Why ‘fashion blogger’ is the dirty phrase overheard at Australian Fashion Week

At the moment there is a whole lot of blogger noise out there, but the dust will eventually settle on those we like and those we don’t.

Just like our choice of newspapers, magazines, radio stations and TV channels, we simply choose to follow (read ‘‘like’’) bloggers who we really do like.

Fashion Week was a blogger’s paradise. But for an industry steeped in supposed innovation, the fashion world has been relatively slow to understand the power and business model of the digital space.

When I left being an editor in newspapers seven years ago, after 20 years, I took time to study the potential power of the then fledgling social media world, its impact on traditional media and how they could work together. Back then, Facebook was used to show off what we had done over the weekend. And post baby photos. And parties.

Back then, fashion bloggers could hardly secure an invite to frock week. As for working across multiple media platforms, boy, it just wasn’t done. Now, fashion bloggers, with their perceived superficiality, seem to have ruffled the feathers of many traditional media players — and here’s why.

At Fashion Week there were two types of bloggers.

1. The credible bloggers who have a measured business game plan. They are the ones who have become online retailers; creatives who work on proper (paid-for) campaigns that get a message out for particular brands. Some have highly perused websites, how-to tutorials and blogs that thoughtfully pinpoint trends, travel destinations, style, beauty and culture. And they are making money. And that seems to irk some trad media players who feel they haven’t earned their stripes to get paid, let alone sit in the front row. God forbid!

2. The bloggers whose main aim is to wear clothes; accept lots of free stuff; take a snap; filter away; upload it and wait for the likes to come in. These are the fly-by-night ‘‘floggers’’ as they have been unceremoniously dubbed.

As any revolution kicks into gear — in this case it’s the ongoing digital media one — lots of players are frantically trying to work out how they can grab a piece of the media consumption and monetising pie. And you know what? I reckon fashion bloggers are actually a tech-tonic for the media and fashion industries.

With any revolution, the cards have been thrown into the air and the deck is being reshuffled. Opportunity abounds for entrepreneurs to innovate and some clever and pacy fashion bloggers are absolutely all over it.

maternity bridesmaid dress

In the traditional media space, it has become a matter of finding new and exclusive ways of reporting. And that’s exciting, not disheartening, for journalists. Do I really want to read about an event I saw on social media, a day, a week, a month after it has been on? Most probably not. We’ve all moved on by then.

The immediacy factor of fashion week made it exhilarating. Live blogging through major news websites, Instagram, Twitter, Periscope, YouTube, Snapchat, Google+ made it stimulating. This year, major media companies upped video content, live blogs, streams and social media usage. As they should. Sharing is the future.

There were still a few charming, old school PR people who have no interest in the digital world. (‘‘But darling I don’t understand The Twitter,’’ one said to me.)

Clever public relations companies, whose job is to promote their brands through media placement, are adapting to the new landscape, too. There are some who have been left well behind with their priorities skewed to traditional coverage. They are usually the ones who think securing one DPS in a monthly mag is ‘‘it’’ as opposed to garnering coverage across many channels.

According to fashion and lifestyle PR relations figure Emma van Handel, Australia has always been an early adopter of apps like Instagram and we are big drivers of innovative ways of using it. “Everyone now has a smartphone and the potential to be a publisher, but the biggest difference is the influence and popularity of bloggers as well as digital and social media,’’ says Ms van Handel. “Its popularity has made an enormous difference to the timeline of the fashion weeks as everything is played out online in real time and shared immediately.

“Print magazines and newspapers are still a vital part of the mix and people who say print is dead are missing the bigger picture. It’s just changing. Digital and traditional should complement each other, not compete with each other.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by marketing consultant Nikki Andrews, head of the NAC group.

“When developing a PR plan for our clients we always take a strategic approach,’’ says Ms Andrews.

“We look at who the target market is, what that market is reading and where else are they getting their information from, be it print, online or via bloggers.

“Australian fashion bloggers have considerable influence with consumers and are now consistently being employed by premium luxury brands as they look for different ways to engage with their consumers, from a digital perspective.’’

Seriously, there is more than enough room for everyone and fashion week proved that this year.

Apparently there was some kind of bar at Fashion Week at Carriageworks in Redfern, but not one media player I spoke to got within 20m of it. Everyone was in work mode.

Online news sites, newspapers, magazines, radio, FTA and subscription TV, streaming services; We’re gobbling up all forms of media but it is being produced in new and more innovative ways. If anything, demand for content at Fashion Week was bigger than ever. It was just a matter of choosing the trusted voices to deliver that content.

No matter where he or she is, we are all happy to follow the voices we trust to whatever platform they are working on. Clearly, the success and integrity of any media brand is in the hands of the consumer. So, instead of getting all uptight about fashion bloggers and getting peeved when they showcase free stuff, be happy for them.

Let’s face it, the best, most relevant, informative and most effective in any world will always be left standing.

http://www.kissybridesmaid.com/blue-bridesmaid-dresses