In the fashion world social media is one of the biggest influences in the industry, but is it slowly ruining fashion? With social media becoming one of the most prominent forms of media, it means that apps like tiktok and instagram start to rule the influence over the younger generation. Can this influence be positive? Are people still holding on to fashion before social media’s rise to fame?
Paper or tech?
For most people over the age of 18, they remember reading magazines and waiting for the Spring/Summer collections to arrive in the mail. With the rise of technology every catalog, fashion show and even shopping is online. Although everything is easily accessible online people still seem to be holding on to print. To see if people still have a love for print I conducted a survey around the halls of George Brown. I had asked 20 students “If given a choice to buy the digital or print copy of Vogue magazine, which issue would you purchase?”. The survey results were print at 100% and digital at 0%. These results were unexpected and when asked why to a couple of students, answers were all around the same. “There is nothing like it, it’s classic, digital doesn't capture it the same”. This feels hopeful with the younger generation keeping fashion icons and fashion culture alive. It is easy to lose quality with the quantity of content being put out trying to keep up with the ever-changing trends.With all that in mind social media is the most common form of media now, yet it still sounds like print will always have a special place in fashion media.
Scroll, Shop, Repeat
With media comes influence, whether that’s good or bad. Social media apps have created the biggest influence over people with addicting content. With celebrities' influence and constant trends flowing in and out, social media can really affect people’s personal sense of style. Wearing what makes you happy isn’t always what’s trending. Seeing videos with millions of views and comments about you needing these new leggings or watching celebrities saying you can’t live without these new shoes can persuade you into thinking you really do need these things. These trends can be more harmful than you think, with people falling for these ad traps it promotes fast fashion. With shop features being added on apps like tiktok and instagram, it feeds into consumerism and promotes buying things we don’t need. People will buy and consume whatever they are told to, but impulse buying these “new tiktok leggings” that are going to end up in a landfill a couple months later is doing harm to more than just your bank account.
From Pins to Profit
With this in mind the media can be positive while promoting clothing as well. With big brands taking the spotlight social media is great for promoting niche small businesses. A lot of people can find their brand promotion a lot easier with a social media platform for marketing. For example, Cassandra Gates Co-Owner of FiercelyFeminineSwim owns a small business that relies heavily on social media marketing. Cassandra is very knowledgeable about social media’s effects on the industry and using it to her advantage. When asked Cassandra said “I was very inspired by a fellow bikini brand 437, they blew up after being posted by Kylie Jenner and after seeing how much of an impact influencers and social media has I have been directing a lot more of our energy into tiktoks and instagram.” This is an example of success because of social media and how easy it is to spread the word about new trends and brands.Cassandra has said that she has found more traffic on her website coming from her social media than anything else. Watching brands blow up overnight on tiktok has given so many platforms to small businesses and expanded the fashion industry in positive ways. There are so many ways to connect and collaborate with different creatives in the industry to get a brand out there.
Media Influence Moving Fashion Forward
It’s no surprise when hearing about how the fashion industry isn’t always diverse. Social media is showing a wider variety of people who are into fashion with things such as modest style tips, different body types and showing there is no right or wrong way to dress. Giving a platform to different styles and new designers allow people to explore their personal style by seeing what appeals to them. An article from Meer talks about welcoming diversity in the fashion world through social media “providing a platform for people to share their own style and connect with others who have similar tastes. Social media has made it easier for people of all different backgrounds and body types to find representation and feel included in the fashion world” as written by Shania Cooper 2023. Showing that more than just a size zero can wear a tight dress is changing the fashion industry in a positive way and showing a bright future for social media in the industry.
With the multiple pros and cons it’s no denying how heavy of an influence social media has on the fashion industry. With being careful how you consume media, having access to all different types of designers, influences, shopping and styles at your fingertips can be quite useful but whether it’s swaying the industry in a positive or negative direction is something we will find out in years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment