Social Media Influencers Hit the Runways
This fashion season saw more media influencers on the runway than ever before. This isn’t an entirely new concept for this season; Dolce and Gabbana was the first and most well-known brand to invite non-models to walk their runways last January. Designers are looking to create more of an experience to showcase their collections and create more intimacy for their labels.
Having fashion influencers more involved with the fashion week experience is becoming more beneficial for fashion brands and designers. The influencers often have large amounts of followers, and having the influencer more involved at fashion week and even having them walk the runway gives their followers a more intimate look into fashion week and becomes more personal.
Influencers are walking advertisements, with followers valuing their opinions and becoming influenced to make purchases based on what their favorite fashion influencers are wearing. Having influencers involved on the runways and more involved in fashion week easily reaches the younger millennial audience because of their increased interest in fashion and their attachment to social media platforms.
Fashion influencers such as Aimee Song (@songofstyle on Instagram), Caroline Daur (@carodaur on Instagram), and Alexandra Pereira (@lovelypepa on Instagram) were some of the top bloggers walking on the runways this fashion season. Other up and coming celebrities and influencers have additionally walked the runways, such as Marcus Butler and Kristina Bazan. Some well known and more established influencers were also using this fashion season to help promote their favored brands and continue to grow their followings, such as Danielle Bernstein (@weworewhat on Instagram) and Olivia Palermo (@oliviapalermo) on Instagram.
The presence of bloggers on the runway shows the ever-evolving fashion industry and its ability to change itself to be a better fit for the current trends. The marketing strategy of influencers walking the runway might prove to be here to stay, because of its effectiveness in raising talk on collections and raising sales for brands.
Trendalytics has noticed the impact that bloggers have on their followers in their research on New York Fashion Week. According to the research company, of the brands that showed at NYFW, 87 percent had more buzz from influencers than their own official brand social media accounts. Trendalytics also saw the influence the influencers had in reporting different trends to their followers, who are the main consumers in boosting these brands' sales.
So, will the blogger-turned-model trend be here to stay for the next few runway seasons? If brands are seeing a positive impact from these social media influencers on the runway, then more fashion bloggers may have the opportunity to fulfill their childhood dreams of becoming a runway model.
