JULIA SKYE GILLE
Dixie D’amelio, a TikTok ‘influencer’ with over 48 million followers has become the newest celebrity in a Vogue segment called “24 Hours With”. The series has previously had guests such as Katy Perry, A$AP Ferg, Cindy Crawford, and Robbert Pattison and revolves around the celebrities in their 24 hours before an anticipated event. The videos typically follow the celebrities’ day as they prepare for rehearsals, get their hair and make-up done and sometimes even follow their travels to give viewers the ultimate “behind-the-scenes” look into their lives.
Dixie D’Amelio’s video follows her daily routine in Los Angeles as she cooks, goes to the studio and has a dress rehearsal for the virtual Valentino show. However, little of the video revolves around the Valentino event, and spends a rather large section talking about her relationship with Noah Beck instead. During the video, Dixie even says “I have style” but she would rather just wear sweatpants and sweaters. While surely many people agree with this statement, it drives the video even further away from Vogue’s fashion lens.
The video has received backlash, with comments saying that by filming TikTokers, Vogue is attracting a completely different demographic than those interested in a fashion channel.
However, the video brings in an interesting perspective regarding ‘influencers’ and their role in magnifying fashion trends on inexplicably large scales. The definition says it in the title: influencers have immense platforms with a demographic with much buying power within the retail section. Emma Chamberlain is a prime example of an influencer who has a significant influence over North-American fashion trends and has even begun working with large brands such as Louis Vuitton. Influencers seem to be the step in between friends and celebrities. Their platforms create an illusion of familiarity which is different from what a celebrity can deliver in a movie or on stage. They bring the camera, and therefore their viewers along as they get coffee, make their beds, go to school and even shop. The result of this is a consumer base willing to buy what the influencers advocate. In essence, the development of social media in furtherance of the fashion industry have become a no-brainer.
Vogue has previously spoken out about their opinion on the TikTok platform, and its role in the industry. TikTok creators have according to Vogue been able to create “authentic content”, posting videos that are more “unfiltered than, say, those of Instagram stars, whose posts have to be perfectly composed and lit to perfection.”
It’s true–TikTok has created a platform where it is not just the final product people see, but can rather be anything from production, modeling, styling and even to selling. With hashtag like #YTKFashion receiving over 58 million hits, sustainable fashion business booming, celebrities like Bella Hadid and even high fashion labels such as Jacquemus and Balmain joining, it is not surprising how the app and its users can influence the fashion industry so heavily.
VOLTA 