Fashion has always been at the leading edge of innovation — from the invention of the sewing machine to the rise of e-commerce. Like tech, fashion is forward-looking and repetitive. And today, fashion technology is growing at a faster pace than ever. Fashion is made in the market by designers but is escalated by the trend makers and trendsetters. These are the real retailers of the industry.
As brands divest from wholesale and consumers increasingly look to people, not corporations, for style advice and product recommendations, influencers could more or less replace the traditional store.
Why do consumers lookout for influencers for a better approach?
Generally, people look to magazine editors for certain things—trends, designer interviews, photoshoots—while they expect influencers to feel more like stylish friends, offering glimpses of their real lives, sharing relatable style advice, and—most
importantly—explaining precisely why, how, and where you should buy that dress or sweater they’re wearing.
Influencers are specifically those whose tastes and curation we like and get products and services we appreciate.
Everyone wants to be an influencer now, and the surplus of talent can make it difficult to pinpoint the women whose sensibilities resonate most. Once you do, you may just come to trust their opinion and taste more than a traditional retailer—especially when those retailers are increasingly stocking the same brands and the same products, with no apparent point of view.
Fashion making and styling are being done in abundance in the ongoing period.
Quoted by a famous Blogger Stylist Wendy Nguyen “Influencers are like the new catalogue,”. When you have that database of inspiration, it is so much easier than walking into a store with a whole bunch of stuff on the shelves, and you don’t know how to style it.”
Beyond simply copying their outfit, which isn’t the point, it speaks to a broader shift in consumer behavior: We want to hear from people, not corporations. A person who will tell you exactly what they love about a particular product, the softness of it, the quality of it—and show you ways to wear it. Just like a really good store, influencers have to be very careful about ensuring they have an honest point of view. Trendsetters are not just sustaining in the styling business now, but also launching their brands, or collaborating with brands in expanding their business, convincing their viewers to shop from their prescribed brand.
Thus, the engaging audience doesn't have only one store to go through to shop, but hundreds of influencers to help him/her to have her desired look.