I so miss the days when makeup enthusiasts would sit on their bedroom floors to do makeup tutorials. I miss real people with real lives doing the best that they could and sharing it with us!
'real people with real lives doing the best they could' is such a perfect way to describe the first wave of internet influencers. they were so refreshingly normal. not saying we should all strive to live in the past but now it just seems like people are getting stuff for the sake of stuff.
I miss it! At the same time I think it's a 2 way street and we the people need to understand that people who are living authentically will probably also be polarizing in some way. We have to make peace with that and not jump down their throats when they're not perfect. I think that's lost on folks as well!
And they all say they only recommend things they really love and enjoy and use daily, but we all know that’s not the case. They need to make money to live, so I don’t think they’re all genuine recommendations. What bothers me most is not this, is that brands I did admire are becoming tackier and tackier to try to appeal to this type of client… it makes me not want to buy from them again
Such a good point! This is particularly apparent with luxury brands too. When they've built their whole brand ethos on being discerning and then they send out all this PR gifting, it does feel like cognitive dissonance lol. There was backlash not that long ago when LVMH started sending out the new Neverfulls to a bunch of influencers and it did feel to me like the brand felt not as special.
how do you think they will try to pivot? i think now we're seeing a lot of them go back to having a day job to help their relatability. i think the next wave of influencers will actually just be founders or employees of real businesses....even though i'm not sure how i feel about that lol
True. I definitely think luxury has been slowly moving offline since at least '23. But then the paradox is if you are building a brand, it seems like if you're not a visible founder then people don't trust it. But yea if you're going for chic, luxury, etc....very few moves will be made online in the future.
I so miss the days when makeup enthusiasts would sit on their bedroom floors to do makeup tutorials. I miss real people with real lives doing the best that they could and sharing it with us!
'real people with real lives doing the best they could' is such a perfect way to describe the first wave of internet influencers. they were so refreshingly normal. not saying we should all strive to live in the past but now it just seems like people are getting stuff for the sake of stuff.
Agreed and so over produced there’s no authenticity anymore.
I miss it! At the same time I think it's a 2 way street and we the people need to understand that people who are living authentically will probably also be polarizing in some way. We have to make peace with that and not jump down their throats when they're not perfect. I think that's lost on folks as well!
Great point - luxury feels less about craftsmanship now and more about signalling. When taste becomes performance, it kind of loses its depth.
Sooooo well articulated. And it's that intangible point that has made buying luxury feel like a waste now
And they all say they only recommend things they really love and enjoy and use daily, but we all know that’s not the case. They need to make money to live, so I don’t think they’re all genuine recommendations. What bothers me most is not this, is that brands I did admire are becoming tackier and tackier to try to appeal to this type of client… it makes me not want to buy from them again
Such a good point! This is particularly apparent with luxury brands too. When they've built their whole brand ethos on being discerning and then they send out all this PR gifting, it does feel like cognitive dissonance lol. There was backlash not that long ago when LVMH started sending out the new Neverfulls to a bunch of influencers and it did feel to me like the brand felt not as special.
Oh the shift is finally here. So excited to see how these influencers adopt to reality.
how do you think they will try to pivot? i think now we're seeing a lot of them go back to having a day job to help their relatability. i think the next wave of influencers will actually just be founders or employees of real businesses....even though i'm not sure how i feel about that lol
The next wave will be media companies but the real influence will be reverted to non digital socialites. Private power is “chic.”
True. I definitely think luxury has been slowly moving offline since at least '23. But then the paradox is if you are building a brand, it seems like if you're not a visible founder then people don't trust it. But yea if you're going for chic, luxury, etc....very few moves will be made online in the future.
Became?
to me, yes.