Nowadays, you can hardly make it up the steps at Lincoln Center without photographers attacking one another just to snap the sartorial street style goers walking up steps in multi-patterned dresses or pencil skirts that stop right at the knee, frivolous stilettos, paired with an over-sized coat slung over the shoulders that effortlessly ties the premeditated outfit together.
The fuss around the shows seems as though its more important than what goes on inside the guarded tents. Someone once told me “if you were photographed by Tommy Ton then you’ve made it in life”. Whether you choose to agree or disagree, fashion has to some extent become the survival of the most popular and everyone is almost competing for attention. Although, bloggers have a very personal perspective and can start a conversation that can easily spread in under a minute via social media. Editors offer choices and solutions while having personal agendas related to their work.
There’s a complete difference in effortless style and then the showoffs. Once upon a time everyone dressed for themselves and not for the sake of the perfect shot. Just the idea that anyone can be a critic and pass judgment just after seeing a runway show or simply viewing them on Style.com doesn’t sit too well with me. There’re those bloggers who do exist that receive gifts, paid flights to the round of fashion shows and events that make the blogger job/lifestyle a lot glamorous and easy than it actually is. Ultimately, there are only a few bloggers that could be seen as a critic in its original meaning of a visual arbiter while influencing an audience at large, like Leandra Medine, Tavi Gevinson, Susie Bubble or Emily Weiss and on the street spectrum Tommy Ton. I think credit is due based on the merit of outstanding work.
I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself as well, most of these bloggers and self proclaimed stylists really have nothing to say. It almost as if the new generation stylists seem to be more concerned with Tommy Ton shooting them than the content that they create. From a readers perspective wouldn’t you want to read about what inspires us as bloggers to create a great image than read about our new Balenciaga shoes? Everyone is NOT a critic or a photographer or a stylist. People should have some education and knowledge before they start blathering on and sitting front row at fashion shows. I hope people start to focus on fashion again and creativity opposed to showmanship.
Hi Chloe,
I’m glad I discovered you blog. 🙂 I remember reading this article “The Circus of Fashion” back in February. While I don’t necessarily have a problem with fashion bloggers being photographed (or wanting to be photographed) at fashion weeks, I actually ask myself many times — is there a right and carved in stone definition for “fashion blogging”? I guess not, since the mere concept of blogging is synonymous with “personal”, and everybody understands it and blogs about it in her own personal way.
But how come so many fashion bloggers understand fashion blogging as OOTD, and rarely in any other way, to express their sense of fashion on their blogs? I see it as way beyond “personal”, it tends to become “flock”.
When I started my fashion blog over 3 years ago, my first idea about fashion blogging and the foundation of my blog was “written content”. Then I started discovering other fashion blogs, following them, and soon I realized that 99% of fashion blogs I ever laid my eyes on are nothing but OOTD. Is this really the fashion blogging? My own blog list on my blog is very short, because I haven’t been able to find blogs with great and inspiring content (operative word being CONTENT). All I see on the myriad of fashion blogs are those 20 pictures of the same outfit taken from 20 different angles that you were referring to in your post.
But I don’t lose hope, I keep looking for great fashion blogs with great written content to inspire me, and add them to my blogroll whenever I find one.