In case you haven’t heard, fashion bloggers are the new “it” crowd. Of course with our recent fame comes the inevitable backlash. The now infamous Independent article slamming fashion bloggers as, “little more than mouthpieces for fashion brands” got destroyed in the blogesphere. Not only is this untrue, but we find it particularly annoying how often fashion blogs are lumped together into one narrow definition. Fashion bloggers share a huge variety of experiences and information with their readers. From the young girl posting what she wore to school, to a professional stylists sharing behind the scenes info at a high-end fashion shoot, to a stylish mom sharing tips on how to keep on trend while raising a family, blogs are as varied as the people who write them. Now in the midst of New York Fashion Week, the bloggers whose focuses are covering designers, runway reporting, and excellent photography are shining in the fashion blogesphere and to perhaps the dismay of mainstream media, outshining them as well! We think it is partially this diversity of purpose, which sets fashion blogs ahead of traditional fashion media. Not to mention the Independent’s implication that bloggers are the ones that have “sold out” is ludicrous. Magazines have a clear cut intent to sell product and increase revenue, bloggers do not. In fact, many bloggers make little or no money from their blogs. And frankly, many fashion blogs are not trying to sell you a damn thing.
As many of our regular readers are aware, this blog is written from the perspective of people working behind the scenes in the fashion and garment industry. We cover issues of domestic production, fashion school, women in the workplace, and saving the garment center, far more often then shopping or trends. And we pretty much never directly address the issue of blogging. However, this week we feel we must give a shout-out to our fellow fashion bloggers who have made such a large impact on the fashion industry, in such a small amount time. In just a few short years bloggers have creating a new media. But to us, it seems like even more than that. We often cover the various professions and careers one can have in the fashion industry from colorist to patternmaker to designer. Recently we realized that fashion blogger can be added to that list. Like many fashion industry professions, bloggers are predominately underpaid females with a passion for fashion. The fashion blogger as a career is hard to define, but many have grown their own blogs into careers or have become professional bloggers for larger media outlets.
This week, aside from infiltrating many of the fashion shows at Bryant Park, fashion bloggers have flocked to the IFB conference. If nothing else the success of IFB (Independent Fashion Bloggers) led by wonder woman Jennine Tam, clearly shows the growth of this new outlet. The all day conference covering issues like marketing, SEO, writing, advertising, FTC and much more was quickly sold out. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before these topics become curriculum in a fashion blogger major at Parsons? Aside from the tents, this was the event to be at during fashion week. For anyone looking to begin a fashion blog or expand the one they have, please follow this link to the IFB site for tons of info, plus excerpts from the conference should be up soon. This fashion week has made clear that fashion blogging is a growing medium of influence and importance to the fashion industry. So cheers to all of us for that!
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