Rants By Red

First, for context, let me explain some things:

-          In this rant, by “influencers” I am specifically talking about the Fashion Influencers of South Africa who mostly started off as bloggers or just regular people online.

-          I am not referring to actual bloggers -even though many influencers started off as bloggers and still claim to be. I differentiate between the 2 more practically and realistically:

-          Bloggers are those who’s sites and social media pages feature undeniably original content (be it articles, art, photos, videos, etc.) created from their own unique points of view instead of post after post of vsco filtered photos of them clad in sponsored gear and products and the only written content being 80% made up of regurgitated quotes from sponsor press briefs. That’s an “influencer”. Not all bloggers are influencers or necessarily have the desire to become them, in fact the main reason some cross over is because as there’s more money in being an influencer instead of a creative.

-          I am not referring to all of them. There a few influencers - especially those bubbling under- who are getting it more right than others.

So now that’s cleared up…

There is no denying how the influencer wave has taken over in recent years thanks to social media and the gradual chipping away of elitism and exclusivity in fashion. But there are multiple issues with the local influencer pool that need to be addressed  if the industry want to betters benefit from this wave and if influencers themselves want to save their careers from being just another fad.

Who we allow to become influencers

Influencers are nothing without their follower account so who we as social media active humans in general allow to become influencers is also part of the problem. We don’t give attention to those with something to offer. We give attention to people who -if we’re being real- are just trying to be famous. People who bring nothing else but their copy/paste outfit layouts and pretty face to the table. And these are the people we allow to have an influential platform instead of people who would use that platform to do something more than collect Nike cheques.

Problems With Influencers Themselves

Regardless of how and where they gained attention online the problem is once they become influencers, that’s all they are. There’s nothing really that original that distinguishes one from the other. Eventually they all just merge into one. They all do the same 3 poses in front of the same background in photos that look the same and use the same filters taken at the same locations. It’s all monotonous. But the reason they all become carbon copies of each other is because they are selfish, paranoid, insecure individuals. Instead of utilizing their platform to do their part in building and diversifying the industry or simply just pass on opportunities that they’re not equipped to pull off as well as someone else would, they don’t. Instead they continue offering up generic content and end up or will end up doing things they have no business attempting to do because Heaven forbid a fraction of attention is on someone outside of their pretentious little cliques for too long.

How The Media Uses Influencers

A main reason why they burn out so quickly is how they allow bigger brands to overuse them. These brands are seemingly forfeiting a holistic and dynamic marketing strategies to pay more influencers and wannabe influencers to post pictures on instagram with or in their products with the same dictated captions. Half of whom’s personal brand identity in no way lines up with the brand’s or that campaign in particular. In a time where consumers react stronger to authenticity and can clearly tell when someone’s in something for the cheque, why are brands just tapping everyone with 15k+ followers? And I get the payment size is attractive, but why are influencers allowing themselves to be burned out so quickly by accepting every offer that pops up in their inbox?

How the local fashion industry uses Influencers

First of all, our brands aren’t utilizing them to benefit us but rather handing them off to better benefit foreign brands and conjure up more attention for them forgetting that our local brands are already beginning to suffocate from the overwhelming presence of these foreign brands. Maybe the problem is with the influencers themselves just being in it for the money and opting for whoever offers the bigger cheque instead of really looking at the greater effects of who they choose to market. But then again local brands have the annoying self deprecating habit of not being open to collaborate with anyone young and paying them an apt amount thereafter  because they avoid taking real risks (a rant for another day). Either way, it’s ridiculous how our own influencers aren’t benefiting our own brands.

But as far as the industry in general: Like it or not, every Influencer with a certain degree of melanin popping is currently being used as nothing more than a token. A token they to create the illusion that there are opportunities for young people in fashion to succeed. Instead of giving opportunities to contribute and a platform to be heard to young people who vehemently express their passion for the industry and practically beg for a chance to prove themselves, they prance the same faces around like Pomeranians in a dog show.  Influencer’s selfishness then adds fuel to the fire and strengthen the barricades set up to keep other young people out. Giving opportunities to Influencers that a) are not in their allocated lanes and b) would be executed far better by someone that’s overlooked because they only have a fraction of the followers are just other ways the powers that be of our local fashion industry are holding us back.

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I am not calling for an end to influencers, as long as they play a part globally they will play a part here. As a matter of fact I love the concept of regular people garnering attention and signing deals previously meant for celebrities and socialites. It’s a true manifestation of the zeitgeist, the call for an end to a certain elitism especially in fashion. So how can I be against this concept?

Fashion weeks were created for designers to showcase their creations to editors and buyers in a more practical way. Later they grew to include media, other professionals in the fashion industry and -in some places including South Africa- also the general public.

Fashion weeks are a global stage for brands, regardless of how big or small that country’s fashion industry is. It turns both the local and international spotlight on to local brands so showcasing at a fashion week is one of the biggest and most effective marketing tools for a fashion brand, especially one in an emerging industry. When they are done well they result in tons of media coverage both locally and internationally for all the brands showcasing (obviously, some more than others due to varying factors such as pre-existing fan base, general viability of designs, the show itself, their effectiveness of the brand’s publicist, etc.) from just one show.

Lately there has been questions of whether fashion weeks are still relevant or if fashion shows should still happen. Problematic extremists say no but in actuality we have just reached the point in the decade where we need to innovate how fashion weeks and fashion shows are executed as every decade before us has done. This means different things for different fashion industries as different countries have different socio-economic influences but overall there is a demand for each to get out of their stagnant state and just do better.

The need for innovation and improvement for fashion shows and weeks in South Africa is reaching fever pitch and the powers that be here are moving at a glacial pace.

Part of the problem is that organizers here seem to ignore the fact that today’s consumer and fashion professional did not grow up or mature with the notion that fashion weeks are just about sending clothes down the runway on animated mannequins. Yes, even in Africa we’ve also seen how the fashion show and week has developed for the past 20+ years so obviously seeing how our shows are still barely changing (and in some ways getting worse) causes frustration and annoyance especially for the those wanting to get into the industry.

Organizers of the main fashion weeks in South Africa (there are 3 or 4 per season. Sometimes one doesn’t happen because well… it’s a mess) and their producers create one-size-fits-all mediocre lacklustre shows that no longer do much for the brands showcasing (which is ridiculous especially when you consider how much they have to pay to participate), the industry as a whole or the consumer who’s interest is needed to keep this whole fashion industry train running.

In this day and age fashion shows are at the very least supposed to be a space where various forms of art and technology come together to create an experience while still showcasing fashion brands in order to fully benefit everyone involved from brands and the industry to people spending their hard earned money on tickets.

Instead what we have in this not-so-Rainbow Nation of ours are shows that’ll have more people losing faith in our fashion weeks than those gaining interest. We already have more designers ready to pull out from participating or move to London than designers willing to sign up.

In order for these organizers to not drive this sector of the fashion industry into the ground with their lack of innovation that’s actually holding us back, they need to improve in the following three departments as soon as possible:

Sets

Each show set is supposed to have a touch of showmanship and a dash of spectacle mixed together with the individual brand’s identity and theme of that collection in particular through using art, props and technology. This will then add another angle of positive coverage for the brand. Instead here we have identical poorly lit sets -that sometimes look more like they’re being held in a high school gymnasium rather than one of beautiful venues with a ton of potential- where the only attempt at variation is either a) bringing in a bunch of dancers or something in a way that usually doesn’t make sense b) models carrying props that don’t make sense in relation to the set as a whole so ends up looking kind of stupid or c) having models walk in a circle instead of a straight line and acting like that’s the most dynamic thing ever. Notice how these have little to do with the sets themselves, instead they’re like nifty little distraction tactics similar to those used on toddlers to get them to stop complaining while you’re driving. Having expensive lights and benches is no longer enough, the lack of creativity and innovation in sets is actually depressing and further limits the ticket sales and coverage the brands and fashion weeks as a whole could get.

Social Media

High quality professional photos hitting the internet as close to immediately as possible after a show and throughout the week are imperative in this fast paced social media age where getting the consumer’s attention and keeping it gets harder and harder the longer you wait to do so. So logically speaking, it would not make sense to wait until after a fashion week or the day after a show to provide proper photos especially not for emerging designers in an emerging industry. The power of social media and how it is the greatest tool of this era to market a brand really cannot be denied yet a proper presence on social media is seemingly overlooked by both organizers and our local fashion publications (yes, you are problematic as well). Social media coverage of shows, streetstyle, backstage, beauty, etc when done properly and at a reactionary pace only add to the attention and coverage fashion weeks get both locally and globally which then benefits the brands showcasing and the industry as a whole. Instead we get the blurry and often over-filtered cellphone camera shots from the people sitting frow and attendees in general. Bless their efforts but looking at them instead of proper hq photos posted at a time when the attention is/should still be at it’s prime makes our fashion shows, weeks and unfortunately designers as well look more rinky-dink than they actually are.

Experience

Going to a fashion week is supposed to be more of a treat than a chore. A better version of a trade show of sorts meant to also serve as a space to network and engage with other members of the industry and fans alike. The atmosphere created by how well it is run by organizers directly impacts the experience as a whole. Yes, it is first and foremost work for a majority of the attendees but that is no reason for it to be an unpleasant experience. Media being promised accreditation that is revoked or changed the night prior or at the desk where they collect their passes, showing up to a logistical nightmare, having to wrestle for the same front row seat that was promised to 9 people, ignoring or mistreating the very same VIPs that were begged to come and then also mistreating the ticket holders you annoy until they decide to spend their hard earned money on supporting local fashion. After every fashion week every season there are the same complaints like the organizers are too busy coming up with truth-bending overhyping captions for their twitter instead of coming up with ways to improve how they operate. So then what happens is a lot of complaining from people who genuinely love and want better for the industry which -contrary to what the organizers seemingly believe- spread a lot quicker and further than the kiss-ass posts and cause more damage for the image of local fashion.

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All the challenges organizers face are actually not that hard to solve, right? Do you want to know the main reason why they haven’t been solved? Just like the rest of the powers that be of the South African fashion industry, it can all go back to how they do not give real opportunities to young people.

The sustainability and growth of any industry depends on the young people getting into that industry and the ones capable of creating things that’ll benefit the industry being used as more than just slave labour [read: interns]. Instead the same older people are recycled as if most shouldn’t be on their way out. The same token young people are used to death to make it seem as if there are ample opportunities for the youth when actually there isn’t really and the most insulting part this is those token youth aren’t even the best we have to offer but rather just the ones who go to expensive schools or have famous family members or with 20,000+ followers on their cohesive instagram page.

But I digress (that’s a rant for another day)…. My point is in order to save and propel our fashion weeks and shows into the future, organizers need to hire and collaborate with young people bursting with ideas and passion for the industry. There are so many aspiring photographers, journalists, artists, publicists and show producers (like myself) who given the opportunity will do truly great things.