Internet bloggers democratized access to fashion knowledge that was once elite
Evidence
Fashion has traditionally drawn its social power from exclusion, which might seem at odds with the twenty-first century’s poptimist, omnivorous ethos. Yet the internet gave fashion a democratic rebrand, leveraging its vast accessibility to liberate style knowledge from elite circles. Photographer Scott Schuman became a star for his blog and book series The Sartorialist, capturing images of stylish “real people” that felt egalitarian (though many subjects were industry insiders). His blog later became a series of bestselling coffee-table books. Similarly, Bryan Grey Yambao rose to global fame for his blog, Bryanboy, where his unfiltered takes on fashion resonated with readers. From his bedroom in the Philippines, Bryanboy became the country’s most famous export after boxer Manny Pacquiao. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 400
Categorization
- XREF: Shows the mechanism of the omnivore monoculture: exclusion-based status knowledge gets flattened by open access, gutting fashion’s signal value — exactly the ‘death of the sellout’ logic. — connects to: Early Web 2.0 celebrity was built by leveraging blogs and lifestyle content — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 385; Singapore Influencer culture grew from mid-2000s blogshop self-modeling — Crystal Abidin, Internet Celebrity: Understanding Fame…, 218
- CANDY: Bryanboy, a bedroom blogger from the Philippines, became his country’s most famous export after boxer Manny Pacquiao — fun, surprising fact.