A blogger without a...blog?!

 

Over the past couple of years, I had a front row seat to the fashion industry in Cairo. Something that I have always had passion for and long wished to be part of. I thought that those who work in the industry are very glamorous, over the top and creative to the (collar) bone! At closer inspection, the designers barely invented, the models had no grace, the photographers had no vision, the media barely had an understanding of fashion and finally the newly budding bloggers, well... have no blogs!

In the recent years, Cairo has seen a revival of the fashion industry. That sounds great! But in reality the city’s fashionable crowd were so hungry for anything that they whipped up a creation that falls short to impress like the infamous ugly swan dress. Or much like Devour’s Cupcakes, they might look good but they taste absolutely horrible! This however proves that with every trend –like the cupcakes- in Egypt, there are those who do it good, those who do it bad and those who have no clue what they’re doing in the first place.

This brings me to a point where I am left to contemplate what makes a good or bad fashion industry? I found my mind spiraling out of control with comparisons, questions and eventually became over-flooded with information. I decided to tackle it from a blogger point of view. What is a fashion blogger’s purpose? To inform and create a personal connection between the people and the brands while spreading a sense of style and some tips here and there. Of course every blogger is different but at the end of the day, people follow bloggers to learn from them, be informed by them and finally be entertained by their rather envious lifestyles!

The other day I was going through Facebook when I saw this post by a friend who was talking about a well-known “fashionista” and her videos. She was commenting on how being an Instagram sensation has become a job title. In her post she joked around saying “Hi I am …, I am a marketing executive. And you are..? –I am a fashionista!” This is coming from someone who is not in the industry at all yet managed to capture the “fault in our scene”. This all brought me to an AHA! Moment… It is all nothing but a popularity contest.

The more followers you have, the more you are wanted. There is nothing wrong with that. It is part of the job but when combined with offering nothing in return then it’s just sad. Brands also take advantage of the bloggers’ 5-minutes of fame to launch their collections and invite them to events. The reviews –if there are any- are nothing but a big piece of ass-kissing. There is no critique, no information provided and not even proper coverage. At the end of the day, what do the followers get other than photoshopped pictures and some videos?! Na-da!

Jimmy Kimmel showed us that not all those who look "fashionable" understand fashion!

I was even at an event where several bloggers and fashionistas were there. I spent some time talking to them and I was shocked at the amount of people who didn’t understand what the event they were attending was about and didn’t even know what they were wearing! However, in a picture oriented platform such as Instagram, He/She would post a picture and those followers would instantly categorize them as bonafide fashionistas. It is a show and people are biting the bait.

To all of those bloggers starting out, have a blog! That is the first step. Don’t call yourself a blogger with just an Instagram account where you post pictures, no. Do the work! Put in the effort then start up the show and you are in business to becoming a well-rounded blogger contributing to the industry. OR you could always just buy followers and become the next big thing over night! Beware though, people are bound to know the difference. If you are serious about this then let your work speak for you not the amount of followers you have. They will come eventually… ;)