It happened and from the lips and the fast typing keyboards of the most commercial and ad-driven of fashion magazines, Vogue US. I'll leave this commentary of why I have this opinion on the magazine for later, because the point here is that through an article on The Guardian I have found out the news and the drama that ensued.
4 US Vogue fashion editors (who I follow on IG and admire, because honestly I have always wanted to be working at Vogue, overall) during Milan fashion week, called out fashion bloggers as:
pathetic
trolling
desperate
heralding the death of style
get yourself another business
sad women in borrowed clothes
distressing
#sorrynotsorry
But first, some factors cannot be ignored.
There's always the generalization that hurts, because it's like "if you want to cook Italian, just add garlic to everything" because hell, no.
There are girls (and the Brian Boy guy) that have built empires and they have worked hard at it, and they pay taxes, and have collections of shoes or whatever under their name.
It must be taken into account that those same fashion editors have been flown into exotic destinations, invited to scrumptious dinners, gotten discounted runway looks.
HOWEVER, these guys are all stylist, influencers, YouTubers, TV personalities, designers, in other words, the gods of fashion's Olympus. I can't help but wonder, if there have been different professional figures in the business for ages, now all of a sudden some social media fashionista can do it all?
This needs a little bit of inside knowledge, but, to use the equestrian world as an example, the farrier is not the polo player and although they work together, the farrier will not even be considered to substitute a jockey, or a nurse a plastic surgeon.
They appear as a swarm, sit front row, snap selfies, Snapchat (used as verb here), post Instastories of the entire runway to show they are indeed frow-ers, get out causing pandemonium, get snapped by the street-style photographer, change and 1) do it allover again if they are the top; 2) go home because they were only lucky to get one account.
L e t m e a s k y o u "where's the style here?"
The collections are presented not for the crowd in front of the venue, but to give inspiration of the moods of the next season.
Do they even read the notes of the designer, like fashion editors do?
Are they obliged by contract to uhhh and ahhh no matter what or they'll be without a job?
Do they have an opinion, know how to formulate one and read through the looks, like fashion editors do?
I barely see a blogger at a re-see, which is when the day after you go to the showroom and get a close encounter with the whole collection, look by look on mannequins, so to hear it from the words of the artistic director, to touch and feel the fabrics, the details, the nuances, the accessories, the story. Like fashion editors do.
OPINION: MY OWN
1. It's a practice that brought to consumerism and conesquently the polluting and un-ethical plague of fast fashion;
2. Lack of self esteem: they all look flawless, impeccable, thin and invisible size and you are pushed to look like them;
3. they don't have their own style, they wear what they are either paid to wear, post and bring engagement up on or are gifted in exchange of posting and bringing engagement up, double perks if they are snapped by street photogs;
4. they have brought ridicule to the world of fashion, degrading the work of the designers to the It bag or It shoe;
5. they are the reason why I never introduced myself as "fashion blogger" although I blog about fashion and style, I am far away from all of THAT
Where would you find this topic in THE CHEAT SHEET OF ITALIAN STYLE? Everywhere ... but if you want me to be specific, I'd start from Chapter 1 - "The Four Keys to the Italian Way"