The history of the fashion blogger has been studied carefully in our circle jerk of a news cycle we currently live in. Toddlers become blog sensations, people scout locations for backdrops to Instagram against and even short documentaries have gotten in on the action. Well, Refinery29 takes us back to the depths of blogging hell by looking at how companies who want their products featured on influential Instagram accounts have made the once insular world of style and fashion blogging totally fucking mainstream. How lame.
When a company goes on a big campaign, paying bloggers and 'grammers to feature items on their accounts, it becomes more like spam, as much as they want it to feel "organic." They used to seed bloggers with product to feature, but now the bloggers of the world are no longer on the receiving end of products or money (and lots of it) as luxury companies are more focused on other celebrities like DJs (for real). Those bloggers who used to be at the top of the list have rebranded themselves and turned their efforts into successful websites. It only makes sense, really. Blogging wasn't a profession 10 years ago and its quick ascent due to the Internet has turned it into an actual career despite the fact that explaining it to your grandma at Thanksgiving could be life-threatening.
In the past, a blogger would have wanted to work for a fashion magazine, but they can make a hell of a lot more money pushing sponsored content instead. I mean, why would you choose to do something else? The "bloggers" have become the "establishment" as the piece phrases. What started off as a completely down to earth business has changed their voice and taste in an effort to cash in, alienating their audience in the process. And while brands want to use these audiences to reach new customers within a certain niche, today's efforts end up feeling a bit monotonous as every blogger under the sun gets the same exact item and all show it off in the one week period they're required to in order to get their check. Bloggers used to have a personal touch. Now they're on the cover of Vogue. I miss the good ol' days.
