THE LOST ART OF AUTHENTICITY
Recently I was asked by the DC fashion foundation to present a small talk to emerging designers, brands and businesses within DC's fashion industry on social media development and management. This talk will assist them in boosting their brand's visibility in the increasingly saturated social media sphere. Whilst preparing for my talk (which is tomorrow February 1st) I began to deeply reflect on my own social media presence.
When I first started the Instagram account that accompanies this site, I was eager to share my point of view and mission with the world. However, like so many bloggers before me, I got so caught up focusing on getting as many followers as I could and not focusing on what made my brand unique.
In a world where the number of followers one has dictates how much work they get and how much one may charge a client for said work, my goals began to change for the completely wrong reasons. I was lucky enough to be able to pull myself out of this dreadful mindset and remind myself of the reasons I started this site.
I live and breath fashion and cannot imagine doing anything else.
I was determined to bridge the fashion cultures of the East and the West by promoting the work of Asian designers on the site and giving them greater exposure by creating content using their designs and mixing and matching them with western brands.
Use my platform to make a positive social change within the fashion industry and beyond by showing the world that just because one may have a physical disability it doesn't mean they are unable to achieve great things in an industry that is known to be based on looks.
As soon as I started to fully embrace my vision, mission, and creativity above everything else my site and it's respective Instagram account attracted a bigger following and more designers from across Asia began to support my mission as it was one they felt they wanted their brands to be part of. I soon realized the messages I conveyed were changing the way others saw fashion and my site was being read by a number of very well known individuals within Asia's fashion and entertainment worlds. This alone opened up new opportunities for me not just as a blogger / digital influencer but also as a fashion consultant. Within a few years of truly honing my voice on social media and the blog as well as using my skills as a fashion consultant to my advantage, I found myself on judging panels for Melbourne fashion week, running social media for Jakarta Fashion Week and being invited to countless events from both Indonesian and Western brands.
As Instagram continues to become overly saturated with " influencers" and "bloggers" whose main focus is to be insta-famous and the ever so increasing trend of buying followers brands are having to decipher the true value of a blogger/influencer they wish to work with. The numbers game is no longer as important as it used to be and brands are beginning to focus more on a individuals quality of content rather than their number of followers. Nothing used to make me more cantankerous than people who looked good but have no substance get countless endorsements just because their follower count (who would mostly comment "you're so hot") was extremely high, however, I have a feeling this year this year things will begin to change for the better.
The worlds top pioneer bloggers Anastasia Siantar, Bryan boy, Chriselle Lim, Zanita, Margret Zhang, Tina Leung, Shini Park and Susie Bubble all started in their careers before being a fashion influencer/blogger was a thing. They all have unique skill sets and expertise that allow them to not only create content through their social media platforms but shape the fashion Industry in their own way. Their careers were built from the ground up and their following as genuine as they come hence why they are at the top of their game. Their authenticity is something that aspiring influencers with something to say should look up to.
Until I reach a point the point in my blogging career as some of our top tier bloggers I am extremely happy growing my following slowly but surely and using my strong but small platform to achieve the goals in which I set out to achieve when I created East & West. I am proof that you don't always need to have a massive following to be successful and that sometimes good things truly do come in small packages.
POST CREDITS
PHOTOGRAPHED BY Emma McCalary
LOCATION: EMBASSY OF FINLAND WASHINGTON D.C.
SHIRT: ZARA
PANTS: PAUL B