Blogging their way to fashion fame
The Urban Dictionary defines a blog as a type of online diary, a recent and disturbing trend and hopefully a passing fad on the Internet that gives the author the illusion that people are interested in what they have to say.
Whichever definition you agree with or approve of is purely subjective but one thing is certain, blogs reign today in the Internet and the world of fashion.
There was a time when front-row seats at any fashion show, including Fashion Week, were occupied solely by celebrities, muses and the powers-that-be from the mainstream media, most notably Vogue, Marie Claire, W, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour and other famous fashion publications. Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley of Vogue, and Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune (IHT) ordinarily rubbed elbows and exchanged air kisses with the likes of Jessica Alba, Demi Moore, Eva Mendes, Rihanna, even Madonna right at the front row. Today, there are new kids (quite literally) on the block, sharing these most coveted seats with fashion’s most venerable figures: the personal-style and fashion bloggers. Young-ish, fashion-forward, trend-setting and highly motivated individuals, these bloggers are the latest “crème de la crème” of fashion.
While there are countless numbers of bloggers out there, only a handful can claim that “they have arrived.” One of them is Filipino fashion blogger Bryan Grey Yambao, known to his fans as Bryanboy. A former web designer, Bryanboy started blogging at the age of 17 from his parents’ house and became a household name in the fashion blogosphere with his on-the-mark witty and colorful comments and features on the latest fashion trends. “Baboosh,” as he would sign off each commentary. Bryanboy has since become a familiar fixture in fashion shows in Milan, Paris and New York. Marc Jacobs became such a fan that he named an ostrich bag after Bryanboy called the BB bag. He has been featured in the pages of UK’s Harper’s Bazaar and has sat in the front rows of shows for Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Chanel.
As I write this article, he is in Sweden attending the spring/summer 2011 shows in Stockholm and sometime before the end of August he will be in New York, judging “The Face-Off,” a contest to discover the next great makeup artist at Bergdorf Goodman along with renowned makeup artist Trish McEvoy and famed fashion designer Catherine Malandrino. Big-time retailers and online shopping sites like Selfridges, Net-a-Porter.com and Shopbop.com advertise on his blog, attesting to his influence as a style-setting blogger.
Not to be outdone are Tommy Ton of “Jak & Jill,” Scott Schuman of “The Sartorialist,” Garance Dore of “A Girl Like Me,” Rumi Neely of “Fashiontoast,” Jane Aldridge of “Sea of Shoes” and Tavi Gavison of “The Style Rookie,” the youngest of the group.
Tommy Ton is a 20-something blogger from Canada who fell in love with fashion at the age of 13 after he saw the collection Tom Ford designed for Gucci in 1997. He pursued a career in fashion working as an apprentice for a fashion designer and at Holt Renfrew (Canada’s version of Barneys). He got bored with these rudimentary jobs and decided to fly to London, where he hoped his creativity would be spurred. He began taking photographs of street fashion and putting them up on his blog. In 2008, his documentary-style photography gave him his first break and landed him the job of shooting the Lane Crawford spring campaign for 2009. This led to many opportunities to work on projects for The New York Times and Elle magazine. In September 2009, representatives from Style.com, the online fashion site of Conde Nast, asked him to take over photographer/blogger Scott Schuman’s job of photographing New York Fashion Week; this gig sealed his fate as a recognized fashion blogger.
In the same year, Anna Dello Russo, editor in chief of Vogue Nippon, suggested to design duo Dolce & Gabbana that they seat him along with Bryanboy, Scott Schuman and Garance Dore in the front row of their show because “bloggers are the new media and you should put them in the front row.”
Similarly, 35-year-old Parisian Garance Dore found success in her illustrations and street-style photography. Her blog, “A Girl Like Me,” has led to collaborations with Glamour Italia and guest
blogging for Glamour-France. Her rumored boyfriend, Scott Schuman, another photographer with a blog called “The Sartorialist,” is coming out with a much-awaited compilation book; he has done two print ad campaigns for DKNY.
Rumi Neely of “Fashiontoast” is a 25-year-old personal style blogger from San Francisco who is famous for her wicked ability to mix out-of-this-world vintage items with high-end accessories. She is an icon of effortless bohemian style, has signed on with the fashion brand Next and is scheduled to appear in several fashion editorials; she is currently in Sweden, watching the spring/summer 2011 shows with Bryanboy.
Jane Aldridge is an 18-year-old Texas native who runs the go-to blog for the latest footwear trends called “Sea of Shoes.” She started the blog as a way to pass the time between her slow-paced life in the sleepy town of Trophy Club and studying for the SATs. She has amassed a collection of covetable shoes that is the envy of many women; she shops with her mom and counts Givenchy, Marni and Dries Van Noten as three of her favorite shoe designers.
If you think 18 is way too young to have way too much fashion influence, hold your breath for 13-year-old Chicago girl Tavi Gavinson; her personal style blog “The Style Rookie” has caught the eye of many designers. Describing herself as a “tiny 13-year-old dork that sits inside all day wearing awkward jackets and pretty hats,” she took a week off from school to attend NY Fashion Week in September 2009; her commentaries on it can be seen in Pop Magazine’s website. Two of her biggest fans, the designers from Rodarte, tapped her to become their muse and design collaborator. Her most favorite designer? Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons because “she is the first conceptual designer whose clothes often inspire uncomfortable thoughts or feelings in people.”
Out with the old and in with the new?
Ironically, in the digital world they have conquered and found fame in where way too much information is often offered and shared there is very little personal data to be found about these bloggers.
I can understand this in the case of Gavinson, who is a minor and all, but with everyone else, there are no references to educational background or professional history to back up their newfound stature. Perhaps revealing very little of themselves except for what they share in their blogs is part of their allure, part of what makes them successful. But it does beg the question, what are their credentials? But in the blogosphere and among fans, educational, personal or professional background does not seem to matter much. These influential fashion bloggers are only as fresh, relevant and current as the latest entry in their blogs, so if they don’t keep their fans riveted almost on a daily basis with lively, entertaining and up-to-date entries, they may well lose their influence to another blogger eager and waiting to take their place. This is the Catch-22 of the Internet: instant fame and instant fall from grace. These famous bloggers may not have been subjected to the rigors of internship, but the immense pressure they undergo to remain constantly at the top of their game must be as nerve-wracking, if not worse, than Anne Hathaway’s The Devil Wears Prada internship.
There is undeniable tension between the old and new media; long held social codes among editors involving position, experience, outward display of ambition and influence no longer exists. Seasoned critics are concerned that they are being replaced by younger, computer-savvy, under-experienced individuals who didn’t have to compete for coveted internships, didn’t have to put in the hours, pay their dues or work their way up the professional ladder. Even Tommy Ton said, “The industry is changing. Before you had to intern and make your way up to the top and now within a season, I’ve gone from not being invited to being invited and even sitting in front row.”
The new fashion frontier
After magazines like Vogue, W, Glamour and Harper’s Bazaar streamlined and cut staff positions due to the recession and the subsequent dip in advertising sales, blogs made
great strides in increasing readership and exerting its presence. While Suzy Menkes, fashion editor for IHT, remarked that “mainstream media was lulled into a false sense of security after the first dotcom bubble,” it is really only in the past two years that blogs prospered and became influential because of the exponential increase in the use of the Internet and its integration into our daily lives. Blogs provided what mainstream media couldn’t: instantaneous, flexible, radical and live coverage and reviews of fashion collections and products. Where magazines have to wait weeks or months to feature fashion and beauty trends, bloggers are able to post live images during a product launch or even before the shows are over.
Suzy Menkes, one of the older, more visible and still highly influential stalwarts of fashion, welcomes the presence of bloggers. She pointed out that with bloggers around “fashion has become a conversation, no longer a monologue.” Gone are the days when you simply watched a show, wrote your comments and submitted them for future publication. Now things are happening simultaneously while models walk the runway; there’s video streaming, image taking, uploading and online commentary going on. The fashion of today has become interactive.
Magazines and newspapers have started their own blogs but it’s anyone’s guess whether they will have as much impact as these first-generation fashion bloggers. Admittedly, the likes of Bryanboy and Tommy Ton have mastered the art of fashion blogging. The real question, though, is will they all continue to thrive and find success for years to come with the constant change in computer trends and innovation? Only time will tell.
In September, Fashion Week will be held once more in New York. Let the blogging madness begin.
