By GABRIELLA SHOFFER
As the fashion world moves into its second week of frenzy, designers, bloggers, buyers and models are out on show with photographers and reporters scrambling to document their every move and be the first to report on the latest fashion news.
With London and New York fashion weeks having concluded, the fashion pack continued its jet setting by landing in Milan this week. For the majority of society who aren’t part of the fashion elite, the news media reports are our only source of insight into what goes on at these exclusive events.
The exclusivity of this industry results in fashion news presenting many points of discussion in terms of the role that reporters play in providing to-the-minute updates about the events and trends.
However, through the increased use of the Internet and social media, it can be argued that the role of the reporters is becoming less relevant. With bloggers and celebrities posting immediate updates throughout fashion shows, the general public is fed snippets of information through Instagram snaps and Twitter posts.
The issue this presents is that these people provide limited viewpoints. They do not follow general reporting principles and their reporting reflects their opinions and personal judgment.
Additionally, of late, fashion reporting has been infiltrated by a multitude of young amateur bloggers, many of whom have racked up thousands of followers based on their social media accounts. With many people trusting these bloggers as the source of fashion news, there is less reliance on the reporting by professional fashion reporters.
Ultimately, in order to gain an accurate report of the fashion events of the season, multiple sources may need to be consulted. With many fashion experts shunning the new flock of bloggers for their lack of professionalism and experience, is will be interesting to watch if their access to these intimate shows is revoked or increased in the future.
Additionally, the fashion industry faces constant ridicule by reporters in other industries and is often not taken seriously. As reporters compete in the race to discover the latest “it” items, less care is taken in regards to reporting accuracy.
This was highlighted by a prank experiment staged by a blogger to see if photographers and reporters believed that she was part of the fashion elite based on her alternative clothing. Her results highlighted that fashion is all about perception, often the truth isn’t relevant at all. I find this concept interesting yet contradictory as it undermines the fundamental principles of news reporting which should apply to all reporting industries.