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| Photo by Wallace Chapman |
At New Zealand Fashion Week this year, I
was entranced by how much the digital landscape had shaped and was shaped by
the trends set on our runway. Pride of
place was given to bloggers while the shutterbugs flashed from the front row,
as well as the paparazzi pit. The
dubious qualification of being a blogger for the first time permitted fashion
enthusiasts to sit sideline with the power buyers and media darlings. It certainly felt like a social (*media)
revolution.
I’ve been attending New Zealand Fashion Week for some 8 years now. Next year
will be my 9th. In that time, I’ve seen it move from Auckland’s historic Town Hall to the wind tunnels of our
Alinghi base at the Viaduct, to it’s final resting place; the spanking new
Viaduct Events Centre. If the shiny
newborn venue lacks the tired majesty of the old Town Hall; it more than makes
up for it in mod cons. Controlled
temperature and acoustics, free wifi, (though I doubt there was such a thing in
2003), multiple luxe bars and finally, VIP areas backstage. Proper stage and seating facilities ensured
swift turn around and fashion shows that – shock horror – actually ran to
schedule.
Not that I would have been aware of any of
this finer detail in 2003. Luckily, I
wasn’t a fashion reporter then, I was a lowly model. Essentially I was a glorified living statue,
paid to inhabit the Powder Room where the VIP’s and celebrities could come
escape the madness, sip champagne and be pampered away from the melee outside. But I didn’t care. I would have cut off my right arm to stand
there and simply inhale the fabulosity of all the fashion. Everything was tinged with the magic and
beauty of perfection and each morning at 5am I cheered when my alarm went off
because it was another day I was paid to work in heaven.
If I’m honest, I still feel that frisson of
excitement at the start of every fashion week. But there is a difference. In the
early years, I was so excited to be there, I thought every single show was the
best ever. In The Whole Entire World. I
hadn’t even heard of half the designers and I certainly couldn’t have passed
comment on the evolution of their designs.
I had no concept of their commercial viability, integrity of
construction, nuances of inspiration or the financial, emotional and cultural
investment from the design team. I was,
as most 19-20 year olds are, largely ignorant of the wider implications of
pretty much anything in life that didn’t wholly match my own limited
experiences.
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| Photo by Max Lemeshenko |
I’m not saying I’m much wiser now. Nor am I any more educated or expert in my
chosen art form. But I am more
considered. I take time to digest what
I’ve seen before I form my opinions on fashion shows. I am careful in my choice of words and how I
portray others. I appreciate the epic
efforts involved in the trend-storm that is Fashion Week. The hours of orchestration and the years of
blood stitched into every seam. I know
my own tastes and the aesthetics I am drawn to. I have an awareness of the dark and moody caricature our fashions paint
onto the global perspective of New Zealand, as well as the historical
persuasions that led them there. In
short, I think before I speak.
Which is why I find it curious that half my
invites this year were addressed to Katy Thomas – BLOGGER instead of Katy
Thomas – Broadcaster. While I am both,
the TV2 audience is significantly greater than that of any online kiwi
publication. Nor do I understand the
superhuman effort to prioritise bloggers (general) instead of bloggers (specific). Blogs are only of value if the writer’s
readership matches that of a label’s target market. Pretty much anyone with a finger and a pulse
can write a blog. That shouldn’t signify
that what they have to say is either meaningful to your audience or the end
consumer. Or that their brand adds to
the designers own. Put it this way: if
Trelise Cooper got a favourable review in “The Truth” I doubt she’d be skipping
all the way home.
The irony here is, I’ve embraced social
media from the outset. I love to tweet;
my facebook page is at capacity and I am a featured guest blogger for Social
Media New Zealand, FashioNZ and Thread.
According to Klout, I’m as influential about fashion as Karl Lagerfeld! Go figure.
Yet I would warn designers to be as selective in their guest lists as
ever before. Bloggers have truly earned
their place at fashion week and those that offer sound, incisive commentary
have as valid a contribution as any journalist.
However, to celebritize them and laud their appeal is short-sighted. Today’s blog will be buried beneath a hundred
more posts within a month. But a quality
fashion publication, prime-time news piece or exultant buyer will outlast the
seasons and continue to drive happy customers to the door. Fashion Week, you have been warned.
