WASHINGTON---
Fashion bloggers have slowly taken over the front row of fashion shows,
magazine spreads, and commercials.
“Every
issue we have at least five quotations from fashion bloggers,” Amber Finney, an
intern at Nylon magazine, said.
With
the advancement of technology, blogging has become one of the biggest media
outlets. Specifically, fashion blogs have become extremely popular in the
fashion community. These fashion blogs have stolen the shine away from the big
magazines because of their accessibility, appeal, and the fact that viewers are
getting almost the same information they would get in a magazine for free.
“I
don’t buy magazines anymore I have a list of blogs I check every day,” Victoria
Fortune, a fashion merchandising major at Howard University, said.
The
bloggers behind these admired fashion blogs are becoming more prevalent at
fashion shows and exclusive fashion events. These bloggers are considered to be
just as valuable as famous magazines such as Nylon, Teen Vogue, and GQ. Usually, bloggers start to receive invites
when they reach 100,000 unique viewers a month.
“I
started to realize that people were actually reading my blog when I started to
get contacted by PR people,” Tamara Griffin from MalibuMara.com said.
Bloggers
have become the voice of fashion consumers because readers know that these
bloggers are not limited by rules and regulations. These bloggers are telling
their readers exactly what they think about products and trends, which make the
bloggers more relatable and, as a result, increase their readership.
“My
readers don’t mind me cursing and being as blunt as I want to,” Tamara Griffin
from MalibuMara.com said.
Today
bloggers have changed the way magazines report about fashion shows. The latest
trend in fashion reporting is street style. This trend was developed from
bloggers posting “What I Wore” photos on their blog and sites such as Lookbook.nu.
“The
photographers are snapping pictures of more stylish people outside of the
fashion shows than the people sitting inside the show. I know bloggers who
don’t get invited to fashion shows, hang out outside of the shows, and still
get caught by photographers from Vogue and GQ,“ Ria, the founder and editor of
RiaMichelle.com said.
According
to Fashion 2.0: Blogging Your Way to the Front Row by Yuli Ziv, “ companies
have created unique budgets for blogger sponsorship.” Bloggers have such a big influence that
companies are willing to pay for advertising space on their websites and give
them free products to review on their blog. The money used for this advertising
is taken away from the money companies would usually use for ads in fashion magazines
and TV ads.
“I
think magazines are upset that bloggers are taking away their readers, but it’s
not our fault that they didn’t think of it first,” Ria from RiaMichelle.com
said.
Fashion
bloggers such as Bryan Boy and Tavi Gevinson have become style icons and made a
career from their blog. They live off of sponsorships and advertising on their
blogs, styling jobs for magazines, and TV appearances.
“I look up to Bryan Boy and I hope that my
blog will be just as popular as his one day,” said Tamara Griffin from
MalibuMara.com.
Fashion
bloggers have made the voice of the consumer extremely important. They have
literally invaded and transformed the fashion industry. These bloggers have influenced major
magazines to create their own blogs and hire bloggers to write for them. Now,
almost every magazine has a blog.
With
great passion, fashion blogger Tamara Griffin said “fashion bloggers keeps the
fashion industry alive. We’ve forced the industry to appeal to the average
person, not just the rich people who can afford the expensive brands and I
think fashion blogs will become the leading destination for fashionistas ”
