As a fashion blogger myself, I must say that blogging allows me to get my message and opinion out in an honest way, without it being skewed by commercial considerations. I love connecting (online) with a community of like-minded people. My blog, myfashdiary.com, is aimed at people who have a passion for fashion, yet also like to have fun with it. It’s a daily fashion fix and, I like to think, a source of inspiration to the thousands of viewers visiting every week.
So is blogging the saviour of the free press? Well, it does have its negative side too. Bloggers are inherently subjective, and are therefore not always the most reliable of sources. Crucially, bloggers don’t ever face the consequences of their writing, nor are they subjected to any form of editing or censorship. This means they say whatever they want, and that can be both constructive and, more often than not, unwarrantedly critical. This has put off many fashion designers from embracing the medium and it has created some vehemently vocal detractors in the form of Alber Elbaz and Christopher Kane.
Nevertheless I love reading fashion blogs. I often find myself computer on lap, simultaneously reading a number of different sites at any one time. Why, you might ask? It requires very little time and I gain a unique perspective from the ‘columnists’ who I respect and relate to, and I often take inspiration from their musings. Due to the nature of the worldwide web, bloggers are able to update their blog frequently and at different times of the day, making it up-to-the-minute and constantly changing, unlike print journalism that stays on the shelf for a week, a month, or sometimes longer.
This trend has certainly struck a chord with the young; two of the most prominent teen fashion bloggers are Tavi, a 13-year-old from a small town in Chicago, and a 19-year-old, Bryanboy from a small town in Manila. These two have become the Anna Wintour and Suzy Menkes of their generation. The old guard have been crushed under the pressure of an information overload and instantly available sound bytes. The new pretenders release their psychic detritus, with its every last particle of information, sending it out for worldwide release and the masses continue to lap it up.
The new wave journalism includes the infamous Perez Hilton and his active ‘outing’ of allegedly closeted celebrities. Bloggers wield enormous power and can even influence international trends - so much so that they are now above ground. Tavi consults high-end brand, Rodarte on its new collaborative collection with Target, and she also has a fashion column in Harpers Bazaar. Here in the Middle East, the two most prominent sites are Hellwafashion and Bahrain Poise, both making their mark on the regional online fashion community.
I believe that in a few years it will be the bloggers that will be invited to fill the front rows at the most coveted global fashion shows. Conventional media will certainly have to yield much of its dominancy to the online community. Will that make fashion journalism any better? Maybe. It’ll certainly be a lot more accessible but personally, my guilty pleasure is still to cosy up on a sofa and sink into a glossy magazine. In all probability there’s room in this world for both worlds to co-exist happily.
