion piece, but maybe that's a story for another time. For now I want to share on what I see up-close.
Bloggers have this social stigma that they only need to dress up prettily and post good photos and that's it. That wasn't what I see. I saw stylish women looking ready (read: hair + makeup + ootd + attitude) at 6am in the morning, with a full day ahead. The girls ran from one show to another in heels. Some were even carrying heavy DSLR cameras. They also have a strict post schedule to adhere to, and providing relevant images and text to go with it. Though some services can be outsourced (photographer boyfriends anyone?), bloggers are in charge of producing their content and curating their personal brand. it's self-branding, elevated and monetised.
I encountered an article on the recent Fashion Journalists vs Fashion Bloggers debacle and I found it quite an interesting perspective on where fashion media is going. The journalist criticised bloggers for their "Head-to-toe paid-to-wear outfits", but magazines do survive through advertorials. Isn't it essentially the same? They are both in the media industry. They are both fashion influencers of the society. However, whether the world has enough space for both of them in the future, remains a question I could not answer. A ray of hope is definitely seen in Singapore magazines, since Harper's Bazaar Singapore and Nylon Singapore has its own annual social media issue, the latter having social media stars like Michelle Phan, Chiara Ferragni (also on Bazaar), Yoyo Cao, Nicole Warne (also on Bazaar), Margaret Zhang, and Susie Bubble on the cover.
Source: Harper's Bazaar Singapore
No one could deny that the fashion industry is a cutthroat battleground. There is a plethora of brands and/or companies trying to make their mark (and money), but only a selected few managed to truly succeed. Bloggers can help them achieve those business goals. It is certainly not easy to build a well-received social media presence, or one that offers you the opportunity to grace magazine covers worldwide. So, it is only fair that they get paid or recognised for what they do. People would pay for expertise, for individuals who understand want the market wants and well-regarded by their audience. After all, if it doesn't work, why keep investing?
From what I observed, bloggers more than mere internet sensations. I saw independent visionaries, blazing their paths, paving it for others. They are indeed hardworking, but not in the way society traditionally sees it. By now, the world should already be ready for the new wave of media - walls are being broken everyday (*cough* orange *cough*). Generation Z, 21st century girls and boys, millennials - whatever you shall call us. Sure we do eat more avocado toasts than the rest of the population, but we can build a career from it.
Source: Kayture
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