Fashion is in essence the fabric that we wrap around our persona and it speaks volumes about our ideas,ideals and social designs. Coursing through years,as fashion evolved from comfortable choices in apparels to trends that caught on like wildfire, fashion designers, modelling agencies and businesses have used various mediums to express and promote fashion. With the rise of new platforms on the world wide web,a rather complex and novel range of options have cropped up and this has made fashion accessible and easily relatable.
Instagram, launched in 2010 has taken the world by a storm. It has rapidly become the most popular medium for conversations around fashion.While some may call it an inspiration mood board,there are others calling it a commercial juggernaut that helped revolutionize the sales market. Eva Chen, a former Conde Nast editor turned head of fashion partnerships for the social media app Instagram says “With a no "Buy Me" button, you have to click on an account’s profile link to land on a shopping page – which is an endearingly non-pushy approach that adds a feeling of discovery to proceedings. It’s not reshaping the way we buy clothes, but it is changing the way we’re sold them.”
In an atmosphere of such luxury in the experience of being brought to the arena of fashion,fashion icons and fashion bloggers appear as trailblazers along the way. While previously global sensations were from the Global North alone, the Asian and other countries south of the globe are not far off.
These fashion bloggers stand out from the lot because of their unique appeal and sharp business acumen.
Counting down, my personal list of favorites are the following:
1. Rhea Gupte
https://www.instagram.com/rhea.gupte
She stars as number one on my list,owing to my intrinsic congruence with her aesthetic appeal beautifully curated in her page.Her page has the distinct aroma of country air interspersed with a rare Indian appeal. Grungy yet feminine,this Goa-based blogger has a beautiful blog and her unique dressing sense tops my inspirational mood board.
2. Loo Nascimento
https://www.instagram.com/loo_ana
Her sense of fashion is colourful and makes for a unique case of eclecticism. Her Afro-Brazilian features coupled with her unconventional fashion sense put her up on number two on this list.
3. Aleali May
https://www.instagram.com/alealimay
Best known for her experimental,edgy fashion sense,she doesn't shy away from coupling never-thought-of-before styles together.She famously promotes vintage fashion revivals like Frankie Collective among other ones.
4. Tanesha Awasthi
https://www.instagram.com/girlwithcurves
Defying fashion stereotypes,this curvy fashion blogger is the genius behind ‘Girl with curves.’A mother,a wife and a blogger,her blog is replete with chic apparels,delicate belles and pump shoes,among other things.
5. Yuwei Zhangzou
https://www.instagram.com/yuyuzhangzou
Yuwei Zhangzou of Yuyu Fashion Book is always decked in high fashion.While her privileged closet bears high aspirational value,her radiance and vivacity in her fashion make her appealing.
6. Tommy Lei
https://www.instagram.com/mybelonging
Tommy rose to fame after featuring on the New York Times’ fashion account and is a breath of fresh air in an arena largely overshadowed by female icons. His genderless dressing sense,unique range of unisex menswear is hard to miss. Among other male fashion influencers in Asia,Usaamah(the dapper label) is hard to miss with his clean and preppy fashion sense.
7. Hanneli Mustaparta
https://www.instagram.com/hannelim
Photographer, stylist, model and fashion blogger,Hanneli’s blog has a unique appeal to itself. She travels extensively and this reflects in her sense of fashion. From pulling off the beachy beauty appearance to being mountain chic,her blog is rather refreshing!
8. Erika Boldrin.
https://www.instagram.com/erika_boldrin
Born in Milan,this young blogger is tranquil and has a unique take on fashion. She clubs free style with her love for saving things from Oblivion and her blog “my free choice” stands for exactly this.
A must follow for every young girl!
9. Marta Cygan
https://www.instagram.com/lifeofboheme
29 year old Parisian blogger blogs about fashion,travels,music and food. Her blog called the ‘Life of Boheme’ captures her happy,carefree self.
10. Evangelie Smyrniotaki
https://www.instagram.com/styleheroine
Her blog called the ‘Style Heroine’ curates high end fashion,luxury travel and other things not oft-seen on social media. She is the face of three major fashion campaigns and has been featured in several international magazines. She has designed her own capsule collection called “Heroine by Tom Wood” and is widely acclaimed for the same.
11. Cheyenne Adler
https://www.instagram.com/adamantlyadler
Radiant,gorgeous and refreshing,Miss Adler has an effortlessly aesthetic fashion sense. While still attending NYU business school,Cheyenne is an untameable spirit with a hard- to- ignore appeal to herself!
12. Alex Noiret
https://www.instagram.com/alexnoiret
A writer,model and a bolt of positive radiance,this French beauty has starred in the Aritzia campaign and many others. Her’s is a unique page full of fashion,positivity and love.
13. Nicole Warne
https://www.instagram.com/garypeppergirl
An Australian digital strategist and creative director,Warne is immensely influential in fashion. Her independent style of fashion makes her hard to miss. She's graced numerous fashion covers and was included on the Forbes '30 Under 30 Asia' List.
14. Judith (the style crone)
https://www.instagram.com/stylecrone
The Style Crone is 71-year-old Judith, who also blogs at ‘The Style Crone’. She got into fashion while working as a psychiatric nurse and makes a unique ‘ almost- always’ use of a hat. Among other senior fashion icons,Saramai and Ari SethCohen also figure in.
15. Kritika Khurana
https://www.instagram.com/thatbohogirl
Famously known in India as ‘That Boho Girl’,she represents a unique cult of fashion. She now owns an e-commerce store THE HYPE and has her own label – K_Kritika. A special figure on Sanskriti’s blog, Kritika loves Bohemian fashion and has admitted to admire the famous fashion blogger, ErikaBoldrin who figured in earlier on our list.
These style icons bring a fresh break with traditional barriers associated with fashion like social privileges, elite culture or royalty, for that matter. Each of these icons, despite their varied backgrounds are easy to relate with, given how each one of them has much to share with society; in cases where their privileges undercut their fashion statements, it’s their carefree or radiant persona that you may try weaving into your fabric for the sake of sheer experimentation.
However, having said this, let’s not forget that while our social traits and the beguiling feed on your social media might make room for much emulation in your mind, fashion is best curated when fused with a personal touch.
As Yves Saint Laurent famously said, ‘‘I have always believed that fashion was not only to make women more beautiful, but also to reassure them, give them confidence.” Thus choose a style that empowers you and wear it like the skin on your sinew. If it’s easy to gel in with your natural skin,wear it,own it and flaunt it!
About Author
Anoushka Parija - Student of Miranda House, Delhi
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