CONTINUE
6:47 pm"On the 'B' Word" |
Hello friends I'm still alive. If you count buried under books, extremely bored and having meal times serve as the highlight of my days, then yep that's me. Alive. Things are tense and weird and confusing and a lot of other adjectives thus leaving fashion a little lower on the list of current important words in my life.
Fashion has been bumped down a few notches in favour of Nandos and Vida and all other words associated with meal vouchers. A few more notches in favour of grafting and Fallism. Up until last night.
I spent the evening doing contour line calculations for an assignment of mine- switching in the usual study playlist with interviews and talks given by some admirable fashion people. Essentially my attempt at getting my shit together in terms of becoming one of these fashion people. I'm pinning it down as yet another existential crisis, where I become disenchanted with the industry and struggle to see how I'm planning on contributing to it or why I want to so badly.
This is off the back of some twitter discussion regarding the defintion of the word blogger (especially in a South African context). Someone defined bloggers as 'social marketers' which didn't really sit well with me. All the bloggers I avidly follow are very definitely not just social marketers, and a list of names was quickly scribbled down in my head of bloggers who are creatives, consultants, photographers, social commentators, stylists etc. Some who do include social marketing as part of their job descriptions and some who absolutely do not (Cue neon lights flashing with Margaret Zhang's name). To some extent I can understand why this person was lead to define bloggers as such, as many of our local digital influencers have taken that route, and as a collective force, thus making it seem as if it is the only route. The method of monetising one's fashion voice through sponsered posts and brand ambassador-ing has been extremely effective and fulfilling for them in a media environment that is quickly catching on to the power of the blogger. Cool. This is all good and well, but I am of the strong belief that such a definition is extremely limiting to other bloggers and content creators in the fashionsphere.
I can't peg Susie Lau down as a social marketer. I can't give that label to Tavi Gevinson or Leandra Medine.
I can't peg Sandrine Mpazayabo as a social marketer. I can't give that label to Toni Gum, Jemma Richmond, Hloni Sepanya, Tshiamo Ramano or even myself.
I definitely am inclined to use the name blogger, but it's irritating that single dimensional defintions of this word have caused some of us (including the blogger person who defined bloggers as such) to shy away from it. The word blog is a neologism created as a hybrid of the words web and log. It's an online record of something.
So I'm going to request two things.
Of content consumers: In order to prevent further self doubt and confusion in our content creator friends, may we remain open to new developments, expressions and interpretations in the fashion industry- especially in the increasingly widening and accesible online world.
Of content creators (BLOGGERS): In all your various beautiful forms and ways that you digitally contribute to our understanding of fashion- continue.
Haha I was going to chat about the value in buying separate formal pieces and how they can be integrated into your causual outifts later-which is very true. (I'm wearing my blazer again today with a pair of slides). But I think those are enough words for the day.
Back to maths.
Outfit Details
Navy Blazer: Cotton On
Bra: Cotton On
Earrings: Woolworths
Choker: D.I.Y
Sheer Top: Witchery at Woolworths
Trousers: Woolworths
Shoes: Dumond
Credits
Photography: Jemma Richmond and Mary Gouws
Styling: Refiloe Mokgele
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