So twitter was a buzz for days before London Fashion Week came around and by the time it did, twitter was on fire!
What was it on fire about? Mainly being lit up by which blogger saw which celebrity, who got a photo taken by which famous street style photographer, who got to sit next to which hopeless celeb and all other crappy nuances.
Bloggers, loves, spectators and darlings… this is not what fashion week is about. For some of us, it is really work…
You know that nine to five thing that some of other people have? Yes celebrity spotting might be glam for these numbskulls or stampeding the press room and draining it of anything edible like you have just been part of a famine…
On day one of fashion week, I bunny hopped to London’s Somerset house for the scheduled shows and felt a tad embarrassed by the behaviour of many bloggers!
If it is fashion you are interested in please act like it and actually show the shows the attention they deserve. Please remember that those garments took sweat, tears, blood and a whole lot of cash to get on the runway!!!
I am actually considering quitting blogosphere because firstly I am a fashion professional who happens to blog. No I do not mean that makes me better than blogger X who only blogs. What I am saying is because of my position; I see things from both sides of the fence.
The appalling behaviour that some bloggers(you know the type who will herald any old nonsense as incredible, the type that are currently acting like vulture-esque scavenging creatures at London fashion week and the type that is more interested in having their photo taken then actually getting to a show on time!) are exhibiting is downright embarrassing for me. It is so embarrassing that the connotation of being a blogger is starting to take an ugly form. I am starting to ask myself if I want to part of that…
Please if any yummy fashion PR are reading this, can you pretty please do this girl a favour and weed through the wheat and chaff? Just because someone blogs about fashion does not mean they should be at London Fashion Week! Do they know how to properly review a collection? Are they using the right lingo and technical language?
In that same vein, not all fashion bloggers = bad!! There are some of us who are actually trained fashion professionals who also happen to blog.
There are also some who have no formal training but just have a keen eye, a willingness to really learn or an innate knowing.
Oh and unfortunately as afore mentioned, there are those (and they seem to slowly and surely becoming the majority!) who don’t give a skyscraper heel about the actual collections themselves or what a fashion show on this scale means to a designer.
They are simply and purely there to get their Andy Warhol-esque 15 minutes of fame on.
Fashion week is not some form of entertainment; it is the livelihood of these designers on a tight rope. Please don’t bother going if you don’t get that. Find your means to fame some other less selfish way. The saddest thing everyone can totally spot those types(who I like to affectionately call Monster Bloggers from a mile away! So un-chic!
The unfortunate thing is the good is always bunched with the horrendous bad.
One rotten apple spoils the whole bunch…
Do you blog? If you do please take a minute to check out this must read article by The Global Herald.
Difficult though because how do you sort ‘wheat’ from ‘chaff’? This takes time, which the interns PR firms often use to sort invites etc don’t seem to have. Also, something I like about blogging is that it’s about passion – so sometimes the most interesting opinions come from people whose career isn’t what they write about.
I’m a journalist who used to be a buyer for a vintage/designer resale store so I know my labels, and I can write, but I’m in no way a professional. I feel really lucky to have gone to a few shows, and I agree that bloggers who get overexcited about celebrity & freebies do damage things for others, but it’s so hard to judge. Perhaps in time everything will settle down when people become more used to the democracy of the internet?
so true. there are so many kids at LFW, how did they even manage to make it there? and there are so many blogs that are just full of pap – by the kind of girls who are just excited to be ‘in fashion’. They don’t take the time to really think about the collections, can’t be critical and can’t edit. shame.
Darlinsg thank you for taking time out to leave your thoughts on this issue. Both are thought provoking!
xoxo
Marian.
Aww Marian so sorry you feel like this but PLEASE don’t stop! You are one of the few I read & love and it would be such a shame for you to stop doing what you love. I for one don’t count myself as a fashion blogger. Hell, I don’t even class myself as a blogger! My blog is just my way of organising my thoughts & ideas and if someone compliments those now and again it simply reminds Me why I love what I do. It gives me confidence to continue.
Yes there will always be people like you talked about, and the un-educated will lavish in the perks. There are those who can’t see past the fame to see the fashion, but just remember you aren’t one of them!
Keep smiling and try to enjoy the week
x
London Fashion Week is turning into a bloggers freak circus….I came across a few who I will not mentions names who where so rude to journalists & editors at shows, refusing to move out of reserved sits. Talking while the collections where being shown more interested in seeing who was in the room instead.
I actually went on their blogs too see if they have done any write ups on the shows & all it was about who they had their pictures with & how much free cocktails they got… & what after party they got into…..etc
I have no idea how & why invites are being sent too them. Yes I understand invites being sent to the top fashion bloggers who have a great passion & understanding about all things to do with fashion down to the man hours & all the work behind the scenes.
The bloggers I have come across I rude, fame hungery attention seekers who we will not see in a few months time as they will get bored. I have renamed them – BLOGEMIES
I’ve seen some shitty behaviour from bloggers/blaggers this fw, and I am sick of it. Like you, I’m there to work and to work hard. I don’t have time for all the fluff, I don’t have time to even stop in the press lounge. I don’t want to be associated with the blogosphere, even though I’m proud of my blog and of my freedom as an independant writer.
Something has to change.
X
P.S
Please do not stop blogging you are amazing. I love reading your work over a cup of green tea. Your very inspirational. xx
that’s a shame a handful of dolts have to ruin it for the serious professionals
like yourself, marian.
Aww Marian I wish I could give you a big hug! I think this is the reason fashion week has always been a trade event. I am an academic (not entirely fashion realated) but I totally understand your feelings on this. But if the bad apples (sorry for want of a better word here) are getting into the shows, how are they doing it! Surely the designers PR’s need to check out who they are putting on the guest list. It does seem like the front row is awash with iphones – how can you watch a show when your tapping away on twitter? Yes, there are a few out there giving bloggers a bad name, but I do think it is all a bit of a craze and those who aren’t proffesional will soon get fed up and move on to something else. If we forget about the bad apples and think of say Susie Bubble she shows just how good a good blogger can be, her posts are insightful and give the average joe info they wouldnt usually get. Personally I like to write my own show reviews as I am a bit bored of what the glossie mags dictate as the trends, I like to find my own. I also like to ready peoples personal opinions of collections, not the ‘official’ reports we are usually fed. But then again I also know how to behave myself LOL! Perhaps this debarcle will hold as a warning for next season, and the PR’s will clamp down on who they give invites to. I am always a bit embarrased about being termed a ‘blogger’ as I dont see myself that way, I just happen to enjoy writing about styling and my own tastes which enevitably coinsides with writing about shows.
Hang in there Marian, I am sure no one would ever put you in the bloggers pen xx
thanks for writing this
reminding us the blogger on the web how to act professionally during certainfashion event
it’s not about only what we write on the internet that is important
but also how we deal with real life event and people
as a blogger i understand that how this kind of issue bothers you
and please dont stop blogging
xoxo
Marian don’t give up, be the one who blogging and know the subject as an expert!
I totally agree, fashion weeks have turn into being about bloggers who just want attention, folks crying over not enough black girls on the runways when there’s plenty. and who sits in the front row. It doesn’t seem to be about fashion anymore.
It’s losing it’s essence.
Great post.
Thank you for all your great comments darlings, you all raised such valid points!
Pearl that was an epic comment! it really makes you think…
Fhen thank you for your lovely comment.
Karolinka that is a good point honey, thank you.
Tiffany I totally agree!
thank you all!!
xoxo
marian.
I completely agree.
I am a blogger who occasionally writes (excitedly and incoherently) about fashion and yet I would never even apply to attend as press, as after all, what is it that I could possibly say that the likes of Colin McDowell et al. possibly couldn’t. The answer there is simply nothing. I am not a professional journalist, nor do I hold the belief that enough shouting and demanding will make me one. One day, yes I do hope to attend – when I deserve it and can write up a well-informed response to somebody’s body of work instead of guffawing and drooling over Alexa Chung.
Also, I managed (through twitter hash tags, the joy) to find a certain blogger who had managed to squirm into LFW and whilst I don’t really like to mock, well….the blog title? So Presh! I think that tells you everything you need to know about her content, so why she was sent an invite and press pass, I cannot understand.
Please don’t give up though – if you do we’ll all be left to the brain-dead likes of So Presh etc. xxx
Hi Marian!
Simply had to email you a little email “from the heart”
Have a lovely, lovely sunday!!!
Thanks for this article Marian. I think/hope Pearl has a point about PR’s learning their lesson for next season. And if I don’t get invited to anything, I won’t mind. Hell, I didn’t get invited to anything this year, it was by chance I got a ticket to Belle Sauvage and got to see the Louise Gray presentation. And both I was extremely grateful to see. I took some pictures, took some notes & got out of there! I also spent £25 to get to London, to get some good blog material! So it’s not right that people should be dissing us left right and centre, when not only are we not all brainless blaggers, but some of us will actually spend money we don’t have to make their blog interesting.
I agree with you that it makes you consider giving up blogging. I started blogging 3 years ago as a hobby, and to practice writing as I hope to become a journalist. But now it’s looking like ‘blogger’ is such a dirty word, I don’t know if it’s worth the hassle.
Anyway, the problem lies in the hands of the PR, not the bloggers. So I guess we needn’t feel this way. Let’s just hope it all blows over next season!
Will be at LFW on Tues, hope to see you if you’re around. Would be a pleasure to meet you.
Gem x
Haha yeah everyone and their dogs are now self professed fashion bloggers.. but such is life really, there will always be the substandard wannabes who have to ruin it for everyone else.
Please dont stop blogging Marian (like my plea would make much difference!)
You bring something truly unique to the online fashion world.
I’d like to think if I were invited to a show I’d behave in a calm and professinal manner,
though I’m not really fashion enough to be there haha.
xx
First off Marian, you can’t quit because you’re so good at it, your warmth and love of fashion comes through in every post, and that’s very rare! And what would I read?! But now to my point:
The article that started this debate off again is exactly like the lectures you’d get at school about truancy; teachers lecturing the kids that turned up to the lesson about the behaviour of those that didn’t! This article and others like it will only hurt and offend hard working bloggers that work 16 hour days during fashion week to insure that all the info goes live immediately, not the ones that are there to be snapped by face hunter, drink free booze or test their blagging skills! These blagger-bloggers won’t even read this article, let alone be effected by it! When pieces like this are published it makes it that much harder for the rest of us that treat this as work, not a holiday!
LFW should be about attending the shows that will interest your readers and covering said shows promptly and efficiently. I hope PRs take note of those who covered shows effectively, and black lists those that were too busy at the after parties!
Rant over, and I’m bringing you a cupcake tomorrow!
Cx
Well said hon. Articulate, eloquent and perceptive…why can’t your high quality writing and dedication be the norm!? xxxx
For the love of everything fashionable, DO NOT STOP BLOGGING! I love reading your take on trends, backstage looks at shows, and of course I CANNOT do without seeing your style pics. I love the way you put outfits together. Plus since it looks like I won’t get to visit London until sometime next year or so, you’re my window into British style! (ok—that’s my selfish pleading for you to not stop blogging)
I have for the longest time wished they’d separate fashion from celebs. Some of the celebs going to the shows are just as bad as the bloggers who have no clue what they’re looking at and are simply using it to get PR. But they’re just so “passionate” about fashion *eyeroll*.
People see right through those attention-hungry bloggers eventually. I certainly do since I don’t read any of their sites…lol.
Hi,
I suspect that this issue will gradually improve as there has been a lot more interest in it than I thought possible! However, don’t stop doing something you love in the mean time because of it. The fact remains that people who can create a coherant sentence about fashion are few and far between, so those who can should be encouraged wholeheartedly: don’t stop!
As for having time to go in the press area (re Mademoiselle Robot) – we originally planned to have me remain in the press area at all times (as editor of a couple of online publications) while our team of 4 writers went to as many shows, presentations, catwalks and exhibitions as their legs could carry them to and rushed back with SD cards and copy for me to publish.
What actually happened was we were unable to find a place in the press area to even sit down (never mind plug in a laptop!), and the writers spent most of the day queuing, for shows which started 30-40 minutes late in many cases. However, had we been just a solitary blogger (as I was but 2 years ago) this would have driven me absolutely crazy.
I write this from my friends London apartment, where I will be watching the final day of womenswear online while editing copy uploaded at LFW remotely. I cannot face the prospect of returning to Somerset House, but menswear day should be quieter… maybe I’ll sneak in
I saw people at LFW who were obviously posing and getting over excited about celebs, most of them I don’t have a clue if they were bloggers, students, buyers or just passers by who stumbled into Somerset House and I’m not sure how anyone can.
I feel sure that the situation will settle down on it’s own in time as PRs become more used to dealing with bloggers and judging what kind of online publication they feel they would like their work covered on. At the moment I can’t help but liken the “blogosphere” to the dot com boom, where hundreds rushed in and in the end only a few managed to survive.
What I find most depressing though is listening to other bloggers complain about the issue and attempting to distance themselves from the blogosphere. I can’t see any desire to build a community, help other bloggers with the ettiquette of these events and generally take positive steps towards ensuring the future survival of blogging as a space for independent journalism. Instead it seems all about exclusion and these bloggers who consider themselves in the upper echelons of blogging feel they should be the ones telling PR firms and designers how to judge the worth of other blogs.
This is a really interesting perspective and a very honest one. I am nor sure what to say really; with every crest wave you will always get those who just want to reap the rewards but without putting the work in and as blogging is where it is at right now then that is where those people are. It is like jobs in the media and fashion; a lot pf people went into those careers because they were passionate about what they do and knew their stuff while others were attracted to the glamour and shine. However I like to think that bloggers are like cream and the best will rise to the top. Don’t stop blogging Marian, everyone in fashion and blogsphere worth their salt knows that you are a real gem.
I just felt the need to clarify my earlier comment. I think there were obviously bloggers there who maybe shouldn’t have been and were badly behaved, that’s what I liken to the dot com boom, that it will settle down eventually as PRs and everyone else becomes more used to dealing with blogs.
I think you make some excellent points in your posts. Rudeness and idiotic behaviour is just that, wherever it’s found and PRs need to be more selective in reading blogs before dishing out invites.
I do think there are some very good less established bloggers who could sadly end up giving up or not being included in future because of this “backlash” and the fact that a lot of it is coming from other people who write blogs and they look up to could be very demoralising. I didn’t necessarily mean people should individually mentor other bloggers. There simply isn’t the time. But that involvement in resources like Independent Fashion Bloggers could be a way for Fashion blogging to move forward without losing what makes it so special.
Hi Marion – Oh well said. But I have to say most PRs don’t seem to know which blogs are really read adn also which bloggers are fashioned trained too. Like you I’m a 9 – 5 stylist of many years, a jobbing stylist I like to call myself and I although I blog I can’t be bothered with LFW/bloggers – although I agree it is only some not all, as many of us are fashion trained peopel who happen to blog.
Don’t let it drag you down and also you didn’t make it to my film premier – such a shame xx
As I say in my other post – I also get where you’re coming from as I too am not ‘just a blogger’ – although i think this is totally the wrong attitude, bloggers are ace! A new form of media.
I was there to work work work, although personally I didn’t object to people tweeting fun photos. LFW is great fun too, full of the most amazing things to see – so I don’t object to seeing tweets of street style and FRowers, I mean even the likes of ELLE and Grazia were posting that…!!
I agree with you Marian. I think a lot of young blogger don’t want to put in the serious work, time and personal commitment to seriously learning about industry. The fashion industry has been over-exposed through reality shows like “The City” and “Project Runway” overly hyped up by print media and celebrities thinking they can be instant fashion designers by launching everything from hoodies to perfume; and then looked at through rose-colored glasses by young teenagers who worship and idolized flash-in-the pan bloggers who are getting a little taste of fame (for the moment).
Seems like folks are disillusioned about the hard work it takes to become good and stay in the business. Hardly hear any of these over-night blogger sensations mention enrollment in any institution of higher learning majoring in journalism, advertising and merchandising, retailing or even enrolling in F.I.T. or Parsons to study design. All I see is pics of them at fashion shows and cheesing up in front of the camera with anybody that could be somebody. LOL Girl, I understand where you are coming from and I can see how it could be discouraging because you don’t want to be guilty by association for some bloggers poor behavior, bad manners and not taking the business seriously or even acting like they have an interest in learning anything. You have to make that call girl, but don’t let interfere with your success. It took you a lot of hard work and dedication to get where you are, don’t let anybody upset that for you….you don’t owe anything to these “virtual individual” NOTHING!! Handles your business and the heck with the rest of them!!
I totally agree with what you said and think it’s such a shame that anyone should behave that way, fashion week or not. Some people have made comments about reality shows like The City et al making the fashion industry look like a bunch of parties, champagne and mingling with celebrities as opposed to the hard work that it really is and I think that is so true (although you could probably blame the way the producers of these shows portray them but that’s a whole new topic). As a result young girls of 15/16 years old looking to be the next Lauren Conrad believe that ‘knowing’ about fashion means they can live the same glamorous lifestyles and hence the surge of ‘fashion bloggers’.
I’m an aspiring fashion/lifestyle writer who also blogs (albeit not very frequently). Only a recent graduate I will never claim to be an expert and much about the fashion industry (especially the technical side) I’m constantly learning about. I actually started blogging because at an interview I attended for a major UK publication I was asked three questions: Do I tweet? Do I blog? Do I have a YouTube account? I was already signed up to Twitter as I thought it was a novel way of communicating (limiting tweets to 140 characters is genius I think, it eliminates waffle) but my answer to the other two questions was ‘unfortunately, no’. I didn’t get the job in question and I was told that with the direction media (in general) was heading, I couldn’t seriously be interested in being journalist unless I was familiar with all three. Admittedly I now do enjoy blogging and try to update as often as I can, work permitting of course. It definitely helps me to do some regular writing (make sure the cogs are still turning) even if I do have the odd post about something completely un-related to fashion. However, that interview did make me realise that there’s a whole lot more with getting a job in this industry these days, the number of followers on your blog or twitter account being as important as what grade you got at university. I personally think this has also led to the surge of fashion bloggers, this time those doing it because they are trying to meet this new set of criteria for landing a job as a writer. With so many blogs how does one differentiate between fame hungry and those just trying to get a break?
With regards to bloggers attending fashion week I think that will die down very quickly and probable quite soon (you’re not the only one I’ve seen or heard of who’s complained of appalling behaviour this week – it makes me ashamed to call myself a blogger too) and it will go back to being a professional event, or at least weed out the serious bloggers from the rest. This season I considered myself very lucky to attend the two shows that I did and believe that I will hopefully attend more over the years when I prove my opinion is worth reading/listening to. So you can’t stop blogging Marian! Your style is both informative and personal – it’s different from reading the glossies that just feed you trends and I think it’s because you’re a stylist that you’re able to interpret fashion the way you do. Plus what shall we do without updates of where you’ve been bunny hopping to and your red stained kisses? Keep doing what you’re doing and by law of natural selection (yes, the geek remains within) eventually the good will be differentiated from the bad and the just plain ugly.
[...] are ruthless, hungry and dressed to kill.” – The Times on bloggers. And a blogger’s eye view on the bad behaviour of some bloggers. Manners cost nothing, that is [...]
I feel your pain and embarassment.
I do get embarrassed being called a ‘blogger’ and I am not, I’m a freelance stylist assistant to an established stylist of 4 years. I blog what I do as an assistant documenting work, behind the scenes….through photography, I don’t write cos I’m crap at it. I attend LFW to see shows/presentations, to view collections that would be useful for references and future fashion shoots….(occassionally I work backstage). As an assistant with a press pass I deserve ‘standing’ tickets or being turned away. Do bloggers with shit contents/fame hungry fashionistas deserve press passes and show invites??
I met many good/bad bloggers at LFW and yes they deserve to be there and some not, have you met any rude/shit bloggers? Indeed I have.
There are too many street style bloggers too, I too is one of them but I’ve stopped doing it now….tooo many bloggers/photographers taking the same shots as the others. My blog is moving onto a different direction now…and I’m still figuring out what to do..hence the lack of updates on my blog ekk)
Marian, please don’t give up. You’re a fashion stylist by profession (I don’t care if you had no formal training) you can still blog!!!!
Big hugz and kisses xxx