While in the midst of our 8th bi-annual IFB Conference, Buzzfeed Shift published an article about “Finding The Next Bryanboy.” Written by Amy Odell (two-time IFBcon panelist and former editor at New York magazine’s The Cut), the article surveys bloggers and industry experts like Jennine, Kelly Framel (The Glamourai), Karen Robinowitz (Digital Brand Architects) and Susanna Lau (Style Bubble) about what it takes to go big in our industry today.
It’s a must-read for any fashion, lifestyle or beauty blogger; full of frank, honest and interesting commentary on celebrity cache, fashion week insta-fame, and blogging for the wrong reasons.
Jacob, the conference organizer, says that when people get into fashion blogging just for the sake of becoming internet celebrities and getting their photos posted online, “it’s very obvious.” She added, “If your only objective is to be kind of famous, I don’t think you’re going to have the longevity to make it [to [Bryanboy's] level” — that is, previewing the top designer collections before fashion week and even joining the cast of America’s Next Top Model.
Here are a few more of our favorite exerts from the article:
“I work hard, but I would say I’m really, really lucky. I’m fully aware that all of it can just disappear in a flash,” said Susanna Lau, who blogs as Susie Bubble. Though she was quick to add: “I can’t see bloggers disappearing completely off the grid unless they themselves disappear. [But] there’s no precedent yet.”
“The landscape is completely different from when Susie Bubble and Bryanboy started. To truly break out, the roughly 10 bloggers and blogging experts interviewed for this story agree that people need talents beyond personal-style blogging and the ability to draw the attention of street-style photographers at fashion week. Now the industry and potential followers are hungry for more depth — but finding those flowers amongst the weeds is still incredibly challenging.”
“Bryanboy said that he sees a lot of people who don’t seem to be into blogging for reasons beyond their own narcissism. “There are so many people out there who start blogs not because they have a genuine passion to share their experiences to readers (which, to me, is the essence of blogging). But they now proactively chase fame,” he wrote in an email. “When I first started my blog eight years ago, there was absolutely no desire to be famous, no dream to sit front row, so on and so forth. There was no master plan or road map to follow. Everything happened organically.” Now, in addition to being a regular on America’s Next Top Model, he’s signed to top talent agency CAA.”
“I think if Susie Bubble just posted her outfits on a daily basis, I don’t think she’d be as popular as she is,” Jacob said. “What makes her blog so interesting is that she has it in the context of up-and-coming fashion and history, and developing a visual culture around her look, which makes her really unique.”
Check out more from Jennine & the rest of “Finding the Next Bryanboy” here.
[Image credit: Getty Images, via Buzzfeed]
Great stuff, will definitely check out the article!
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