FEATURE: INTERACTIVE ICONS
The new breed of fashion celebrity is reaching greater heights
She’s wearing an egg on her head and it’s not Easter time. This is what Anna Dello Russo, also known as ADR from her blog, wore as a hat to the Met Ball on May 3rd. She paired this outrageous head ornament with a Spanish matador-looking bolero with tails and gold-embroidered pants by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. ADR’s choice of outfit was homage to the late designer, Alexander McQueen, who famously had roots in bespoke tailoring, and said look was on trend with this season’s fixation on women dressing like men. Despite this, the ensemble made us wonder where she left her red cape and when the bull fight would begin. Joking aside, she’s reached celebrity status with the support of fashion bloggers and fanatics—20,000 of them who follow her each day and love her take on everyday dressing. Dello Russo, who was recently in Toronto with pal Tommy Ton, honed her style prowess at Vogue Italia for twelve years before transitioning to Vogue Japan, where she is the editor-at-large and a creative consultant. Through the personal medium of her blog, a relationship she coins as ‘intimacy’, has transformed her into an interactive fashion icon, helping to change the avenues through which a style star can now be established.
The power of social media has literally changed the face of fashion. In particular, the internet has enabled an interactive dialogue between the creator, the editor and the consumer. The accessibility and constant feedback created through the use of blogs, Twitter, Vimeo, YouTube and Facebook has fostered an open discussion on the industry as a whole. This newfound ability to speak freely and express opinions contributes to the debate of fashion in a more democratic way. Interactive icons have come to represent the front line of fashion, anticipating trends before they reach the market, and styling wardrobe pieces together in a raw and individualistic way. E-retailers such as Net-a-porter.com and Yoox.com have recognized bloggers notoriety and new found fame. Both have featured ADR—Net-a-porter showcasing her in their spring trend lookbook and Yoox carries her fragrance ‘Beyond’. Dello Russo’s cartoonish getups, always comprised of pieces from top designers’ latest collections, show her fearless approach to dressing no matter how whimsical or bizarre the finished look. She was the first to embrace the coy whimsy of fruit by wearing cherries on her head in October 2010, and that was before Stella McCartney showcased them in her spring 2011 collection. Bloggers have replaced many roles that style experts would normally fill. These were usually fashion editors at magazines, buyers from department stores and celebrities. Now bloggers have taken over the position of muse, sitting in the prestigious front row at fashion shows, helping to style capsule collections for corporate retailers, and designing lines with fashion designers.
Another blogger turned interactive icon is Leandra Medine, a 21-year-old New Yorker, who is the founder and editor of ‘The Man Repeller’ blog. Since its inception only a year ago, she has garnered critical acclaim for her unabashed opinions about fashion trends that she believes actually repel men. Some pieces she regards as man-repelling garments are harem pants with the drop-crotch (aka MC Hammer pants), turbans, bow ties and overalls, just to name a few. Medine and her humorous critiques of fashion have been featured in the New York Times, Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue and many others. And, as she tells The Huffington Post, she credits her exposure and success to the power of social media: “It’s made the internet accessible for everyone [and] its given people the opportunity to become someone for no reason,” says Medine. “‘Who the hell am I?’ I’m no one, I’m just a girl who wanted to blog.” This global reach has lead to her covering New York fashion week for online retailer Shopbop.com, as well as working with fashion designer Rachel Roy on an upcoming collection.
Can an 11 year old be a fashion superstar? We now know, that answer is yes. Tavi Gevinson, who began her fashion blog, entitled thestylerookie.com, at the tender age of 11 in March of 2008, now has a readership of 54,000 each day. Now, at 15, she sits front row at fashion shows, has been named a ‘Vougeista’ by Vogue Italia and acted as inspiration for Rodarte’s line for Target. She mixes designer pieces into outfits like an old pro and pre-empts trends like it nobody’s business. It’s her unwillingness to compromise and keen eye for style that makes her a fashion heavy hitter. Not bad for a tenth grader!
As bloggers come to represent a more distinct voice in fashion, the standouts easily express ingenuity with style, are unwilling to quiet their gut-reactions to what designer’s offer up each season, and they bring an individuality to fashion trends that make them feel current and relatable. It’s a challenge to push the boundaries of what is considered fashionable, and ADR, Leandra Medine and Tavi Gevinson, and their counterparts, including the Canadians behind overnight success of TheCoveteur.com, are up for the task. They represent a revolution in fashion, as bloggers have become the new trend setters of our time.
