The Impact of the Internet on Fashion Journalism - Essay Example

The Impact of the Internet on Fashion Journalism The Impact of the Internet on Fashion Journalism Introduction The riseof the technology of the internet has had a profound impact on the traditions and belief systems that create the culture of the fashion industry, and more specifically on the nature of fashion journalism. Fashion journalism is defined by writers who are intricately connected to the fashion world and report on the movements and dictates of fashion in order to reveal them to the world. The interruption of the internet into the world of fashion journalism has exploded the defined parameters of that world until it is now filled with writers who run the full course of educational levels, from the completely untrained to the long term professional writer. The writings that can be found through the internet have turned the fashion world into a more accessible and more clearly interpreted field of personal expression. The history of fashion journalism began in the middle of the 19th century when the income of the middle class became distinctly higher and disposable income allowed for more attention to fashion trend issues beyond the practicality of garments. Since that time, however, controversy has been a constant companion to the fashion industry. The growth of the internet has now created a new phase in the creation of fashion commentary. The identity of the fashion industry has shifted with the instantaneous creation of communications about the events in fashion that happen around the world. Adding a new dimension to this level of communication is that of the fashion bloggers who report from a non-financially founded principle who can comment without bias on the trends that come out of the fashion industry. Fashion Journalism McRobbie quotes Bourdieu in saying that it is implied that “if it can be shown that there is really nothing special about fashion, and that more or less anybody can do it, then it ceases to occupy that special, sacred place in the public’s estimation, and thus in a sense it ceases to exist, as it is this system of belief which creates the thing”.1 It is in the understanding of that belief that the existence of a thriving fashion industry is balanced upon. Without the belief that the value of fashion has an artistically rendered benefit to society, then there would be no industry. This belief, and all of the theories and rhetoric that must be present in any belief system, is propagated by fashion journalism. Bourdieu believed that to look at the fashion industry from the point of view of a sociologist would tear the belief system which supports the industry until that ‘special’ factor would be rendered moot. However McRobbie disagreed. Despite the demystification process from which sociology creates a more defined picture of the world of fashion, McRobbie believes that in seeing fashion from the point of view of understanding how it is created, the sociologist can better understand how it is valued.2 Essentially, this is one of the jobs that a fashion journalist undertakes as he or she reveals the why of the value of fashion while bringing forth the who, what, where, and when of its movements. Through creating an editorialized report on the differing trends and artistic statements, the fashion journalist can develop the understanding that the public has in regard to what is being shown and why it is relevant. Fashion journalism is unique in some ways in that it is designed to promote what is happening on the runway rather than simply promote what is happening in the fashion industry. Tungate criticizes fashion journalism as being either to joyful with writing that is creative and descriptive at its best, or at its worst, too fawning in the way in which the work often seems to be begging for the critical contentment of its subjects.3 This can be a problem within the industry in that the reviews that have supported a designer will not necessarily help when the consumer becomes the ultimate critique and either accepts or rejects the work through their spending choices. The industry has a non-predictive element to it because although the press may have given great acclaim to something that should have seen more criticism, the ultimate commentary will be made through a lack of sales.4 It is the consumer who has the last word on the value of fashion, not the critics, therefore members of the industry are in constant peril of losing their business as the fashion journalistic promotion is decidedly flawed because it is primarily biased. Still, the work of the fashion journalist is to close the gap between the consumer and the designer, creating an bridge between the two groups that is defined by both critique and promotion. One of the reasons that this branch of journalism might be given to be too lenient on its subjects, creating a resource for advertising more often than an unbiased representation, is that in order to satisfy both the needs of the designers and of the consumers, a positive representation is needed. The appeal that is present in a consumer for a specific editorial view of a designer would be criticized by the journalist if the positive aspects of the design line were too harshly criticized. This is not to say that negative criticism doesn’t exist, but the triangular relationship between the consumer, the designer and the journalist demands that respect for both the varieties of taste and aesthetics be understood and appreciated. Therefore, to criticize with too keen a eye would alienate both the subjects and the audience, leaving the journalist without that core connection. The Growth of the Fashion Media As the century turned from the 1700’s to the 1800’s, fashion information was beginning to appear within magazines. This information was geared primarily towards the domestic point of view, including patterns and suggestions on the development of dress design. The information was practical and intended for an audience that was geared towards making their own clothing (Fig. 1). However, as the industrial revolution increased the wealth of the middle class, by the 1870’s magazines were creating articles that were designed to give information to women who had more resources than previously experienced in history as well as to approach the upper class in describing the latest fashions available at higher prices. This also served to inspire the middle Fig. 1 Summer Fashion in La Belle Assemblee, June 18105 class to emulate these styles and promote fashion at all levels with disposable income. Magazines such as Queen reported on the latest modes of style from Paris as well as providing a significant amount of advertising dedicated to higher end fashion.6 The growth of fashion journalism has been controversial from its start as many critiques suggested that this indicated a diminishing moral fiber as the physical appearance was becoming increasingly more of a focus. In retaliation, the magazine Rational Dress Society Magazine (1888-1890) promoted healthy, functional attire for the modest woman.7 However, seeing as it had only a two year run, it is reasonable to suggest that perhaps this lack of creativity and artistic expression was not going to overrun the delightful looks that more fashionably forward representations would have to offer. Throughout the 20th century, the proliferation of fashion magazines grew until the newsstands were filled with offerings that would reveal the newest trends and the up and coming designers to the masses. The look of couture could be found running rampant throughout the middle class as the information age was bringing the highest level of design to those who might never have experienced it before the widespread communication of fashion journalism. Even as fashion became a common part of daily life, the controversy continued over the morality of much of what was seen. As exampled in the Brooke Shield’s ad for the American designer Calvin Klein, the controversial nature of fashion was based upon the connection between sexuality and fashion (Fig. 2). The advertising boasted the now famous line “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins”, a suggestive commentary that was found to be too bold and sexual to be associated with a girl who was 15 at the time the sexualized advertisements were shot.8 However, the controversy only managed to make the designer and his denim jeans more popular, creating an upsurge in the market and a demand for his work from all classes of women who wanted to be associated with the trend. Fig. 2 Brooke Shields Calvin Klein Advertisement, 1980.9 There are three main media forms in which fashion journalism is found; print, broadcast, and the internet. While it has the most employees within the fashion industry, fashion journalism is a highly competitive form of journalism where many journalists labor for years without pay in order to earn the right to a paying position.10 The internet, however, has opened a door through which budding fashion journalists have been able to carve out a place for their writing without having to immediately associate them with an already known entity. Websites have been developed that give fashion journalists an opportunity to work freelance and to voice their point of view. Sites such as wgsn.com provide a trend-analysis and research for those in the industry as well as those who are interested in fashion. The subscription based service opens up to provide up to the minute information on what is happening in the fashion world, which literally includes the entire world, from Tokyo to Milan and from Paris to New York. They have offices on four continents, providing worldwide coverage of fashion related information.11 Websites such as wgsn.com allow for a deeper relationship between the events of the fashion industry and the communication of those events as they happen quickly and in real time. The Gasping Breaths of the Paris Fashion Industry From the point of view of sociological manifestations of fashion within the global Westernized culture, Paris has been promoted as the fashion capital of the world primarily through the work of fashion journalism. According to Sheridan, though, it was through the movie Gone with the Wind that the upsurge of appreciation for Paris as the fashion capital became a household cultural belief. Sheridan states that “Scarlet, as a model for post-feminist woman is able to have it all while remaining highly desirable”.12 During the relationship between Rhett Butler and Scarlet, she is admonished for not knowing the current state of fashion in Paris, a sentiment that resonated with Western women for whom Rhett was the perfect brutish, but passionate example of a male. Their desire for the attentions of such a man, creating the idea that to be the ideal feminine example and attract a man similar to Rhett, a woman needed to know what was going on in the fashion world in Paris. The propagation of the myth promoted the growth of the fashion industry within Paris after World War II, bringing the focus of the women of the world once again upon the runaways of the city. Fig 3. Christian Dior Fall Line, 2010.13 According to Sheridan “If European women were conventional and followed the rules dictated by their mothers or their nannies before World War II, they wanted to be a la mode after the conflict was over”.14 The consumptive based ideology that was the American way of life was now spreading throughout Europe, creating a need that the fashion industry, with its ‘capital’ so near, could fill. According to Sheridan, in describing the European point of view on the American Girl, she “always dresses in a way that is both the height of fashion and the edge of fashion. Her look shocking in its own fashion time, becomes the cliché of an era”.15 The rise of the consumer based era initiated a rise in the focus on Paris, the fashion industry blossoming into a full bloom of beautifully crafted wearable art that influenced the world. The sociological perspective on the way in which the rise of Paris as the capital of the fashion industry has taken place recognizes that this did not take place because Paris has more clothing manufacturers or even more designers than any other city in the world, but because the image that has arisen between Hollywood movies, advertising imagery, and fashion journalism has created a phenomenon around the city. Although through sentimentality and nostalgia the city still evokes a conceptualized idea that Paris is the center of the fashion industry, the proliferation of information through the expediency of the internet has shifted focus from Paris onto a multiple of fashion centers. The multiple fashion centers, all of which have their own fashion weeks, are not wrote about, discovered, and propagated through the use of the internet that reveals fashion as it happens, as the trends hit impact the cultural spheres, and as they influence the trends of the world. No longer is the ultimate commentary carried on through the discourse that is Paris fashion, but it has become a multi-spherical world event that happens through the internet in real time. The fashion trends that hit the runways six months before they are intended to hit the shelves during the season are already yesterday’s news. Fig. 4 Christian Dior Spring Line 2011.16 As in examples Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the point of view of the Christian Dior line as it changes from the look revealed or fall and the look revealed for spring, are already accessible by anyone who chooses to look for them. According to Fashion Window, an internet fashion magazine, John Galliano of Dior has brought forth “how to dress the 21st century version of the 1950’s nymphet from New England” in his new line. This information was fresh the day that it happened, responding to the access that is provided by the internet through releasing information that is relevant and specific. Despite the fact that these looks will not be available until the spring, knock off manufacturers and domestic do it yourselfers can have the same look long before it is available from Dior. Blogging Of all the ways in which the internet has impacted the fashion industry, blogging has brought the relationship between the consumer and the designer into a more direct association. According to Leung, “Fashion blogs represent an intersection of online practices with both the ideal self and offline consumer”.17 Creating a blog takes neither expertise nor any accreditation. The average consumer can make themselves into a fashion critique through creating their own online identity through a blog. A blog is a way in which anyone can tell the world what they think and what they feel about any topic. A fashion blog can be quite successful without the writer of the blog having any experience as a professional within the fashion world. The phenomenon of the fashion blog has opened up the world of fashion to a whole new system of criticism. Leung connects the “top down” to the “bottom up” fantasies through the blog as the designers and bloggers meet in the middle of the created identity that surrounds fashion. Bloggers can become a part of mainstream media, their views and discoveries just as relevant as those put forth in long standing pieces of literature. One can go from the Vogue online presence to the blog of a woman from an urban environment and read both points a view in a matter of minutes from one another. The online blogger can be in a position to have no less credibility than the professional journalist as access to his or her opinions can be just as easily obtained in many instances. The formation of an online presence includes the formation of an online identity. The created identity of the online blogger will reflect how the blogger is received and of whom the audience of that blogger will ultimately be comprised. Leung states that “fashion blogs typically cover both ideal and real aspects of both the bloggers’ and the readers’ identities”.18 A blogger creates an entirely new pathway between the designers and the public. In this way, the blogger creates a whole new way in which the overall identity of the fashion industry is interpreted. The blog communicates the point of view of the consumer, the eye of those outside of the industry but for whom the control of the purse perpetuates the commercial enterprise. The effect of the blogger, however, can make or break some businesses as the reviews are not driven from within the industry, thus creating a ‘wild card’ effect. The blogger has no financial interest in the fashion industry, therefore the opinions, whether aesthetically valid or decidedly uneducated, can impact the sales of a trend that other industry journalists have helped to promote. The blogger is most often not defined by his or her financial interest in the way in which fashion is affecting the world. Therefore, the opinion that is expressed is not an industry opinion. It has not been developed through an insider’s point of view or through the development of socialized business associations that can create bias. The opinion of the blogger might be interpreted as one of the truest reflection of journalistic integrity because it often has no association to financial remuneration. Conclusion The fashion industry is made from an evolving set of beliefs on cultural trends that create the visual landscape of figural reality. Fashion journalists have been the resource from which the consumer has learned and grown with the industry, creating a demand for trends to be available at all income levels and growing the fashion industry to a point where it has become a thriving and integral part of the global culture, most specifically in Western global culture. The internet has created a resource from which the world can view trends and movements within fashion at a quickened pace, the trend that is developed today literally seen on the backs of men and women tomorrow. The development of the internet connection to fashion has allowed for bloggers to begin to influence fashion, their consumer point of view unsullied by profit and driven only by the desire to promote their own tastes and editorial commentary on the designers they both love and hate. The fashion world is no longer strictly dictated down to the masses, but the masses are raising their voice up to the designers through blogging and creating a new facet of identity within the fashion world. The impact of the internet on fashion journalism has been to create a resource that is unbiased, as much as it is untrained, but with enough influence that designers and manufacturers have a guide from which to product their lines. References Brake, Laurel, and Marysa Demoor. 2009. Dictionary of nineteenth-century journalism in Great Britain and Ireland. Gent: Academia Press. DeCastro-Ona, Ritchelle A. 24 September 2010. Brooke Shields Calvins’ still fit. The News Chronicle. [Online]. Available at Accessed on 5 December 2010. Fashion Windows Network. Christian Dior haute couture 2010: Turning back the clock. Available at Accessed on 7 December 2010. Fashion Windows Network. Christian Dior haute couture 2011: My sweet Lolita. Available at Accessed on 7 December 2010. Goworek, Helen. 2006. Careers in fashion and textiles. Oxford: Blackwell. Leung, Linda. 2008. Digital experience design: ideas, industries, interaction. Bristol, UK: Intellect. McRobbie, Angela 1998. British fashion design: Rag trade or image industry? London: Routledge. Tungate, Mark. 2008. Fashion brands: branding style from Armani to Zara. London: Kogan Page. Sheridan, Jayne. 2010. Fashion, media, promotion: the new black magic. Chichester, West Sussex, U.K.: Wiley-Blackwell. WGSN. 2010. History of WGSN. [Online]. Available at Accessed on 4 December 2010. Read More