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| Tory Burch's Instagram via fashionologie.com |
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| Prabal Gurung's Instagram via fashionologie.com |
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| Photographer, Greg Kessler's Instagram via fashionologie.com |
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| Coco Rocha's Instagram via fashionologie.com |
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Fashion and Sandy.
Today, I stumbled upon an
interesting article, called "How
They Saw the Storm: Fashion People's Pictures of Sandy," on Fashionologie.com. The article surrounds
the infamous hurricane featuring a slideshow of Instagram photos taken from
several prominent fashion editors, photographers, models, designers, and the
like.
The photos you see above provide
unique insight into Sandy’s destruction on New York by seeing the storm’s
effect through the lens of these fashion figures.
In an earlier post, I wrote about
the craze surrounding Instagram and how this particular social media platform
allows ordinary people to see inside the coveted doors of fashion’s most famed
and influential men and women.
Often times, the photos that are
found on Aimee Song’s instagram or Eva Chen’s instagram for example often
portray the glamorous lifestyles these fashionistas live, but very rarely do
you get to see these individuals in the same light as ordinary people. Despite
how horrific and devastating the storm was, Sandy puts into perspective that in
the end, they’re all one and the same. Despite how much designer clothes they
have, how many runway shows they have walked/seen/organized, or how many Vogue features they’ve accumulated; they
were all affected in one way or another.
Photos included in the slideshow were
taken from Prabal Gurung, Coco Rocha, Tory Burch, Steven Kolb (CFDA CEO) among
many others.
It’s not surprising as it is more fascinating how all these designers,
models, editors, etc. have decided to showcase their perspective on Sandy via
Instagram. It just goes to show the immense power social media holds during
major events in one's life whether it's horrific, joyous, or something in
between.
The point is, Instragram in this
case has in a sense normalized these usual fashion figures we hold on pedestals
to be relegated to normalcy—everyday people. Take Coco Rocha’s photo of her
standing in front of a massively uprooted tree or Prabal Gurung’s pitch-black
photo to showcase his home’s current blackout due to the storm. With that said—during
such disastrous events as Sandy, we are all in this together all facing the
same thing. That doesn’t necessarily mean that all of our resources are the
same once the storm has hit, but it is true to say we were all hit.
Again, the power of social media is
taking strides over traditional forms of media communication by being much more
immediate, personal, direct, and visual in its content. Instagram in the case
of Sandy, allows everyone from all around the world to see the storm’s effect
on every individual (who chooses to post photos regarding the storm) in
turn—allowing the viewers to select whose photos they want to see, but also,
allowing the photo taker to assume all control over what moment/angle they
capture and how they’d like to portray it.
What do you think about fashion “celebs”
posting photos about how they’ve been affected by the storm? Do you think it
normalizes them in any way, or do
they merely reinforce the notion that they can never be placed on the same
playing field as everyone else?
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