FELTON !

Kayla Felton

Professor Malcolm Campbell

U-WRIT 1104

November 9th, 2017

Social Medias Influence On the Fashion Industry

Social media is rapidly progressing and changing the way that people, businesses, and or-

ganizations market and advertise themselves with fashion being one of the many industries cur-

rently being heavily influenced by its growth. Presence among social media networks such as

Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat are being manipulated by some of fashions leading companies,

designers, and modeling agencies; globally as a source for communicating with consumers, a

promotional avenue, and to recruit new potential talent. According to Karl Oscar Olsen CEO and

co-founder of fashion brand Wood Wood, social media has allowed a platform for brands to pro-

duce products faster than before due to the advances of social media platforms (qtd. in Wolf).

Whether it be bloggers, models gaining exposure on social platforms, or retailers implementing

their latest marketing plan to push a product to a consumer; it is has been proven and made evi-

dent that the fashion industry has been directly influenced by social media.

As a result of the advances in the internet, majority of todays fashion brands have tran-

sitioned from print to social media presence. Establishing an online presence among social plat-

forms has become a vital department and goal by the many of worlds leading apparel brands.

In fact, according to BBC News business reporter Katie Hope in article How Social Media is

Transforming the Fashion Industry, fashion retailers have even stated that producing digital con-
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tent on social networking sites is just as significant as producing apparel product. Also provided,

a research analysis of 7,000 shoppers, found that three out of four luxury purchases, even if they

still take place in shops, are influenced by what consumers see, do and hear online. (Hope). This

has allowed multi media platforms such as Complex Media and Highsnobiety to be founded and

devote their companies to exposing new fashion trends, the ability to share new release informa-

tion, and keep consumers up to date with the latest news. Fashion brands are able to work direct-

ly with these multi media organizations to influence consumer behavior, cover events, and even

promote popular celebrities in their newest products as sales technique. These multimedia com-

panies such as Complex Media and Highsnobiety take fashion content and curate it within social

media platforms which allow them to share stories and readily able brands to push messages to

large crowds overall a short period of time. With the assistance of multi media organizations and

advances in technologymarketing, sales, promotions, and other vital areas specific to a fashion

brands success are now being managed with ease and effectiveness via Instagram, Twitter, Tum-

blr, and other social networks.

Fashions most popular brands have relied heavily upon the internet and social media for

recruiting, marketing merchandise, promoting the brand, and other departments of business.

There are numerous occupations that are essential to the overall success and daily operations of

the industry that recruit through social networks including models, stylist, hairdressers, and

make-up artist. According to recent Highsnobiety blog How Social Media Has Influenced Fash-

ion, social networking sites such as Instagram and Tumblr have been named responsible for pro-

ducing a the industries most prominent talent in many. Recruiting prior to technology advances

were as difficult as having to wait until the next large fashion show or runway; but as the internet
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and its social platforms flourish, heavy recruiting is able to be conducted as easy as surfing the

most popular social media pages. Fashion icons, such as stylist and models Aleali May and Ian

Connor, have achieved immense success and even gained their gateway into the industry by in-

dulging in an interactive social media platform and gaining followers, fans, and support for their

talents. The ability to recruit and consistently produce new talent relating to the fashion industry

has been made easier by the rise of social media and its participating bloggers.

With fashion being one of the realms of popular culture, social media has allowed the in-

dustry to influence the consumer behavior and establish demand for their brand. According to

consumer studies, 81 percent of people are influenced by friends posts and 85 percent of people

are influenced by celebrity endorsements when making a buying decision. (Tan). Social pres-

ence via the internet allow designers to market new products as consumers often make purchases

based upon their familiarity of a brand. This also has become an advantage for rising designers

and new brands looking to gain exposure or raise content awareness. In Volume 6 of Journal of

Resources Development and Management graduate student Nawaz Ahmad stated within his peer-

edited journal, The Impact of Social Media on Fashion Industry: Empirical, that social media

and fashion industry have a significant relationship which means if there is an increase in social

media by 1% it will lead to a increase in fashion industry by 20.6 % (Ahmad). Although social

media and the fashion may be independent of one another, studies support that there is a direct

relationship between social media and fashion.

Beside the influence within marketing, promotions, and recruiting, social media has also

served as a avenue to connect the fashion world to many other realms of popular culture such as

music, politics, sports, and others. In many cases celebrities such as music artist or professional
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athletes are used by a fashion line to create brand awareness. With ability to easily tag and col-

laborate via social media, fashion brands are able to gain the benefits of reaching the followers of

their own in addition to the followers of the artist, athletes, and other celebrities they choose col-

laborate with.

Many people that are familiar with the fashion industry and its evolution know that the

popular marketing item that all consumers wanted in order to decide what to wear to their next

big function use to be magazines before social media took over. So, how do largely established

fashion magazines compete with social media and its growth? With the growth of the internet

many magazines that were originally print based are now publishing online magazines. For in-

stance Mark Echo, famous designer and founder of Complex Media, once had one of the largest

fashion magazines published however, with the peak of the internet he now has an online maga-

zine in addition to Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and other social platforms. Vogue and other no-

table fashion magazines will be highly respected eternally but, the glossy magazine doesnt

have the power it once did. While Vogue transports the reader to a fantasy world of high fashion

in much the same way watching a film offers an escape from the everyday and is still seen by

many as the bastion of high-end style, the magazines influence has nevertheless been

diluted.(Kay).

Even with supporting facts and the millennial movement towards internet and technology

rather than traditional print, radio, and television advertisement, there are still many brands that

are not adamant about making an presence on social networking sites. Well, how have we seen

the modern day fashion industry embrace social media? Being that fashion has been along for so

long, there are still those brands that prefer to communicate with the consumers using traditional
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techniques and sources. However, the rate at which brands are embracing social media is escalat-

ing extremely as the internet continues to grow and technology is progressing every day. Brands

have embraced the move towards social media through establishing presence on social media

with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube being the most popular. So, although there are

still some brands who have not yet made the switch to social media for their own reasons, those

that have embraced social media within the fashion industry have reportedly seen tremendous

success.

In conclusion one is able to see that the increase use and effects of social media immensely

impacts and influences the fashion industry. Social media is growing daily with the amounts of

consumers, viewers, and now businesses. Over the years there have been an increased amount of

career opportunities in the fashion industry as a result of the growth in social media influence.

Millions of people conduct their shopping online and look for advertisements through the media

to help influence their buying decisions, making it a popular source for marketing and promo-

tions within the industry. There was a time when magazine stands were full of new ads and peo-

ple waited for the latest fashion and news to air via radio or television but now, blogs and web-

sites have replace many magazines, newspapers and printed advertisements to reach its audi-

ences. With the rise of social media, today it is easy, convenient, and internet accessible to get

the latest updates on fashion, media, upcoming events, and even editorial or industrial opportuni-

ties. Although there are still a few brands who have not completely conformed to social media,

the fashion industry has seen a great influenced from social media and continues to embrace the

many advantages of social networking.

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Bibliography

Ahmad, Nawaz. "The Impact of Social Media on Fashion Industry: Empirical Investigation from

Karachiites. Journal of Resources Development and Management 7.(2015): 1-7. https://

www.researchgate.net/publication/275714886_The_Impact_of_Social_Media_on_Fash-

ion_Industry_Empirical_Investigation_from_Karachiites. Accessed 14 October 2017.

Antoniello, Rich. Complex, 2006, www.complex.com/. 10 October 2017.

Has Social Media had a Positive Impact on the Fashion Industry? Highsnobiety, 9 Apr. 2015.

Web. 12 Oct. 2017.

Hope, Katie. How social media is transforming the fashion industry. BBC News. BBC, 5 Feb

2016. Web. 13 Oct 2017.

Kay, Karen. Does the fashion industry still need Vogue in the age of social media? The

Guardian, 8 Jul 2017. Web. 8 Nov 2017.

Tan, Oliver. How Social Media Contributed to the Rise of Fast Fashion Ad Week, 3 July 2017.

Web. 8 Nov 2017

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Wolf, Cameron. New Documentary About Self-Important People Will Undoubtably Make

Them Feel Even More Self-Important Complex Style. Complex, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 8

Nov 2017.