

Social media fashion influencers: who needs them?

Marion HumeInternational Fashion Editor

What exactly do influencers influence? I found myself pondering this during a Paris fashion show where the woman opposite me seemed to be doing nothing except building her own brand. Certainly, she seemed to be paying zero attention to the clothes of the mega brand which had seated her front row.

That said, everyone is front row these days; this because seating has become like a school canteen – imagine just the benches, without the tables – because no one, no one considers themselves happy to be third row any more.

Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe a reason to attend a fashion show is to spend at least some time watching it. As opposed to yourself. Which is what the woman opposite me did, via her phone held at arms' length. Because of the seating, she was able to film the models as they walked behind her, thus reducing them (and the designer's endeavours) to a background to her own story as she preened and moued. Then when they were actually passing in front of her … oh lord, no, you are not going to reapply lip gloss now?

Are social media influencers like glitter and party balloons? Cute and seductive in the moment, but not great for the fashion environment long term? Paul Rovere

What good did her presence do the designer? Fortunately a stranger I met on the Eurostar home had some insights. She worked in "branded content", which refers to a common crossover point between editorial and advertising, where editorial teams create images in a magazine's style to be used on social media channels for the benefit of advertisers. We talked about influencers (gracious and hard-working ones) before moving on to the one who had so distracted me.

"Oh, her," said my fellow traveller. "The key brands are really doing a u-turn on her." She explained how those with a gazillion followers are becoming so self-centred and consequently so much less attractive, not least because a huge number of their fans comprise 14-year-old boys only interested in seeing them in their underwear. "What brands seek now is micro influencers with between 4000 and 10,000 followers with whom they have genuine relationships," she told me.


Which got me thinking about what is genuine in fashion, given almost everyone is spinning something. Take the process of giving. Personally, I've grown weary of brands that trumpet their godliness with a "You buy this, and we'll give them that" business model. When TOMS started this with shoes it was clever, and it doubtless did result in a lot of poor children having something on their feet to go to school. But now, and with too many other brands big and small talking about their giving practices, is it going the way of the beauty world's "gift with purchase"? Why not just charge less for what I want and I'll do my own giving? Or maybe look at making less? Or paying workers more? Just saying.

And so to influencers. I'm coming to think of them as the glitter and party balloons; cute and seductive in the moment, but not great for the fashion environment long term. When, like the one I was watching, they no longer contribute anything except to their own myth building, maybe we can just do without them. But I'm open to be wrong. So I ask again, what exactly do they influence? You tell me.

The May issue of AFR Magazine is out on Friday, May 3 inside The Australian Financial Review. Follow AFR Mag on Twitter and Instagram.


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