Effects Of Social Media On The Fashion Industry

Social media has had an ever changing effect on our lives and the world we live in, all aspects of industry had been influenced by the new wave of technological advancements as businesses can seem to get by without a Facebook page. These changes and influences can particularly be seen in the fashion industry; with designer brands and models being amongst the most followed accounts, our perception of what it meant to experience the once very guarded realm of the fashion world has changed, for better and worse. Brooklyn Beckham most recently came under scrutiny as he attempted to enter the fashion world. He did this via photography. At the wise old age of 17 and with seemingly no previous experience Brooklyn was chosen to shoot the latest Burberry campaign. This caused much outrage amongst his photographer peers as many believed a more experienced photographer should’ve been chosen to shoot such a prestigious campaign.

The Guardians ‘Art Critic’ section calls for Brooklyn’s followers to open their eyes to his con. It reported ‘To call his photographs a bit tame is like saying a hamster is not a very fearsome animal. These pictures have no bite and no drama, and nothing to say’ Many put Burberrys choice down to Beckham’s huge social media following and the ability this held to open the brand up to customers they wouldn’t otherwise have had; teenage girls. Due to social media Brooklyn is, in this case, a celebrity endorsement type within the brand- but, this has never been seen before within the fashion industry; especially within such a well-known brand.

The internet’s ability to position brands within fashions hierarchy however goes further than just who is promoting and working with brands. Apps and the online high street gives brands a whole new leverage. The ability to shop for clothes online has begun to overtake the high street as people prefer the simplicity the option offers. DEPOP is an online (app) clothes shop- like a market place- where normal people can buy, swap and sell their own clothes and many are choosing this over the traditional clothes site. This, it can be argued, is because of the social side of the app. Buyers and sellers interact with each other freely and this, it is believed, gives it its edge as any queries can be answered directly by the seller- unlike if you were to purchase something from the website of a large brand. The effect it holds on the fashion industry is one of mystery. As such an app begins to dominate the market, the huge sale of (mostly) old items and old trends means it has become harder for people in the industry to judge the ‘up and coming’ trends as they have seemingly ‘been and gone’. Another example like DEPOP is the rise of the Instagram shop. This is where company’s- in this case sell clothes, advertise and trading through Instagram. This new and under developed concept is one that will have to be taken into account by large brands as one person can gain a following in the thousands overnight, unlike common brands which have to work for seemingly years to gain a respectable reputation. Some examples of this are companies like OH MIGHTY and SHOP JEEN.

The effect of this on the fashion industry is that where there was once a ‘cap’ on competition- it becomes 100,000s of individual competitors against just 100s of big brands due to an increase is accessibility. It could be argued that the fashion industry has been effected by the fact that social media has just become another thing for huge corporations to worry about. All aspects of the industry have become required to obtain an online presence in order to succeed and stay relevant. Gone are the days of word of mouth and the few at the top, a social media following comes as part of the CV and in some cases it is now expected. This is because of the ‘free’ advertising that companies can use as an ‘extra’ when they hire someone for their ability- this is most common amongst photographers and models (within the fashion industry) because of what they do and how easily they can show off their ability’s via social media. Naomi Campbell has been known to voice her opinions to express her anger with the seemingly new easy access to the fashion world. She talks of her struggle and fight to gain status and respect in the industry. She mentions her upset at how ‘easy’ it is to gain a place on the catwalk just from your social status rather than your ability. Her example for this was Kendall Jenner. Kendall Jenner is the 5th child of Kris Jenner, whose family rose to fame after her daughter Kim had an unfortunate run in with a video camera. Kendall’s critics put her position in the fashion industry down to her famous family- and with good reason.

FIND EPISODE OF KUWTK WHERE KRIS TAKES KENDALL TO THE HEAD OF FASHION this being an act any normal teenager on the path to the catwalk would be unable to achieve- the same can also be said about Gigi Hadid as her famous mothers famous connections got her starring roles from a young age. As well as this their follower count, like Brooklyn Beckham, has had a huge impact on the campaigns they secure. Linking back to a previous point of recurring trends, the exposure social media offers to past designers gives dead brands a new lease of life. Of course trends repeat, but the amount of time between said trends is becoming increasingly smaller. Three decades could go by before an outfit would re-appear, but now just one seems to be time enough. Much of this is said to be due to apps like Instagram. Instagram allows one person to influence millions, mainly teenagers and young adults. They follow each other and copy each other until something that a year earlier would have been dismissed, becomes the it thing.

"You're seeing a reshaping of an industry," he argues. "My friends don't forward me a picture of a really great air conditioner, but forwarding fashion is fun and interesting. " Working out whether sales are linked to social media campaigns is difficult, companies with higher levels of interaction on Instagram are seemingly growing their online sales faster than their less digitally apt rivals, turning the traditional fashion hierarchy on its head. ( In L2's Digital IQ Index, which ranks fashion brands according to their website capability’s, e-commerce, digital marketing and social media presence, US women's clothing designer Tory Burch beats well-known global luxury brands such as Gucci and Chanel. Domenic Venneri, founder of digital marketing agency Vokent, says his firm looks at the social media profiles of people before deciding who to employ in a campaign. In some cases, not just the models but the entire backstage team - including the make-up artists, stylists and producers - are selected according to their influence on social media. "We won't do a photoshoot that goes on a billboard somewhere unless everyone involved has some sort of [social media] following and some sort of leverage," says Mr Venneri.

There is huge evidence that social media can be a wildly beneficial. It becomes a place where companies can grow their influence amongst the buying decisions of their social media followers. Social media is a giant influencer when it comes down to buying decisions. It is reported that 71% of consumers are more likely to buy an item of clothing based on social media referrals and recognition. But social media does not only influence the buyer, it also influences the designer in the first place. Some designers have put whole ranges they’ve created down to social media, an influence prior to about 2011, has not been cause for much change. The use of social media by what we refer to as luxury brands saw a colossal surge in 2009.

This in light of the previous year’s detrimental recession was almost inexplicable initially as the assumption would be that the luxury industry would fail. Which was the case for many areas of the luxury industry; however there was something about being poor that made people want to dress like they were wealthy. Buyer interactions build brands by increasing awareness and engagement; therefore causing growth in purchases. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, as previously mentioned, and Pinterest offer brands ways to connect with audiences. Even though many fashion brands initially believed social networking would weaken their relationship with customers, social media is now viewed as an opportunity to improve customer relationships and to ultimately capture a larger audience, using e-marketing techniques to get them to buy more. Within the ideas of having internet presence on social media platforms introduces the format of blogging. Brands view ‘internet famous’ bloggers as the new journalists and influencers of this century. The availability blogging offers to the consumer as a constant, up to date platform is incomparable to its magazine predecessor that would only be able to impart its imagery, ideas and journalism the following day or even week.

This, in the ever changing constantly evolving fashion world, that seems to survive due to speed, was always going to be an unsustainable platform for expression; the fashion world just needed technology to catch-up. The once considered fashion-obsessed amateurs, style bloggers have evolved into trendsetters and they command five-figure fees from, even the most daunting brands. New agencies like Digital Brand Architects in New York represent fashion and lifestyle bloggers, brokering endorsement deals with fashion labels, signing up advertisers and, in some cases, booking lucrative television commercials. Nowadays even mainstream agencies like Creative Artists Agency represent powerful bloggers.