LONDON, United Kingdom – There’s no doubt that in the past two years we’ve become a nation obsessed with video blogging or “vlogging”, and with vloggers like Tyler Oakley, TomSka and Zoella reporting monthly salaries in their thousands, it’s easy to see why the biggest brands are paying these youthful YouTubers to promote their products.
The fashion industry in particular has become a scene shaped by vlogging with high profile labels investing heavily in the curation of digital media both on-site and off to tap into a highly lucrative audience. Vloggers are everywhere right now but has the movement reached its peak or is there more to come for this fashion favourite?
Fashion Vlogging: The trend of all Trends
Both fashion and beauty labels have turned to vlogging to change the face of their advertising campaigns, and even amidst compliance issues – popular vlogger Ruth Crilly, who has 300,000 subscribers on YouTube, was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for failing to clearly identify her videos as marketing material – the vlogging trend is an ever-growing area of expenditure in the average brand marketing budget. It’s not just household names using vlogging endorsements to maintain complete control over brand messaging, designers just starting out are also considering vlogger use and the launch of their own vlog channels to build influence online.
“Vlogging is a very new concept to me, but I live in South Africa and we are a bit behind! I do know that it is very popular elsewhere in the world and across the wider international fashion scene. It is a great way to ‘get your story out’ but it has to be well made and it must also have an interesting angle otherwise I think the message will drown in the overflow of information we are all surrounded by every day,” said Marlena Gronnegard, the Danish jewellery designer at the forefront of South African/Scandinavian accessory brand MÁRÀ.
It is potentially a new way of reaching customers you otherwise never would reach.
Marlena continues: “As a creative person I immediately think of ways to create mystery, and the same intrigue could be produced through vlogging, the sky’s the limit! Would I use vlogging to help my brand? For sure, if I found the right people to collaborate with.”
Fashion Vlogging: Rivalling Fashion in Print
After years of holding the title for aspirational advertising, print media has found a new rival in vlogging. Instead of calling upon high fashion models to push their products, brands are utilising vlogging to inspire girl-next-door accessibility, something that glossy ads in high fashion magazines have failed to ensure. Devinder Singh, the designer behind Florida-based brand KC Malhan, has already received acclaim in numerous print publications including Vogue UK, but is now recognising the power of vlogging for himself.
People love watching videos, it is an easy and much more entertaining way to absorb content.
Devider added: “We are planning on using video to express our ethos, push our latest collections and promote the wider brand. As an emerging designer, it is important to think outside the box and keep up to date with the ever-changing world of technology, utilising this wherever possible. Even though we are yet to pinpoint bloggers to vlog about our products and the trends they shape, we are looking forward to working with vloggers that have the same demographic as KC Malian.”
With the support of established and emerging brands alike, vlogging is far from a ‘flash in the pan’, in fact social talent is the new celebrity, a celebrity that has the power to influence a whole generation.
