Digital Influencers And The Fashion Industry
By Rachel Cohen, Contributing Writer
Every morning when I open my phone, I immediately check Instagram to see the latest stories posted by Aimee Song (@Songofstyle), Arielle Charnas (@Somethingnavy) and Danielle Bernstein (@Weworewhat). I can always rely on their pages to be filled with the latest and greatest of fashion. These influencers are constantly posting stories about their new designer clothes or their attendance at the hottest events in the industry. I see pictures of their faces front row at fashion week events, seated not too far from fashion’s most established names. Over the years, these fashion icons have transformed their candid blogs into thriving businesses. If you haven’t followed them, I suggest doing so immediately after reading this article.
So how exactly did all of these ladies get to where they are today? First off, digital influencing is not only a hobby—it’s a career. As social media grows, influencer culture continues to be a new form of fashion marketing that consumers feel they can relate to. Because of this, the industry views each influencer as a marketing campaign of a niche lifestyle, which their followers dream to attain. Having an item featured in an influencer’s post not only shows the product to millions of followers, but also appeals to their followers as a way to come just one step closer to living that dream lifestyle.
Influencer’s marketing abilities serve as tools for fashion companies, as well as salary for the influencer. The need to please millennials via Instagram is causing companies to gear their advertising budget toward celebrities and influencers rather than billboards or magazines, hoping to insert their products into this desired lifestyle. The craze to have products seen on the hottest bloggers has resulted in brands sending free “gifts” to influencers with the hopes of being on their Instagram stories, or even paying influencers and celebrities to tag their items in posts. Most profitable of all, Kim Kardashian has had companies go so far as to pay her $500,000 for a feature in a post to her 9.4 million Instagram followers.
The large following obtained by fashion influencers has allowed them to launch themselves into almost any fashion career they desire. Bernstein has launched several fashion lines and collaborations since the beginning of her blog in 2009, including Second Skin Overalls by Danielle, her jewelry line with Lulu DK, the swim collaboration with Omnia Swim and even her Fiji Water ambassadorship, just to name a few.
Additionally, Charnas has launched a multi-year partnership with Nordstrom, following the success of her 2017 collaboration with Nordstrom’s in-house label Treasure & Bond, which sold over $1 million in just 24 hours.
However, likes and followers do not immediately lead to profit. The large gifts and sums of money that brands pay influencers is ultimately a risk and can often result in brands putting in more money towards influencers than they are getting out of them. The sad truth is that because of the money influencers are paid per post, their constant gifts from brands and their ability to borrow clothing for posts, the lifestyle they promote can never truly be obtainable.
With the backing from brands, influencers are able to continue to promote products via social media, causing followers to keep purchasing, thus promoting consumerism and the sponsors—a cycle that will undoubtedly continue as long as social media is relevant. Influencers will continue to thrive off of their social media following, launching themselves into any fashion career they so choose, while the industry will continue to spend countless dollars in the hopes of having their product worn by the influencer of the moment.