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It’s taken a while but fashion has finally woken up to the internet. Online shops such as Asos and Net-a-porter are booming, brands such as Yves Saint Laurent are using short YouTube-friendly films to showcase their designs, and fashion designers are Tweeting like there’s no tomorrow.
In the midst of this bold new landscape are the bloggers – providing commentary at the click of a mouse. Whether they’re posting catwalk images live from Paris, drooling over the latest Balenciaga wedges or writing about Lindsay Lohan’s dress sense (or lack thereof), they have become an important part of the industry and a voice for a new generation of style aficionados.
'Right now they’re at the forefront of fashion news and gossip,’ says Isaac Lock, the deputy editor of Love, the new magazine from the super-stylist Katie Grand. 'Pretty much anything new hits the blogs first nowadays.’
Indeed, some blogs aren’t just breaking news, they’re making it. Late last year when the designer Marc Jacobs allegedly stuck his tongue out at the journalist Suzy Menkes on the New York catwalk, it was Cathy Horyn, the fashion critic for the New York Times, who fuelled the scandal with her blog posts on the Moment.
While blogs such as the Moment and Catwalk Queen are fantastic for delivering a daily fashion fix, it’s the more personal sites that are receiving most attention.
Bloggers such as the Sartorialist and Style Bubble – both about the blogger’s individual take on fashion, from a self-confessed amateur point of view – have become a sensation.
The Sartorialist was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential forces in design, and Susanna Lau, the creator of Style Bubble, is given a front-row seat at Chanel shows.
So what’s the secret to a great fashion blog? As Lau says, 'It isn’t necessarily about providing information, but having an individual voice. It’s really important for you to stand out.’ Here, then, are our favourites…
While many bloggers like to remain anonymous, Diane Pernet positively welcomes the attention. A true fashion eccentric, the American-born journalist and editor is frequently spotted on the front row of fashion shows dressed head-to-toe in black with a voluminous veil. Based in Paris for the past 20 years, she blogs all about young talent – it’s a great place to spot a future Alexander McQueen or Raf Simons.
Bryan Boy is a star. On his diary-like blog he sounds like a giddy fashion-obsessed teenager, dreaming of Lanvin trainers and next season’s clothes by label-of-the-moment Balmain. In real life, however, the 22-year-old from Manila has become a serious industry player – today Bryan is flown to the international shows, all expenses paid, and hangs out with Christopher Bailey, the Burberry designer. Oh, and Marc Jacobs has even named a bag after him.
One of the first fashion blogs on the scene, Catwalk Queen began as a labour of love for the London College of Fashion student Gemma Cartwright. Today it boasts more hits per day than Vogue’s website. Great for celebrity style gossip, secret sample sales and exclusive fashion collaborations. It even has its own YouTube channel.
'Real people on the street can be just as inspiring and creative as top models in magazines,’ says Yvan Rodic, the man behind the street-photography blog Facehunter. Always travelling the globe on the lookout for new subjects on the streets from Reykjavík to Vienna, Rodic is more interested in personal style than in keeping things on-trend. It’s well worth a visit just to see the sheer variety of retina-popping looks on display. 'It’s eye candy for the style hungry,’ he says.
Whether she’s lusting after the new resort collection from Giles Deacon or a vintage Jean-Paul Gaultier bustier, Elizabeth Spiridakis has a love of fashion bordering on the obsessive. The fact that she can’t actually afford most of the items she writes about only adds to the charm of her blog. Currently on a road-trip across Europe and America, Spiridakis seems to spend most of her time moving from one charity shop to the next. Such is her clout that she now gets recognised everywhere she goes.
For a quick fix of celebrity fashion disasters, Go Fug Yourself can’t be beaten. The creation of Jessica Morgan and Heather Cocks, the blog rounds up the latest paparazzi shots from the red carpet and passes judgement on the good, the bad and the 'fugly’ (a merging of 'ugly’ and another, less print-worthy word). Comments range from the cruel – in one shot Lindsay Lohan is said to resemble an 'Easter bunny caught gnawing on his own chocolate-egg stash’ – to the even crueller, but all done with a brilliant sense of humour. Proof that fashion really has no mercy.
The photographer Tommy Ton gives good shoe. Like the Sartorialist, Ton shoots fashionistas on the street, but for the 25-year-old Canadian the focus is on footwear. If you want to know which styles the high street will be copying in six months, then this is the place to look. Jak & Jil has become a big success, with 30,000 hits per day. In his hometown of Toronto, one department store has even created a Tommy Ton mannequin.
When Sir Philip Green announced plans to launch Topshop in America every newspaper and magazine was beaten to the scoop by Liberty London Girl, an anonymous British fashion editor living in New York. Her blog doesn’t just trade in great fashion gossip, however; this girl blogs on everything from the fashion world’s prejudice against big busts to last night’s bad date, all with a big dollop of very British humour. If you’ve ever wondered what it must be like to live a real-life version of The Devil Wears Prada, this is probably it.
Pippa Brooks is the coolest mum on the net. A co-owner of the boutique M Goldstein, DJ and former pop star, she’s also the mother to seven-year-old twins Joe and Duke. Her blog covers their impeccably dressed adventures around London. 'They dress themselves, can peel carrots, write stuff and have all sorts of opinions of their own,’ she writes. For anyone trying to balance the creative with the domestic – and still have fun – her blog is a must.
Are you wondering what Michelle Obama is wearing today? Then check out MObama Watch, a day-by-day rundown of First Lady fashion. Alongside this brilliant guilty pleasure, New York Magazine’s blog offers a host of stylish attractions – from video look-books with Daphne Guinness to catwalk reviews. Its guide to the best buys of the season – right now they’re loving Diane von Furstenberg’s Sweetheart Pant – is also bang on the money.
Working from her rented studio-flat in north London, Catherine Kallon, a 34-year-old entrepreneur and ex-PA, is taking on Hollywood with her blog. The site itself is a mix of style news and 'who wore it best’ vote-offs. But it’s Kallon’s photographic memory that has made the blog such a hit – when Angelina Jolie wore a Max Azria dress back-to-front at an awards ceremony this year, Kallon was the only writer to identify it. This has made her a favourite with the glossies, and attracted fans including Stella McCartney and Miuccia Prada.
One of the blogosphere’s biggest fashion icons, Susanna Lau (aka Susie Bubble) started her online diary in March 2006. Style Bubble sees Lau, a Londoner, playing dress-up with new purchases and offering her thoughts on everything from fellow bloggers to the rebirth of Miss Selfridge. Thanks to its infectious tone, Style Bubble has become one of the most widely read fashion blogs, receiving 20,000 hits a day. No surprises, then, that Lau was recently recruited to the online arm of Dazed & Confused magazine. Fans needn’t worry, however – the blog is still going strong despite the day job.
Like many of her fellow style-bloggers, Tavi Gevinson posts pictures of herself in cool charity-shop finds and loves dissecting catwalk trends. Unlike most of them, however, Tavi is 13. A self-confessed 'tiny dork’ who loves the high-fashion labels Luella, Charles Anastase and Comme des Garçons, the Chicago schoolgirl has already been profiled by the New York Times and launched her own T-shirt line. Her biggest problem right now? Finding designer togs that fit.
When Katie Grand left Pop magazine to start up a new venture with the publishing house Condé Nast, the fashion world was buzzing with excitement. The resulting magazine, Love, has certainly lived up to expectations and its blog is a neat window on to life on the precipice of cool. Alongside catwalk news and Twitter updates from Pixie Geldof, the site also features pictures of the Love staffers with pals including Justin Timberlake, Beth Ditto, and their pet rabbit, Clara.
There are very few blogs that could persuade Donatella Versace to be guest editor for the day or ask Frida Giannini, the Gucci designer, to send in her holiday snaps. Such is the persuasive power of the Moment, the blog by the New York Times T magazine. Covering fashion, beauty, design and travel, the blog’s recent highlights have included an exclusive preview of Madonna’s Givenchy tour costumes, a celebration of vintage Pucci and the return of recycled jewellery.
Since launching in 2005, Scott Schuman’s blog has become a phenomenon. The formula itself is straightforward: the diminutive New Yorker travels the globe shooting simple portraits of well-dressed individuals including fashion insiders such as Carine Roitfeld, the editor of French Vogue, as well as stylish passers-by on the street. It’s Schuman’s eye for detail that sets his images apart. He has recently made the transition from 'street photography’ to advertising campaigns for DKNY Jeans, and has even modelled for Gap.
Almost like a 2009 version of Through the Keyhole, the Selby features pictures, videos and paintings of hip homes around the world – from Manhattan apartments to cute basement flats in east London, all belonging to the likes of Peaches Geldof, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld and the model Erin Wasson. The blog started out as a side project for Todd Selby, a photographer, who began his career shooting fashion and portraits, but has since grown into something a whole lot bigger. 'I wanted to look at people’s houses and surroundings and try to tell more of a story,’ he explains.
Created by the novelist and Stella contributor Linda Grant, the Thoughtful Dresser has witty musings on all things clothes related. Whether she’s answering tricky questions such as 'How many shoes does a girl need?’ (Crocs don’t count, obviously) or discussing female dress codes in Iran, Grant is one of the sharpest fashion writers around. She’s also launching the Great Mutton Debate on her site, a lively discussion of 'age-appropriate’ dressing for the over-fifties.
James Andrew is the ultimate dandy. Every day the New York-based interior designer posts pictures of himself in the latest designer threads. The results often verge on the fantastical – James never travels without pocket squares – but his Gatsby-meets-Gucci style has attracted a legion of fans. 'It’s our favourite blog of the moment and possibly of all time,’ declared Elle Decoration.
Started in January by an east London couple, Joe and Katie, this blog will warm the hearts of even the most stony fashion scenesters. Documenting what the eccentric Katie wears every day of 2009, Joe comments on each outfit, with praise ranging from 'truly beautiful’ to 'very pretty indeed’. When that refers to sequin tunics, curtain ties from B&Q and a host of coloured tights, you have to applaud this sartorially enlightened male. A blog to forward to partners everywhere.
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