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The Technological Sweep Over Fashion

 

For much of my life I never thought of myself as a "fashionista," nonetheless interested in the world of fashion, but as I grew older—my love for the ephemeral, beautiful world of fashion progressed insatiably.

It all started as a child when I first began to dab in the artistic world: painting, drawing, or collaging for school projects or just in my spare time. As I grew older, I found that I took extra consideration into what I would wear to school, family gatherings, and social outings—coordinating certain colors or patterns that fit “my” style. As you can suspect, it wasn’t too long before much of my free time was spent feverishly flipping through the fashionable pages of Vogue, Elle, and Nylon magazine. I guess you could call it a natural progression of sorts, but definitely one I now hold close to my heart.

But into my college years, a new set of fashion “bibles” began to emerge—competing against my once beloved fashion mags: fashion blogs. With the ever changing technological world, blogs are just one of the few new innovations that have changed the fashion industry. Thus for this blog, I want to discuss this new era of fashion: how new technology is affecting today’s fashion industry.

I think it’s incredible how the slew of new internet platforms, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram among blogs have all been able to quickly change the way fashion designers communicate to people and how everyday people can now influence designers in a much more direct way. For those who have kept up with fashion bloggers, Tavi Gevinson (“Style Rookie”), Rumi Neely (“Fashion Toast”), Leandre Medine (“The Man Repeller”), and Elin Kling (“Style by Kling”) are just a few elite fashion bloggers who have made it “big” and been able to reach celebrity status in a relatively short amount of time. These bloggers are accruing top dollar to appear at fashion events and attracting thousands of loyal followers just from creating a simple fashion blog. It’s fascinating how much power a blog can provide someone and I think it represents how much power everyday people actually do have in affecting what fashion is and will become (take a look at how much street style has already affected designer collections and trends).

Further, I’d also like to discuss how new technology like smart phones have changed the way we view fashion shows. With a few simple clicks, these tiny gadgets allow photos to appear on social networks like Twitter and Instagram seconds after they appear on the catwalk. Before, fashion shows were relegated to the elite, but now people can even live stream fashion shows from their own homes allowing the once exclusive fashion show event become a worldwide public event.

Who knows how the future’s technology will change fashion, but for now we can only wonder. And with that I leave you with a quote by one of fashion’s most beloved icons— Coco Chanel: “ Fashion is always of the time in which you live. It is not something standing alone.”