Fashion has always been an avant-garde industry, chasing modernity and new ways of expressions. In the era of social networks and online magazines, fashion not only conforms to a system of global diffusion and marketing, but it also incentivizes self – promotion and personal brand–building as never before. Through the internet, bloggers, YouTubers, photographers and journalists found a powerful instrument to prove their talent and express personal creativity, laying the foundations for an innovative, and profitable, working career. People like Chiara Ferragni (The Blonde Salad), Chriselle Lim (Chriselle Factor) and Aimee Song (Song of Style), started their millionaire businesses just taking photos of their outfits, filming their morning skincare routine, and suddenly became successful entrepreneurs. The former blogger Chiara Ferragni, elected by Forbes as today’s most important influencer and whose case is studied at Harvard, is a true economical phenomenon, through building her own brand thanks to web appreciation and the millions of followers relying on her stylistic choices to create their own wardrobe.
But how is this possible? How can a mere hobby turn into a real profession? The answer is simple. Internet and social networks are the fastest and most immediate tools to reach not only followers and admirers, but also commercial partners ready to invest. Big brands found that bloggers and influencers are the best way to promote their products, by reaching a huge public at minimum price. After that came the editorial world, massively devoting interviews and photoshoots to these new fashion icons, consequently increasing their popularity and professional seriousness. Last but not least, they invested their newly–acquired profit to publish books, design a clothing line, or open a PR agency, consolidating their brand and economical status.
Even if the “web people” were initially underestimated, they are now considered as the new frontier of business, as powerful and positive role models to be followed by young dreamers. Front–row regulars sit next to Anna Wintour and Suzy Menkes, influencers are the best examples of how progress and innovation must be supported and incentivized, and how the internet has provided new professional possibilities, based on talent and hard work, for the new and future generations.
