The (so called) Democratisation of Fashion

Venus of the Rags by Michaelangelo Pistoletto 1967,1974 
Source: tate.org.uk

Anyone who is knowledgeable about the fashion industry knows that the industry in itself is not at all 'democratic.' It's more of a feudal society in some ways. The shape of the feudal system (a triangle) corresponds to the production rate and exclusivity of each class or collection in the fashion industry.

There is no doubt that the industry possess a certain hierarchical nature about it. At the top there are the Haute Couture designers, designs and buyers at the top of the food chain and then the order progresses from ready-to-wear to fast fashion to sweatshop manufactured pieces of mass production.

Is the disease of democratisation in the fashion industry just that though?

Realistically, there is no way of producing couture for the masses. You can probably buy a cheap copy of a couture gown from a website such as The Celebrity Dresses.com. They have hundreds upon hundreds of different styles to choose from. However how do copies of Givenchy Couture compare to the real thing. The end results will of course be different in both material and make. Couture gowns will have almost always have a toile dress (sample dress made from a cheaper fabric, usually cotton) made before the actual gown is produced while the copies will made straight off. I read somewhere once that the difference between a ready-to-wear piece and couture piece is that once a couture dress is taken off a model, it will still retain it's shape as if it were still on the model and the ready-to-wear dress won't.

"Affordable luxury" comes at a price - you really do get what you pay for.

Multinational chain stores such as Zara or H&M who are best known for their fast fashion approach to production often claim that their stores bring affordable luxury to the masses. In perspective however, are they really democratising the fashion industry? Not really. They're just legitimising their marketing strategies as couture for the masses.

When the designs have trickled all the way from the runways in Paris down to a hanger on Zara's sales rack in many ways it is much of the same as buying a cheap knockoff of a Chanel 2.55 handbag. So why aren't we shunning those who buy "fast-fashion" or "affordable luxury" pieces from Zara in the same way that we do those who buy cheap knockoffs of designer bags?

Just because they are sold in a legitimised store instead of some dodgy street corner or marketplace in China means that we overlook the obvious, it really is superficial of us. Yet the few who are able to buy ready-to-wear pieces from the luxury fashion houses are labelled as materialistic or superficial for spending hundreds of dollars for a t-shirt by ACNE.

There is no winning with the democratisation of fashion.

The Business of Blogging Part 2 - the Formal

In Part 1 of this series, I discussed the informal Fashion blogs primarily on Tumblr and so in Part 2 I'll be writing about the more formal, legitimised and well known blogs on platforms such as Wordpress or Blogger.  Please go and read Part 1 if you haven't already because I'm sure that I will be referring to it throughout this post. 

This post was one which I really struggled and procrastinated to write about only because the topic of the formal Fashion blogs as I call them, are a much broader and vast community than the informal blogs which are only just heavily concentrated on Tumblr.

Katerina of 2frumps.wordpress.com outside Fashion Week

Fashion blogs today are being recognised for their work and whilst this phenomenon has proven to be hugely successful, it is still relatively new. For this reason, there is yet to be a history written about the Fashion blog. Fashion bloggers are in a way the new Anna Wintours of the internet. As Blogging itself is considered a new form of journalism, based on a personal and interactive approach, it can grasp the attention of hundreds of thousands of people all over the world and for this reason, it is a powerful force especially within the Fashion industry. Long gone are the celebrity dictated trends of the season as the influx of Fashion bloggers rises everyday, although, it begs the question as to when a Fashion blogger will feature on the cover of Vogue.

The Fashion blogs of today cover wide variety of views on trends, personal style, reviews on products, street style and behind the scene peeks into the elusive world of fashion. Fashion bloggers are not so much bloggers as they are celebrities of the online fashion community. We as readers want to know what they're wearing, what they're doing, where they're going and so much more -  we are nosy yes, but that's what make blogs successful.

These celebrities are quickly becoming a part of the mainstream fashion press, and bloggers these days are regularly attending PR events for brands as well as sitting front row at fashion shows alongside the editors and buyers.

From a digital standpoint, the fashion magazine industry compared to the fashion bloggers are much more successful in the way which they deliver news, trends and updates to their readerships in a much more timely fashion and effective way than the traditional glossy magazines.

However, as much as blogs publicise an atomsphere of grandeur consistent with the fashion industry's elusive nature, the Business of Blogging is one which is duplicitous in it's nature.

After reading a number of Fashion blogs, I've noticed that there is a stigma surrounding the well-known Fashion bloggers (in particular personal style blogs) that they are required to exude an atmosphere of luxury as the Fashion industry does and they are all well endowed which is why they are able to afford all their high-end outfits. However, this is not the case for most bloggers. Most Fashion bloggers do not earn a salary simply by blogging and the ones who are lucky to be able to earn money from blogging are a minority. I can guarantee that the authors behind most of the personal style blogs which you read have day jobs either in or out of the Fashion industry. Although you may read posts on blogs about how they've attended events for certain brands, most of these are events organised by the PR departments of brands as marketing opportunities. Shini Park, author of Park & Cube, wrote in a post that "most of the travels I do are in the mercy of some generous sponsor, and in truth I'm making just enough to pay for my dedi-server every month+snacks."

As glamorous as a Fashion blog may appear to be I think it's important to keep in mind that the authors of the blogs that we read are still as normal as any of us. They still have responsibilities and bills to pay and being a Fashion blogger does not cover rent.

On the other hand, it has been reported the some Fashion bloggers do make a living off their blogs. An article published by the Guardian, How fashion bloggers are cashing in invtestigates into the business side of Blogging.

It is important to note that the bloggers who have indeed starting earning an income from their blogs, aren't really marketing their blog, instead they are marketing a brand which they have created for themselves and their blog. These bloggers are the ones who have really the time and effort to commit themselves to their blogs and that is by no means easy. There are of course other bloggers who have been recognised by already well known members of the fashion community and may have had a handbag named after them, (yes, I'm talking about Byranboy), and so we should ask ourselves, is their fame deserved or is it simply a byproduct of the notion of being famous by association. 

Overall, the most important aspect of fashion blog is their personal relationship with their audience. The online community within any case, is an extremely personal one. People don't feel uncomfortable on the internet because it's simply the internet. It's not something you can feel or touch, it's not even visible. William Oliver, the co-author of Style Feed believes that, "blogs are obviously massively personal but we're so used to commercial content online, no one is fazed by it." 

In this day and age, Bloggers are entrepreneurs more than anything else.  

Curated Social Marketplaces

Alongside the rise of social media in the Fashion industry, is a parallel in the social media marketing.

With websites such as the Selby and most popular of them all, the Coveteur. They are quickly using marketing opportunities through social media in a much more efficient way than before.

Homepage of theCoveteur.com

The Coveteur especially has drawn mass media attention in the way that they allow the public access into the homes, wardrobes and creative spaces of some of the worlds most famous bloggers as well as celebrities. While another website; the Selby does much of the same.

Homepage of theSelby.com

It is our general want for more knowledge of what they are wearing and buying is a driving force behind our consumer habits and this is exactly what the Coveteur and the Selby are targetting. #thirst. But seriously, these websites build a rare personal readership between the reader and those celebrities who have been "Coveteur'd" or featured on the Selby.

There is a main difference between the two sites however, and it is that the Coveteur allows readers to shop some of the wardrobes that they have "Coveteur'd." Whilst the Selby does not allow this experience. By doing so, the Coveteur allows the reader to shop products instantly from Coveteurs as if they are quite literally shopping directly from a celebrity or designer's wardrobe.

Coveteur'd A$AP Rocky and Courtney Love featured on Into the Gloss's the Top Shelf

A site which also takes this similar approach is IntotheGloss. Their segment entitled the Top Shelf, allows access into the top shelves of some of the most recognised models and celebrities, from most recently Courtney Love to 16 year old socialite Harry Brant. The post most often consists of photos of their top shelves coupled with an explanation into their top shelves and their most loved products which conveniently are linked to a stockist at the bottom.

Look at it this way, it's as if they're marketing the products as a spokesperson which is what makes curated social marketplaces so unique.

It allows us to gain access into arguably some of the most enticing wardrobes and top shelves in the world and shop these wardrobes as if they were our own.

But it's more than just shopping, the visual aspect of these social marketplaces is really what sells the idea and without the visuals, curated social marketplaces wouldn't be as enticing as they are.

Social Marketplaces are the only place where they have brought the camera from the outside of fashion week into a home.

The Business of Blogging Part 1 - the Informal

I've decided to write this post in two parts; the first will be about the informal Fashion blogs which are heavily concentrated on the social networking site Tumblr and the second will be about the more formal Fashion blogs and arguably more well recognised and legitimised blogs on platforms such as wordpress, blogspot etc as I feel these two platforms bring very different ideologies and approaches to Fashion. 

It is without doubt that the fashion blogosphere has exploded over the last few years. However, what is interesting now is that bloggers are being recognised and legtimised in a way which has never been done before. In my last post about the store & Other Stories, I mentioned that they had openly admitted that they had been strongly influenced and built their store around the demands of the current fashion blogosphere. Ever since the rise of Tavi Gevinson, young people much like myself have felt compelled to voice their opinions about fashion industry with regards to design, retailing, manufacturing, marketing and advertising.

Tumblr has served as an informal platform for the rise of micro fashion blogs to emerge all around the world. However, as social media has now been recognised as a potential source of income and various marketing opportunties for many creatives and brands alike. The Tumblr fashion community has grown from a community of creatives interested in Fashion to a resonance amongst industry creatives.

Dior's Tumblr

Brands like Dior, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de La Renta, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and more are all using Tumblr as a platform to both connect with their target audience and market their brand and products efficiently. However, it is not just brands who have embraced Tumblr, magazines such as Oyster or Purple alike have both started using Tumblr. While Nick Knight and Pierre Debusschere through their Tumblrs  -  Show Studio and 254 Forest respectively, have paved the way for other industry creatives to take up the ever-growing social networking site. The list of both notable brands and industry creatives is rising every single day as many more recognise the benefits of Tumblr.

However, why has Tumblr succeeded and how did it become such a huge force in the fashion industry?

Of course, there were always fashion blogs on Tumblr however the bulk of it's growth started around 2010 - 2011.

In 2011 Tumblr started to truly recognised the growth of fashion bloggers using their site as they announced that they would sponsor around 20 bloggers to attend New York Fashion Week. In the end they sent a total of 24 bloggers to New York Fashion Week, eight bloggers where already stationed in New York while the rest had been flown in and accommodation was all paid for by the site. The bloggers were treated to full access to some shows and a private meeting with Mr de La Renta himself after the Oscar de La Renta show.  While they were also the exclusive curators of the official New York Fashion Week tag (http://tumblr.com/tagged/nyfw).

Screencapture of Tumblr's NYFW page

Rich Tong, Tumblr's fashion director explained that their reasoning behind the decision was to "...build awareness around the fashion community on Tumblr because it is one of the communities that we [at Tumblr] have noticed but not everyone in the [fashion] industry has."

From then on, the fashion community on Tumblr grew exponentially, with blogs popping up focused on all of the different aspects of the industry.

Although, the relationship or honeymoon as some have described it between the fashion industry and Tumblr was short lived. As Tumblr recognised it's full potential of it's influence in the industry, Tumblr's Fashion Week Sponsorship Proposal aimed at monetizing the coming New York Fashion Week tragically backfired. According to the proposal, Tumblr asked for upwards of $10,000 for private events with the chosen Tumblr bloggers, not including the venue and other administrative costs. Sponsorship of Tumblr's NYFW page and Fashion page are priced at $150,000 and $350,000 respectively. The pages were expected to generate about 1 million impressions over the course of the week which equated to an estimated CPM (cost per thousand impressions) of $70. In comparison, a front page takeover of the New York Times website costs at a CPM of about $2 to $3 and a package from acclaimed magazine publisher Conde Nast runs just about $30.

Tumblr's Sponsorship Proposal 

Another problem with the site was that Tumblr does not have an analytics board (in case you aren't familiar with the term, it's measures the traffic on the site e.g. how many pageviews per day, the referring urls, the countries which the page views are originating from etc.) The fact that Tumblr could not provide that information made it hard for sponsors to then determine their presence on the site making it unreasonable and unjustified for their unruly high costs.

As for the question how has Tumblr succeeded , the answer is simple. It's easy to use.

From personal experience, I've been on Tumblr for about 3-4 years now and I've stuck to it because it is so unbelievably easy to manipulate the html coding, reblog photos, post photos and share visuals.

As founder and editorial direction for DesignerSocial, Francine Ballarad stated, "as a platform Tumblr is almost purely visual. Most of what gets reblogged is prompted by a sort-of viceral response. So by definition, it has the potential to be a fantastic medium for fashion."

Tumblr is radically visual, convenient and quick, and is fundamentally different from traditional and more formal blogging platforms such as blogger and wordpress in the way that it comes with a built-in community. Tumblr users are able to customise their experience much more and tailor their experience around their own personal interests.

In particular, Tumblr has managed to attract a passionate community that is largely composed of young, influential creatives. For both the fashion media brands and the industry in itself, this is what they have been looking for. Tumblr is home to a community of high-value demographic people who have an appetite for content, share their discoveries and voice their opinions with their respective communities.

All in all, Tumblr is the reason that I have this blog today and I have it to thank for that.

& Other Stories

Source: stories.com

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a post on Badlands about a new shop named & Other Stories. It will be
the newest addition to Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M).

One thing that H&M has succeeded in is defining the different brands and stores that they have. H&M is known for it's fast fashion approach while COS is extremely modern and minimal.

On my first visit to the website of & Other Stories (www.stories.com), it was fairly obvious that the shop had been influenced or inspired by the social media and networking surrounding fashion these days. Photographing their designs and products in a street-style fashion as fashion bloggers would, it again re-emphasises the label's social media influence. As well as including stories about beauty amongst their range of beauty products, helps to market the site as more user friendly than most beauty sites would.

From shoes to accessories to beauty, & Other Stories has it all. Compared H&M the store also has a much heavier influence on shoes and accessories than H&M while also adding a beauty line, which the chain H&M stores lack however, is similar to Topshop.

Although they have claimed that the store has been swayed away from their fast fashion approach, it is clear that the store has clearly taken bits and pieces of collections from labels such as ACNE.

Nevertheless, this innovative store will prove to be hugely successful as it attempts to bridge the gap between fashion bloggers and high-end fashion demands, it's pieces are savvy and fashionable without the hefty price tag. Most importantly, it's what a lot of people have been looking for.

The competition between H&M and Inditex owned Zara has been one flooding the news media as of late and with the launch of the & Other Stories stores some doubt the move by H&M stating that it will be a few years until H&M start to generate revenue from their new store.

Even so, & Other Stories is an extremely unique concept and with the rise of social media in today's technological age, the store has already and will prove to be extremely progressive when compared to other stores.

H&M's High-end Marketing Tactics

Cara Delevingne at H&M's Fall/Winter 2013 Collection photographed by Stephane Fugier
Source: H&M

It's always interesting to see the different marketing tactics and employed by a label to re-image itself and the resulting successes and losses.

When Swedish multinational retail clothing giant H&M held it's first fashion show in eight years at Paris Fashion Week. Eric Wilson described the retail giant as having "crashed" Paris Fashion Week (see: H&M Crashes Paris Fashion Week) and it was exactly that. Having previously hosted their last fashion show in Central Park Zoo featuring performances by Kanye West and having invited a crowd of mostly celebrities, the difference in both location and presentation were vastly obvious.

As H&M tries to infiltrate the high-end fashion industry, problems emerge as the most basic fundamentals of their brand are abandoned.


One of the most crucial problems with it's high-end approach to marketing is that the clothes shown on the runway in February will not arrive in stores until September as it is part of their Autumn collection. H&M is a brand built on it's fast approach to fashion, bringing the average consumer pieces inspired by the runways of Paris, New York, London and Milan at affordable prices. While the brand may still release pieces inspired by other designers through their other collections, the problem still remains that their own signature line will not be fast tracked rather delayed as a part of their high-end marketing strategy. More importantly, what consumers look for in a retail giant such as H&M is availability and affordability and while their Autumn collection may still remain relatively affordable, the accessibility has been completely ignored.

However the question still remains, does H&M really need to put on extravagant fashion shows to increase their revenue?

In the last few years, H&M has heavily invested in their advertisement to appear more high-end hiring photographers such as Inez and Vinoodh as well as models such as Daria Werbowy and Mariacarla Boscono. While also having collaborated with brands such as Versace, Stella McCartney and recently, Maison Martin Margiela, H&M's brand has become extremely progressive in that sense, merging the two markets of high-end fashion and fast fashion.

In an article written by Lisa Wang on Business of Fashion (see: Are H&M's High-End Marketing Tactics Paying Off?) she claimed that the tactics newly employed by H&M are merely news media opportunities for the brand and denied the brand of resulting economic successes. Of course, any fashion show or marketing ploy will result in media opportunities, however, the end result of it's high-end marketing will eventually lead to the brand being recognised in a different manner and attain a legitimacy in the high-end fashion industry rather than just fashion for the masses. Whilst H&M's net profit and operating margins have not grown as much as Inditex's Zara retail giant and may have even dropped, this does not simply equate to H&M not receiving their desired results from the high-end marketing tactics. It will be in the long run that H&M will start to benefit from it's high-end marketing tactics.

The Paris of the East?

China's new rich are demonstrating an irrepressible enthusiasm for luxury goods and fashion. Wealthy citizens, and above all the middle classes, in this hybrid of market economy and communism do not hesitate to spend a large proportion of their income on clothes and accessories  The ever-growing fashion and luxury industry in China has tempted many international brands and fashion magazines such as Vogue and Numéro to disembark in Shanghai and throughout mainland China.

Zusanna Bijoch at Dior Couture Spring/Summer  2013 in Shanghai
Image taken from royonthestreet.tumblr.com

Last friday, the house of Dior brought it's Haute Couture collection to the city of Shanghai again. Dior had previously showcased a couture collection in Shanghai last year as well however, it was not the first time an internationally recognised fashion label had showcased a collection in Shanghai. In Shanghai on December 3, 2009, Karl Lagerfeld showcased an eighth of a collection by Chanel dedicated to showcasing and ensuring the skills of the Maison d'Art such as - among others - feather-maker Lemarié, embroiderer Lesage, shoemaker Massaro and milliner Michel; atelier's who are known for their role in the production of Haute Couture. This collection was entitled Paris to Shanghai and described as a 'fusion of the east and west.'

Abbey Lee Kershaw at Chanel Pre-Fall 2010 in Shanghai
Image taken from style.com

Labelled as the Paris of the east, Shanghai is home to almost all of the international luxury and high-end fashion brands in China. With brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Burberry among other brands having built up excellent reputations and hype in the city of Shanghai, the elite of China have now set their sights on exclusivity rather than affordable luxury.


Having been to Shanghai many times, I can guarantee that walking down the streets of Shanghai, there are no shortages of the displays of Burberry, Coach, Louis Vuitton and Gucci monogram bags on the arms of the people there.

The ever so hyped up monogrammed bags by houses such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci have become so common that the truly rich now want even more exclusivity and luxury to show off their wealth. The demand is growing for more nuanced, high-end products and of course couture is the answer. The decision to showcase the Spring/Summer 2013 Dior couture collection in Shanghai is one which is economically smart and will produce countless opportunity for the house in the Asia market as well as will win new couture customers. CEO of Dior Sidney Toledano even named Shanghai as the "big market of China."

Due to China's extremely progressive industry, the rich only become richer in China and although a lot of the much more wealthier hope to migrate to western countries such as Australia or the United States, a lot of them still choose to stay in China. However, it is western culture that the Chinese find extremely enticing, in particularly, the fashion industry of the west. With labels such as Chanel opening 5 boutiques only in Shanghai, the successes of the luxury market in China is truly extravagant. It was only a few years ago that there were absolutely no luxury brands to be found in China.

China's search of endless luxury however does not just extend to fashion, rather five-star supermarkets as well.

With new malls emerging in China every year due to their increasingly successful industry more and more brands have chosen to open stores in China, particularly in Shanghai.

China, however, is also notorious for counterfeiting. From wine to actual shops to furniture to luxury goods. China can counterfeit anything just from a few photos.

Walking down the narrow corridors of an especially questionable market, I found myself amidst the largest selection of counterfeit Longchamp bags you could ever imagine. They were in every colour imaginable, every size imaginable. When I first asked for the price, they told me 150 Yuan which is approximately 23 AUD although when I started to walk away, they lowered the price right down to 50 yuan, which was around 10 AUD at the time although is now 7 or 8 AUD. It's unbelievable how much a counterfeit costs compared to the real thing. At every turn and corner, there were more and more Longchamp bags, among them, Hermes totes and Lady Dior bags and other counterfeit goods which include Sunglasses and scarves.

While I was there it became evident that most of the patrons of these rather questionable stalls in the market were in fact not Chinese however were foreigners having traveled from western countries in search for a bargain luxury. It's sad to find westerners promoting the counterfeit of goods especially when it is their culture  which the Chinese are truly enticed by.

Shanghai is an extremely great city and does have great shopping, however, it's reputation for counterfeiting goods will inevitably provide boundaries for Shanghai's local fashion industry or fashion scene to expand internationally.

There is no doubt that the luxury market has been successful in Shanghai however, Shanghai and China both have a long way to prove themselves before deserving the title of the the Paris of the East.