The following piece is an edited version of a speech given by Iris social content creative Roisin Kiberd at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
What is our SXSW panel 'Why Karl Keeps His Shades On' about? It’s about the ever-growing relationship between fashion and social media, and how the two can live harmoniously side by side. As a fashion journalist and stylist, and as a community manager for brands, I’ve worked on both sides, and the relationship between the two fascinates me.
Social media feeds conversation. It spreads ideas like wildfire. It can launch a thousand international shipments with one photo of Rihanna wearing bleached denim shorts.
Social media makes fashion more visible, and what else is fashion for but to allow us to show off?
But could social media kill fashion? A dramatic conclusion, but it's worth considering. Could it expose the endless cycle and recycling of trends? Could it make fashion that little bit too 'DIY'? Anyone can have a mood board on Pinterest, a set of faux-Lomo shots on Instagram and Lookbook, a personality cult nurtured via Twitter. Anyone can have a fashion business of their own, on Etsy and Ebay. Fashion’s doors are open, and Karl Lagerfeld’s shades are suddenly off. But could fashion’s democratization be its downfall?
It's not only the threat of the DIY fashionista (the one gatecrashing front rows). It's that we risk taking all the mystery out. And fashion has always thrived on mystery, from the arcane rites of fabric cutting on Saville Row and couture, to the bizarre process of 'discovering' a suitably waifish teenager to model it.
Does exposing the process of fashion serve the brand? Should Marc Jacobs tweet away his inspirations, as well as what he ate for breakfast? Should Anna Sui archive her 'Genius Files' on Pinterest? Should the Great Karl be held to account for exactly why a pair of jeans from his line costs more than a thousand dollars, and why they don't run above model size, via an 'Ask Me Anything' on Buzzfeed?
Fashion is meant to be mysterious, and it's meant to be ephemeral. Buying clothes is more than just marketing's magic spell. It comes from knowing you might never find that same piece again. This is what makes the idea of 'social shopping' so dangerous. Just like the web has done for music, food, books, and anything else one can list on their GetGlue, we're about to find out that our tastes are not so unique after all…
So who thrives in a social environment? The fast thinkers. The innovators. The brave. Let's study a fashion brand that has grown up through social media, using it to carve out its identity.
ASOS is the UK’s largest online-only fashion and beauty retailer and is a solely web-based international retailer. One that apparently came out of nowhere, beginning as 'As Seen On Screen', a website that sourced (and later remade) clothes worn by celebrities.
Since being established in 2000, the brand has transformed into the default retailer for the online generation. It operate its customer services through Facebook and Twitter, and has managed to cover fast fashion, premium fashion (ASOS Black), ethical trading (ASOS Africa), designer outlet sites (ASOS Outlet), mobile apps (ASOS mobile), personal styling (Fashion Finder)… the list goes on. It has experimented with every social platform, and has consistently triumphed.
Roisin Kiberd
Social Content Creative
Iris
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