Fashion influencer

Lindsey Coffey on the Cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine Vietnam December 2021 as she encouraged fashion influencers to become advocates for the environment At the beginning of 2000, online fashion blogs appeared to be amateurish personal areas created as a hobby by fashion lovers to share their ideas of the latest trends or to get a job in the traditional fashion industry later on. At the time, the fashion industry was notoriously top-down and elitist. Fashion brands exercised tight control over the marketing of their products. Fashion blog amateurs became formidable rivals to fashion journalism by offering critique and spotting trends. Eventually, fashion blog amateurs were invited to sit next to celebrity fashion editors on fashion show front row seats. With increasing reach, fashion bloggers learned to monetize their content. As Pedroni remarks: “fashion blogs evolved from personal diaries kept by fashion lovers, into sophisticated marketing and economic tools”. Shortly after, new social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube spread. They enabled bloggers to reach a greater audience and have an even closer relationship with their existing readership. According to researcher Emily Hund “Social media’s influencer economy has gained steam quickly in the last few years, particularly on platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, whose image-heavy nature easily lends itself to commerce”. Social media also gave rise to influencers who did not have a blog in the first place. Jenn Im became a fashion influencer due to her successful YouTube channel, German influencer Pamela Reif due to her high reach on Instagram. In 2017, Instagram was the social media platform with the highest reach for fashion influencers. Forbes calculated that the top ten fashion influencers combined generated a reach of 23.3 million on Instagram. It named Chiara Ferragni, Danielle Bernstein, Julia Engel, Gabi Gregg, Jenn Im, Susanna Lau, Nicolette Mason, Simone Zippi Stardust, Aimee Song, and Bryanboy as the top influencers in the fashion category. Its share, approximately 61%, far outweighed other sectors investing in influencer marketing such as travel (8%), and food and drinks (7%). The fashion industry spends around €1 billion on sponsored Instagram posts each year. == Business ==

Fashion influencers generate income through brand co-operations and affiliate links. Principal sources of income are brand co-operations in terms of product placement. Robert and Christina are US-based Instagram fashion influencers and bloggers with over 450K followers on Instagram. They feature content on fashion, decor, travel, and their life together, and have you covered for all kinds of style inspiration – her style, his style, and couple style. In 2017, a study of Jung von Matt, Brandnew IO and Facelift revealed that such a high income is relatively rare among influencers. The price for a cooperation depends also on the contract terms, for example if it concerns a one-time Instagram post or a long-term partnership including several posts. Xenia van der Woodsen, one of Germany’s top three fashion influencers in 2017, and then updated in 2014. For fashion brands Fashion brands use the reach and positive reputation of influencers by implementing influencer marketing. Influencers spread brand messages, increase brand awareness, contribute to a positive brand image and increase sales by tagging fashion brands in their posts. == Criticism ==

Fashion influencers have been criticized by journalists for their lack of transparency on sponsored posts. The lines between posts in which influencers share product recommendations for free or because they are paid for it are often blurred. Influencers are supposed to mark a sponsored post with hashtags such as #ad or #sponsored, but often use less-obvious hashtags like #sp or none at all. Due to this lack of transparency, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent out dozens of warning letters to Instagram influencers at the beginning of 2017, giving further indications to influencers and marketers on how to disclose advertising and sponsored posts. Following the rules of the FTC, hashtags like #ad have to appear before the "more" button and are not allowed to be buried in a flood of other hashtags. Thus, "anyone endorsing a brand must "clearly and conspicuously" declare connections to it, for example, if products have been given free, if a payment has been made for the endorsement or if there is a business or family relationship". In June 2017, Instagram launched a new disclosure system with which users can tag sponsors in a post. If the brand confirms the commercial relation, the post is marked with a "paid partnership" tag at the top. == See also ==