VOGUE 426x276 F-GB_SC M2 INDIA_A

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VOGUE 426x276 F-GB_SC M2 INDIA_A
VIEW
vogue.in
social media’s fashion icons
STYLE
WEB OF INFLUENCE
148 VOGUE INDIA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
____________
BURBERRY
Burberry.com
Any talk of ‘digital’
and ‘fashion’ points
right back to the
157-year-old British
brand known for
its iconic trench
coat. Since 2006,
Burberry, with 16
million Facebook
fans, has integrated
a digital culture at
its core. Pushed
forward by the
American-born
Angela Ahrendts,
who was CEO
from 2006 until
October 2013,
the brand’s S/S
2014 London
Fashion Week
show partnered
with Apple (where
Ahrendts is headed
to manage its
retail efforts from
mid-2014). Photos
and videos shared
via social media
were captured
Madhu Shah in Art
Of The Trench
using a set of
iPhone 5s devices
(not released at
the time). A photo
of British-Indian
model Neelam
Johal wearing a
polka-dot shirt and
lace pencil skirt has
nearly 15,000 likes
on Instagram. Visit
Burberry’s London
head office and
Christopher
Bailey
the staff aren’t
surfing Facebook;
they’re on
Burberry Chat—
the company’s
in-house
communication
platform, which
chief creative and
newly appointed
chief executive
officer Christopher
Bailey uses, too. >
REX FEATURES
O
Over two billion people use the internet. They could be looking at anything
from the latest political uprising and
Jimmy Choo slingbacks to a photograph of British model Cara Delevingne reading bedtime stories to her sister’s children. British photographer
Nick Knight set up his revolutionary
fashion website SHOWstudio.com in
2000 because he was interested in the
moments that only he could see. “It
has never been to dispel myths about
the industry,” he says, but rather
about showing the magic behind the
campaigns he was creating at the time
for Dior. Former Spice Girl Victoria
Beckham augmented her reincarnation as fashion designer by using Twitter to charm over seven million of us.
Tavi Gevinson—who came to the
fashion world’s attention as a 12-yearold fashion blogger—is now the fullfledged editor-in-chief of her own online publication for teenage girls,
which boasts nearly 1,00,000 followers on both Twitter and Instagram.
This is, truly, fashion as it happens.
Here’s Vogue’s list of the men and
women who are revolutionising the
way we consume fashion, the biggest
players of the World Wide Web.
Welcome to the democracy.
BUSINESS
The internet is a fashion voyeur’s playground—Oscar de la Renta
clutching a jar of pickles, or Victoria Beckham’s travel plans, anybody?
But there’s some serious business happening. Vogue brings you the digital
world’s game changers. Click, like, follow now. By DAL CHODHA
Business
viEW
Meagan Cignoli
Meagan Cignoli, the New
York-based fashion and portrait
photographer, enjoys a bit of trial
and error—be it the six-second clip
she made of her walking her dog
or a short viral featuring Dolce
& Gabbana make-up. “I did not
Miroslava
Duma’s
many looks
150 voguE indiA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
know my first 10 Vines had sound,
because you have to click the sound
on,” she recalls. So after whirling
under a cherry blossom tree for
about an hour, Cignoli fell into a
little hole, and it took her a month
to realise that you could hear her
falling in the clip. “But it was the
prettiest Vine so I left the sound
in,” she smiles. Cignoli began
experimenting with the mobile app
that enables users to create short
video clips for Twitter and Instagram
one month after it launched last
year and today creates short videos
for numerous clients.
She’s been nominated for the
2013 Tribeca Film Festival #6sec
Film Competition twice. How has
her photography changed? “I’m
thinking more about motion now
and less about stillness.”
____________________
MIROSLAVA DUMA
Instagram.com/miraduma
Miroslava Duma has dominated streetstyle blogs since arriving on the scene
a few seasons ago wearing a whole host
of beautiful clothes by her favourite
designers—Vika Gazinskaya, Marni,
Chanel, Phoebe Philo. A former
editor at Russian Harper’s
Bazaar and the daughter of
a Russian senator, Duma
founded Buro 24/7, a website
dedicated to fashion, art,
architecture, cinema, music
and style, and is busy working
on more global launches.
“We’ve never had any history
of fashion in Russia, but
there has been a revolution
of thinking,” she told the
Telegraph in 2012. Duma, who
lives in Moscow, liaises with
Buro’s global editors and the
half a million followers she has
on Instagram. As digital media
director at TsUM, Moscow’s
renowned department store,
founder of charity foundation
Peace Planet and Buro 24/7 (Croatia,
Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Middle East and
the UK), there’s a lot to like. >
REX FEATURES
___________________
MEAGAN CIGNOLI
Ilovemeagan.com
street style star
Digital means
big business. In
2013, KCD Digital
was ranked sixth
in the New York
Observer’s ‘The
Power 50 List’ of
agencies in New
York—the highest
position for a
fashion agency. Its
managing director,
Rachna Shah,
cut her teeth at
Victoria’s Secret.
“It was amazing
how this content
that Victoria’s
Secret always
used to develop
for broadcasters—
behind-the-scenes
interviews and
brand videos,
among a few—
became like candy
to the digital
media,” she says.
KCD developed
the digital fashion
show platform,
which created a
digital experience
from the assets
that the press and
retailers get from a
live fashion show.
The challenge for
KCD was how a
fashion and PR
strategy could be
applied to digital.
“It took some
time to focus on
what we could do
best in this area,”
Shah says, “and
then we realised
that it was about
growing the skill
set we had already
developed.”
vine-r
______________
KCD DIGITAL
Kcdworldwide.com
e-tailer
viEW
____________________________
LAUREN SANTO DOMINGO
Modaoperandi.com
Have you ever rushed into your favorite
boutique at the beginning of the season,
only to find out that the dress you’d
seen on the runway six months ago was
never made? Does your local boutique
always sell out of your size first? If you’re
nodding your head in agreement, Lauren
Santo Domingo, one of the world’s most
recognised style authorities, has the answer.
She is co-founder and creative director of
Moda Operandi, the online retailer that
allows you to “pre-order tomorrow’s fashion
today.” Domingo launched the site in 2010
along with former Gilt Groupe executive
Áslaug Magnúsdóttir who, says she, was
getting so used to hearing designers
grumble that many of their favourite pieces
were never ordered by traditional retailers
(and, therefore, never produced). In its
first year the site gained over 1,00,000
members who were preordering looks
straight from the runways of established
designers like Carolina Herrera, Prabal
Gurung and Rochas, and promoting newer
talent like Stella Jean and Clover Canyon
and a sale devoted to Russia’s newest
talents, titled Russian Evolution.
The site also offers a year-round
boutique stocked with clothes and
accessories from designers like Proenza
Schouler, Alexander Wang and Isabel
Marant. Previously, Domingo worked
as PR director for Paris-based furrier J
Mendel, where she assisted in launching
the brand’s ready-to-wear collection,
and also helmed the PR department of
Carolina Herrera. She’s also a contributing
editor at US Vogue, so if there’s anyone
you can trust, it’s her.
152 voguE indiA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
GETTY IMAGES; ARTHUR ELGORT
Celebrities such as Rachel Bilson
and Nicole Richie are fans of Los
Angeles-based Who What Wear,
a self-proclaimed “authority
for trend-setting fashionistas
and their followers between
the ages of 18-34.”
Launched in 2006 by
Hillary Kerr and Katherine
Power—two former Elle
magazine editors—the
site is more of an online
magazine than blog and
their daily newsletter covers
the latest in celebrity
fashion, runway trends and
beauty secrets. The site
even includes online video
and books; Who What
Wear TV was the number
one downloaded fashion
podcast on iTunes during
its entire four-season run.
With its inclusive voice and
approach, they have over
1 million daily subscribers
and 4,44,290 followers on
Instagram. In their very own
words, just “double tap if
you’d like to see more!” >
instagram
____________________
WHO WHAT WEAR
Instagram.com/whowhatwear
Hillary Kerr, Rachel
Zoe, Katherine Power
and Jessica Alba
VIEW
BLOG
Eva Chen.
Inset: With
Karlie Kloss
___________
INTO THE
GLOSS
Instagram.com/
intothegloss
Into The Gloss’
most-read post
of all time is from
2010 and features
the American
model Karlie Kloss.
The post, which
comes under the
site’s Top Shelf
section (where
interviewees are
asked about their
personal beauty
regimens and
make-up finds),
hears Kloss
154 VOGUE INDIA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
waxing lyrical
about Lancôme’s
Définicils mascara
and Laura Mercier
Secret Camouflage
concealer.
Founded in 2010
by Emily Weiss,
the site includes
the beauty finds
and routines
of influencers,
tutorials, product
reviews, inspiration
and shopping,
and has almost
1,00,000 followers.
Weiss developed
an almost
encyclopaedic
knowledge of
models, stylists and
hair and make-up
artists after years
of working in
fashion, beginning
first as an intern in
the Ralph Lauren
design studio at
the age of 15,
going on to work
at Teen Vogue and
W magazines, and
assisting Elissa
Santisi, former style
director at Vogue.
The site’s Instagram
feed serves as a
behind-the-scenes
look at upcoming
stories and shoots.
Check Weiss’ own
feed for candid
selfies with makeup maestros Pat
McGrath and Tom
Pecheux and the
odd photograph of
Eddie Murphy.
Jennifer Fleiss and
Jennifer Hyman
_____________________
RENT THE RUNWAY
Renttherunway.com
Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Fleiss,
two Harvard classmates who bonded
over girls’ nights in and a love of
fashion, launched Rent The Runway
in 2009 after a case of that familiar
‘closet full of clothes but nothing to
wear’ moment. By August 2010, it was
named one of the 50 best websites by
TIME magazine. “I spent way too much
money shopping
because I was always
chasing trends. My
MARCH
closet filled up with
PICKS
pieces I would only
The founders
end up wearing once
pick the hottest
or twice,” Jennifer
pieces to rent
Hyman, CEO
this month
and co-founder,
remembers. The
concept is simple;
the site features
clothes from labels
‘Hollywood House’
such as Badgley
minaudiere,
Mischka, Calvin
Serpui Marie
Klein Collection,
Issa and Nachiket
Barve in sizes 0 to 16,
which members can
rent for their needs.
‘Papillon
Each rental includes
Drop’
a back-up size at no
earrings,
additional cost to
Alexis
Bittar
ensure fit and a prepaid, pre-addressed
package to return
the dress afterwards.
“We were surprised
that our customers
weren’t just sharing
their experiences
with close friends but
also with the entire
online community.”
It’s something that
the duo has built on
with Our Runway, a
platform on the site
that allows women
to shop by photos of
‘Sonoran
real customers with
Desert
similar body types
Cactus’ dress,
wearing the dresses. >
Matthew
GETTY IMAGES
The editor in chief
at Lucky Magazine,
Eva Chen’s digital
OMG moment
was a snap of One
Direction’s raffish Harry Styles as he walked
past her at the Burberry show in London.
It was a month later that Chen noticed
Kevin Systrom, CEO and co-founder of
Instagram, lurking in the background (the
photograph has almost 2,000 likes). When
she first started using the platform, Chen,
previously at Teen Vogue, began talking
about shoes, skincare and manicures. “I
really think that the secret to social media
is being consistent. Living
in New York and working in
the fashion industry is such
a privilege: I want to share
it with others!” Cue a lot of
shots of Chen’s accessories,
in the back of taxis, and
uploads of her beauty finds.
With over 95,000 followers,
what Chen loves most is
the direct access she has
to her readers. “I can do a
temperature check of trend
and celebrities. Who needs focus groups?
I love the feeling of being in a digital
community: you are never alone online.”
E-TAILER
INSTAGRAM
____________
EVA CHEN
Instagram.com/
evachen212
Williamson
blog
viEW
INSTAgRAM
________
COCO
ROCHA
Instagram.com/
cocorocha
blog
Model Coco
Rocha has
come a long
way since first
being scouted
at an Irish dance
competition in
2002. By February
2006, she was
on the cover
of Vogue Italia,
photographed by
Steven Meisel.
The true ‘Coco
Moment’—a
phrase coined
by US Vogue—
came when she
opened Jean Paul
Gaultier’s Scottish
Highlands-inspired
autumn/winter
2007 show by
Irish-dancing down
the runway. Rocha
is big on Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram
and Tumblr, and
in April 2012
became the first
Founder Chris Laverty picks his favourite
looks on film: Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct;
Catherine Deneuve in Belle de Jour;
Helena Bonham Carter in Fight Club
156 voguE indiA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
high-fashion
model to have
more than one
million followers on
the social media
platform Google+.
At the end of each
week she posts a
roundup of her
‘Life via Instagram’
on her blog: “I get
a new look, make
a few friends, and
spend a little bit of
time in LA!” and
you can follow the
whole thing from
the comfort of
your smartphone.
Her feed is a blend
of modelling, TVhosting and publicspeaking work,
showing anything
from a visit to
Tumblr’s New York
HQ to attending
a Masters Tea at
Yale University.
As well as offering
an account of
the fabulous life
of a supermodel,
Rocha uses social
media to raise
consciousness. In
2012 she wrote an
open letter to the
New York Times
asking, “How
can any person
justify an aesthetic
that reduces a
woman or child
to an emaciated
skeleton? Is it art?
Surely fashion’s
aesthetic should
enhance and
beautify the
human form, not
destroy it.”
____________________
CLOTHES ON FILM
Clothesonfilm.com
How many times have you lusted after Keira
Knightley’s green silk dress in Atonement? Or thought
about Annie Hall’s iconic pantsuit? Clothes On Film
pulls the role of the costume designer firmly into the
spotlight. Writer, broadcaster and costume consultant
Chris Laverty launched the blog in 2009. “I cannot
view anything without thinking about the costume
design. It’s a curse!” he jokes. The blog’s aim was to
examine costume and identity in movies, featuring
detailed articles on outfits, reviews, news and exclusive
interviews. “The craft of costume designers is still
somewhat underappreciated. If I can get one more
person to take notice of the clothes they see in a
movie or on television, I can die a happy man.”
If the blogging
community were
anything like bees,
Susanna Lau
(known widely
as Susie Bubble)
would be their
queen. After eight
years of writing
about fashion
with a focus on
spotlighting young
and unknown
talent, Lau has
been at the fore
of what we now
know as fashion
blogging. In
2013, Lau joined
NowManifest, a
network of style
bloggers owned
by Condé Nast.
With projects for
Gap, Dr. Martens,
Giorgio Armani,
Selfridges and
Hong Kong
boutique Joyce,
Lau says that
digital culture has
broadened not just
her perspective
but her horizons,
too. “I’m an avid
and in-depth
researcher and I
think the internet
just facilitates
that in a way that
traditional libraries
and resources
can’t. That just
enriches what I do
as a blogger. I think
Oscar Wilde would
have been a great
blogger and would
have used social
media platforms
in a witty way,” she
says. “Actually, I
think a lot of great
classic authors
would have loved
the internet.” >
AFP
________
STYLE
BUBBLE
Stylebubble.co.uk
____________________
VICTORIA BECKHAM
@VICTORIABECKHAM
Unsurprisingly, Victoria Beckham’s
Twitter account is a rolling account
of the life of a pop-star-cumfootballer-wife-cum-fashiondesigner-and-style-icon. With over
seven million followers (or ‘fashion
bunnies’), her profile is a peek into
her life—meeting customers at
in-store events one minute and on
her hands and knees at a fitting
with best friend Eva
Longoria the next. In
three 140-characterlong bursts,
Beckham boards a
private jet to Berlin
to be presented
with an award by
Karl Lagerfeld and
attends a dinner
hosted by Vogue
Germany (where
the table’s been
dressed using
8,000 white roses),
before flying to
Munich. Now that’s
something to
Tweet about.
_______________________
LIBERTY LONDON GIRL,
SASHA WILKINS
@LIBERTYLNDNGIRL
Sasha Wilkins steals seconds
between working as a style
journalist, editor and broadcaster
and updating her multiaward-winning lifestyle blog,
LibertyLondonGirl, to tweet, on
average, 20 times a day to her
95,628 (and growing) followers.
She says Twitter is a great way to
connect with people that she may
never meet in the real world, and to
keep on top of breaking news. Her
stream is a catalogue of everything
from the best blow-dry to the
Bangladesh Fire And Building
Safety Accord. “It’s important
to remember
that nothing is
permanently deleted
on the internet...
so think before you
Tweet...” Her rule
of thumb? “Don’t
Tweet anything you
wouldn’t say in the
real world.”
158 VoguE IndIA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
5 Sep ‘13
OscarPRGirl @OscarPRGirl
dot calm. Oscar’s spring inspiration sketch from
today’s WWD
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
7 Nov ‘13
OscarPRGirl @OscarPRGirl
“we are not looking for endless variety--we are
looking for fashion.”—diana vreeland, memos
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
9 Jan
OscarPRGirl @OscarPRGirl
margot robbie wearing Oscar tonight in london.
she-wolf
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
25 Oct ‘13
Victoria Beckham @victoriabeckham
LOVED meeting @lenadunham at the CFDA
Fashion Fund in LA x vb
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
21 Nov ‘13
Victoria Beckham @victoriabeckham
Big clear out of my shoes, on sale tomorrow in aid
of @BritishRedCross #ShopDrop x vb
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
2 Dec ‘13
Victoria Beckham @victoriabeckham
The new @vogueparis issue that I guest edited is
out today! X vb
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
FashionEditoratLarge @fashedatlarge 13 Dec ‘13
After everyone getting angsty about fashion week
zoos and circuses, is it all about to change?
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
8 Jan
FashionEditoratLarge @fashedatlarge
So, this is the year of wearable technology
(apparently) but what will we actually be wearing?
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
FashionEditoratLarge @fashedatlarge 24 Oct ‘13
In Paris with Isabel Marant chatting about her
husband stealing her clothes, copycats & adoring
fans #hmisabelmarant
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
Liberty London Girl @LibertyLndnGirl 22 Nov ‘13
Things to make your heart beat faster: an early
morning delivery from chanel_fashion
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
Liberty London Girl @LibertyLndnGirl 22 Nov ‘13
More extraordinary millinery at Isabella Blow:
Fashion Galore at Somerset House
REPLY
RETWEET
FAVORITE
TWITTER
VIEW
______________
OSCARPRGIRL,
ERIKA BEARMAN
@OSCARPRGIRL
Erika Bearman, senior vice president
of communications for Oscar de
la Renta, has a sense of humour
to match her closet. She has
achieved the highest of meme
praise, parodied on YouTube in
a ‘Sh*t OscarPRGirl Says’ video
seen by more than 27,000 people.
Bearman joined Twitter in 2009 to
open up the Park Avenue, ladieswho-lunch label to a new audience
and her authenticity and individual
personal style has gained the brand
over 2,00,000 followers. From her
quest to find a rose-gold French
press, selfies in OdlR ball gowns
and decadent furs to a photograph
of de la Renta himself clutching
a jar of pickles, Bearman’s Twitter
stream is pure Sex And The City for
Generation Y.
_________________________
FASHIONEDITORATLARGE,
MELANIE RICKEY
@FASHEDATLARGE
Fashion editor at large of the
internet is Melanie Rickey. A writer,
editor and consultant, Rickey has
covered fashion since 1996 and her
blog comprises news, gossip, insight
and observations on happenings
in the fashion world. After a career
that included working at the
Independent, Daily Telegraph and
Sunday Times and writing for Vogue,
Rickey became one of the launch
editors of British Grazia and its
digital component. She has been at
the beginning of the print-to-digital
shift, so it’s no wonder that over
42,000 people follow her every
word on Twitter, where she can be
tweeting on her current favourite
TV show, a Bobbi Brown makeover or news of Topshop’s latest
collaboration. Rickey’s Twitter
tip is clear: “Add to the conversation
by sharing unique and wellinformed information.” >
VIEW
Have you ever wondered
what hangers Vogue’s
digital creative director,
Sally Singer, uses or how
Rachel Zoe folds her
jumpers? Well then, after
Vogue.in, The Coveteur
should be your next daily
____________
FARFETCH
Farfetch.com
Looking for a site that unites
over 1,05,000 items from
more than 2,500 brands?
Established in 2008 by
entrepreneur José Neves,
Farfetch boasts more than
digital destination—they
take style personally. Cofounded by designer Erin
Kleinberg, stylist Stephanie
Mark and photographer
Jake Rosenberg in January
2011, the site had 20,000
hits on its first day. Today,
the site boasts more than
350 Coveteurs offering
a glimpse into their
closets, homes, backstage,
ateliers and archives all in
beautifully curated images.
“I get inspired to try new
things by the people we
shoot and also people that
I see just scrolling through
Instagram,” Stephanie Mark
says. “It’s a bit of a doubleedged sword, sadly, as that
also prevents you from
wearing the same outfit too
many times!”
five million monthly visits
from over 175 countries
and brings together the
collections of Europe,
North America and Asia’s
most influential designer
boutiques. You’re only five
clicks away from buying a
skirt from Brazil or a bag
from Belgium. Last year,
Mumbai’s very own Le
Mill was winner of the site’s
SUPERSTORE Award,
established to support the
growth and creativity of
independent boutiques.
It is the first Indian store
to join Farfetch’s network.
Co-founder Cecilia Morelli
Parikh said, “We hope
that Le Mill can give its
customers a small glimpse
into the incredible energy
and creativity of Mumbai.”
Yes, India’s so fetch.
‘Amelia’
wrap dress,
Diane von
Furstenberg;
colour-block
skirt,
Proenza
Schouler
160 VOGUE INDIA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
E-TAILER
_________________
THE COVETEUR
Thecoveteur.com
BLOG
BLOG
Clockwise from top: Shoes galore
at stylist Elizabeth Stewart’s home;
co-founders Stephanie Mark and Jake
Rosenberg; supermodel Miranda Kerr;
shoes at student and philanthropist
Kimberley Ntsimi’s home
________________
LISA ELDRIDGE
Lisaeldridge.com
What Lisa Eldridge doesn’t know about
making up faces isn’t worth tweeting
about. Her passion for make-up was
ignited at the age of six, when she
discovered a box of her mother’s
vintage Mary Quant and Coty makeup dating back to the 1960s at her
grandmother’s house. With a career
spanning over 20 years, Eldridge
found that hits to her website—
which at the time was just her online
portfolio—would go into hundreds of
thousands after her regular UK TV
appearances in 2010. As a result she
started to get a lot of letters asking for
make-up advice. “I had seen what was
going on with amateur beauty videos
and how the whole YouTube thing
was exploding and I noticed there
was no one like me who was working
successfully in the industry,” she says.
“I thought I could offer a different
approach.” Alongside building content
on the site, Eldridge continues to work
on countless magazine covers and
editorial shoots, whilst creating over 40
unique videos a year for Chanel. “We
are living in extraordinary times. ‘Peer
to peer’ has become the most trusted
form of product recommendation and
people no longer trust advertising,
product placement and sponsored
content. When it comes to beauty,
brands and magazines now have to
work that much harder to connect
with and satisfy their customers and
readers… which is no bad thing.” Her
7,45,000-plus subscribers agree. >
VIEW
Six years ago, Mexican born and
raised Andy Torres was presented
with the opportunity to relocate to
Amsterdam. She arrived in the city
with the dream of pursuing a fashion
career but after a year of rejections
she realised that the best way to
get herself noticed might be the
internet. StyleScrapbook was born.
As a child, Torres was taller than her
siblings, and her earliest memory
of fashion is of her mother making
clothes for her and learning how to
sew herself. She hosts a television
series aired all over Latin America,
called Click, in which she gives
fashion tips and makeovers. Besides,
she’s designed a camera bag line
with Kipling, was Mango’s ‘It’ girl for
the autumn/winter 2011 campaign
and, the same year, delivered a
TED talk on the
key to successful
Andy
blogging. Her
Torres
2,79,346 Instagram
followers are fed
daily updates
on her outfits
and photos from
picturesque strolls
along Amsterdam’s
canals (and the city’s
tempting pastries).
Sometimes, she
turns the tables on
us: “Yes or no to this
sweater?” she grins
in one photo.
162 VOGUE INDIA MARCH 2014 www.vogue.in
Although Man Repeller
sounds like some sort
of ointment, American
author and fashion blogger
Leandra Medine had an
almost feminist mission
when setting up the site in
2010. Explaining her blog
to the Daily Mail, she said,
“Good fashion is about
pleasing women, not men,
so as it happens, the trends
that we love, men hate.
And that is fantastic.” The
site, which has an audience
of more than 1,69,900
Twitter followers, 4,55,000
Instagram followers
and 1,30,200 Facebook
followers, is about
dressing for you rather
than dressing to attract
the attention of men.
Simple! “Such garments
include—but are not
limited to—harem pants,
boyfriend jeans, overalls,
shoulder pads, full-length
jumpsuits, jewellery
that resembles violent
weaponry and clogs,” the
site clarifies. Born and
raised in New York City,
Medine obtained her
undergraduate degree
from The New School,
where she majored in
journalism, and today
employs three people to
assist her with ad sales
and articles, which cover
everything from Woody
Allen’s birthday to finding
love in the hands of
Google. The harem
pants didn’t hinder
Medine’s own chances
with the opposite sex;
at her recent wedding,
she wore a Marchesa
gown with a Rebecca
Minkoff leather jacket
and embellished Superga
sneakers. Man repellant?
We don’t think so.
1,10,000 views every
day. “I didn’t know that
starting to blog would
take me where I am right
now!” she says. In 2011,
New York Magazine
called her “one of
the biggest breakout
street-style stars of
the year.” Ferragni is
still studying to be a
lawyer but, like many
young women around
the world, fashion has
been an overarching
passion and she posts
photographs of her looks onto the site
almost daily. If The Blonde Salad is about
anything, it’s accessories. She recently
bagged a vintage 2.55 double-flap Chanel
bag and a maxi Hermès Kelly bag from
Beverly Hills’ LXR & Co. after putting it
to Instagram jury. “Fashion makes me feel
confident and happy wearing what I like.
It’s such a nice form of art.” ■
All statistics based on facts and figures
recorded at the time of going to press
BLOG
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STYLE SCRAPBOOK
instagram.com/stylescrapbook
Leandra Medine
in her menrepelling looks
________________
MAN REPELLER
Manrepeller.com
BLOG
INSTAGRAM
■
Chiara
Ferragni
_____________________
THE BLONDE SALAD
Theblondesalad.com
Chiara Ferragni is Italy’s most prominent
fashion blogger. For two years running she
was recognised by Bloglovin’ with awards
for ‘Newcomer Blogger of the Year’
(2011) and ‘Blogger Business of the Year’
(2012), and her site, The Blonde Salad
(no recipes included), has more than
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