Can Fashion Moral Defenders Change The Rules Of The Industry?

You shouldn't believe in the media today.

At least, Parson studied fashion in Manhattan.

Ellory Camejo, a 22 year old student, thinks so.

Her skepticism about traditional media prompted her to rely on Instagram account @Diet Prada to get it.

News also abandoned fashion magazines.

"When I was a child, I often read fashion magazines, but I am tired of them today because they are always cliches."

Camejo said, "(compared to magazines) Diet Prada is better...

It brings a more primitive and younger style.

As far as I know, and they are purely motivated.

Camejo is a member of Diet Prada about 1 million fans. It should make unapologetic and unfiltered comments on the Instagram account, accusing the industry of adverse events - from Dolce & Gabbana to Bruce Weber - and the big brands' direct attack on each other.

The success of this account, designed by Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler, has triggered a comprehensive phenomenon of media ethics Guardian on Instagram: Est e e Laundry is the Diet Prada of the beauty industry, its keynote is aggressive and its goal is clear.

The ambitious Youtuber star Luke Meagher account @hautelemode, with the expression pack sharp comment on today's fashion, while @retailslambook aims to expose large scale.

Brand irregularities.

The commentary of journalist and commentator Pierre A. M Pel e showed and shared his personal letter chat with the industry leaders including James Scully and Marc Jacobs.

These accounts are basically maintained on a daily basis, some even more, depending on the degree of controversy about the content of the release, which includes a large number of screenshots from fans, or a screenshot of seemingly private conversations with news personalities.

These outsiders, originally regarded by many as harsh, have become today's media tycoons, and are regarded by some big names as the most fearsome media today.

And more and more of them are beginning to change the rules of the industry.

More than two months ago, Diet Prada released a screenshot of the chatting record between designer Stefano Gabbana and a brand critic. In the screenshot, Gabbana made racial discrimination on the criticism of the other special advertisement about the brand China activities, which directly led to Dolce and Gabbana immediately become the target of public criticism in China.

Last October, Est e e Laundry accused Sunday Riley of forcing employees to write products online. The accusation became a viral scandal, forcing the skin care brand to respond openly.

"A lot of social media pressure and criticism may damage a brand," she said. "A lot of social media pressure and criticism may hurt a brand a few years ago. Today, brands and celebrities are taking care to avoid being condemned in social media," said Malcom Carfrae, former public relations director of Carfrae consulting firm Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren.

People behind these accounts say they are revealing the truth of the industry, which may not be revealed by traditional media, especially when mainstream media are faced with cost reduction and the backstopping of advertisers.

As a native user of Instagram, Diet Prada and other accounts are also very easy to establish contacts with young readers such as Camejo. They have obtained cultural hints from social media platforms.

"I am very honest because I want to get in touch with mainstream audiences," said Meagher, who is behind the HauteLeMode account at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

We haven't heard such a voice for a long time. "

The rise of the controversial culture of guardians is a byproduct of political fragmentation, cultural awareness and outspoken society.

Consumer expectations have changed dramatically.

They want to be completely pparent and ready to condemn those who do not want to be pparent.

Designers and founders are expected to maintain an approachable image, which means interacting with consumers who question their product quality or their commitment to correct values.

Today's entrepreneurs must have different management levels, maintain certain values, become voice and interaction in these dialogues, and defend their brands and beliefs if necessary.

"Brands are no longer anonymous, undisclosed companies," says Maureen Brewster, lecturer at Parson School of design.

She specializes in fashion phenomena in popular culture.

"Consumers want all brands and products they consume to be more pparent and truer."

One of the founders of Est e Laundry told BoF that the account was launched about a year ago by a group of friends working outside the beauty industry.

This summer, Est e e Laundry gained popularity as a key figure in the public event of Deciem Truaxe, founder of Bradon.

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The account is managed by people from different countries so that they can publish information throughout the day.

The founder said fans would secretly believe that the most common targets were Glossier, Lush, Deciem, Huda Kattan and Kardashian brand.

It has 43 thousand fans and is called "Laundrites" - not surprisingly, compared to Diet Prada fans, but insiders say they are watching this account closely.

The founder, who refused to disclose his identity, likened the account to a non-profit organization, saying that the organization did not introduce advertising or sponsorship content plans. Its ultimate goal was to set up a Facebook group, where users could submit reviews and interactions, as well as a website.

"We don't do it in order to make money," she said.

Of the 12 brands, designers, and influential people mentioned in the BoF initiative, only one agreed to speak publicly, while others said they were worried about being the target of the attack again.

A designer says she has had physiological discomfort with the word "Diet Prada" because the report repeating its name and its name is "posttraumatic stress disorder".

A public relations officer, a famous founder, said it was too early to talk about her beauty brand in Est e Laundry.

The founder of another beauty brand asked for anonymity because she said she did not want to be the target of the account. She was also asked by the representatives of her country to mention the number of brands mentioned on Est e e Laundry, but she declined to comment.

But are these moral guards living on the Internet really useful?

Most people may agree with this view. After all, it is Diet Prada who first broke the words of Stefano Gabbana on Instagram, or Vogue magazine mistakenly mistake American Noor Muslim journalist and Noor Tagouri for Pakistan actress Noor Bukhari Bukhari, which is also the message released just last week.

In addition, Est e e Laundry has also attracted people's attention to a large number of cottage products, and discussed issues of inclusiveness and race.

A campaign called shopmystash Challenge started in January 1st to promote sustainable development through user generated content, which encourages fans to "use less, buy less and run out" by "showing" their existing beauty products.

Publishing these events on Instagram is a faster way of spreading viruses than publishing them on magazines or websites.

However, the negative side is that the same force can also spread false information.

The account operation mechanism of one or two people lacks the checks and balances of traditional media organizations.

Moreover, some so-called illegal behaviors pointed out by these accounts do not have such a clear judgement boundary.

In November, a Est e e Laundry post pointed out that the lipstick produced by KNC Beauty is "shameless plagiarism" for Gloisier Cloud Paint blush, but some readers of the account do not think so.

"This is definitely not your best post, I'm sorry," said a fan.

"This expression is far fetched.

The pink package with tubular packaging of octagonal hat is not a Glossier brand patent.

Kristen Noel Crawley, the founder of KNC Beauty, said she was happy to see someone defending her brand, but the incident had a lasting impact.

She said: "I built this brand from scratch, without public relations and no investment, which makes me question my judgment. I know I have good designs and ideas, but this will make you doubt yourself."

Some designers feel that they must be cautious and cautious today, so that they will not be accused of copying their competitors, whether they are justified or not.

"You sometimes hear this in the studio:" Oh, don't do that, that will get you on Diet Prada. "

Parson, a fashion design major at the Parson School of design, said in an interview with Deanna Hutchinson, a brand intern in Gabriela Hearst and Proenza Schouler.

"I don't know if this is good or bad," Hutchinson added.

"Some of the comparisons show that the original is exactly the same as plagiarism, which is ridiculous," he said.

This is not your creativity. This is the creativity of others. You are now benefiting from it.

This is very important. "

In an interview with BoF in May, Diet Prada revealed her identity for the first time. The two founders, Tony Liu and Lindsey Schuyler, said they believed their work promoted the development of culture and creativity.

"For us, nothing can't be touched," says Tony Liu. "I don't know why this industry is so self protecting."

For example, in other industries, people should say what they want to say, and the fashion industry should do the same.

I think this is very fresh for them.

We are such a harsh new voice that any form of severe criticism seems to be bullying, but that is not the case.

It's just criticism. "

And their strategies are effective.

"If used properly...

It can stop brands from doing what they want, "Carfrae said.

"In fashion, there has been a boycott of racism, sexism and homophobia," he said.

Their practice has set up templates for other supervised accounts, some of which directly serve as sources of inspiration.

"Diet Prada has brought me possibilities," said the founder of @retailslambook.

Although they disclosed their identity to BoF, the operator of the account requested anonymity in order to protect their privacy.

"I saw their feedback from the masses. I think I also have an audience who wishes to get feedback. They want someone to say," I heard it.

Someone is listening to you.

The account aims to criticize the failure of the shopping center from an insider who has worked in the industry for more than 10 years. The insider has held several positions in several billions of companies.

Although the account has fewer than 100 fans as of last week, it has attracted the attention of a number of retail executives, including former J.Crew creative director Jenna Lyons.

She thanked the account in a commentary to celebrate the resignation of CEO Jim Brett, which praised her performance in brand work.

Lyons did not reply to our request for comment.

Like Retail Slambook, M 'Pel e's @pam boy adopted a careful and deliberate tone, and talked with well-known industry people on some hot topics. From the lack of diversity to the dramatic events of Celine, these topics are usually tagged by #slowpublishing or slowjournalism, which is a commentary on the era of "title party".

"I no longer believe in the Internet age," said Saint Martin, a graduate of the Central Academy of art and design in Paris. "I want the insiders and insiders to know that telling the truth is possible without fear or compromise."

If implemented properly, the openness of this new group will be refreshing.

But this is a delicate boundary.

Carfrae said, because this is a "unilateral attack" because the brands involved do not have the opportunity to state their views.

"In traditional media...

The brand has the opportunity to talk with reporters or modify it according to the facts, "Carfrae said.

"Traditional media will examine facts and sources."

About 60% of the content of Est e e Laundry came from the revelations. Account operators are trying to examine the source of the information, many of which are from fans of accounts.

For example, if a report is about a product, they will ask the informant to confirm receipt of the product.

They will also check the LinkedIn of the reveler to make sure that the revelations are not from those who compete for the brand.

One of the founders said: "because we do not get any income from this initiative, we have no way to hire professional fact investigators or lawyers."

Last December, Est e e Laundry released a series of Instagram stories, including the personal information screenshot of Deciem founder Brandon Truaxe in a gay dating application.

In January 21st, Truaxe was found dead outside Toronto's home.

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Before the death of Truaxe, Est e Laundry told BoF that the screenshot was fair and fair, because Truaxe referred to Deciem in its account information, and even if he had not worked there, it was also related to the company.

About three months ago, Est e e Laundry also released an anonymous message saying that Christine Chang and Sarah Lee of Glow Recipe were "the worst two people I have ever met", and two co founders hated each other.

The account issued a corresponding investigation, asking fans to vote "is it true?" the two founders involved did not respond to the incident.

Such postings bring brands into trouble: if they participate, they risk further stir up the flames.

A public relations officer who represents a designer said that the best defense for those who are attacked and commended by Diet Prada and other media is to ignore it.

According to the world clothing and shoe net, the account tries to simultaneously release two aspects of a problem. When it is negative, people have more words to say, which makes it "easy to say that it distorts the direction," a founder of a account said, while a founder filled up the account. This account is more selective for releasing information from anonymous individuals or the information of the founder or executive of the gossip brand.

"We are more soberly aware that we are trying to do the right thing.

We are working hard to ensure that we do not release such things anymore, "she said." for us, this is also a learning experience.

We will be cautious, we will not publish anything about them unless they really do something wrong.

Diet Prada has been criticized for its choice of reports. Others believe that the account founder is too closely related to some of the brands they reported.

For example, two people were criticized in December last year for attending the fashion conference of Valentino. Some people think they have reservations about the brand Prada of the two admired.

The two founders have said in the past that they regard the account as a business and are interested in raising funds to expand their scale.

Unlike Est e Laundry, HauteLeMode and M Pel say they are willing to accept advertisements, but they plan to avoid establishing business relationships with fashion brands.

M 'Pel e said that he had been sought by fashion brands, but he refused their invitation.

"I think the biggest responsibility is to really show people that it is possible to have an uncompromising integrity," M Pel said.

In addition to their independence, these reports are directly related to their readers, that is, if they want to add fuel to the fire, all they have to do is add some material.

Michelle Menchaca, a 32 year old teacher from southern California, said Est e e Laundry asked her to think twice when deciding to buy beauty products, such as the foundation of the Morphe brand revealed by the account.

Menchaca points out that these products have "too many inconsistencies" and "use the net red to push coupon codes on YouTube", which is why she is unwilling to buy the brand.

John Jacobson, a 24 year old free editor of romantic fiction, said that Est e Laundry's comment on a brand prevented him from buying the brand's product.

He expressed respect for Est e Laundry's boycott of racism or sustainability advocacy, but was not concerned about plagiarism accusations issued by accounts frequently.

"I would rather see more investigative and in-depth reports on brands and their beauty behavior."

He said.

This is actually satisfying your desire to understand dramatic negative stories.

You think you get a lot of internal information, whether it's true or not.

This is almost a series of self talk.

Others have reservations about these Internet accounts.

Olga Olszewska, a 32 year old 3D artist, said: "I like to keep pace with what some people call" material, "but this is not the fact that I believe one hundred percent.

If a topic or brand accusation aroused my interest, I would try to dig it out and look for other information.

More interesting reports, please pay attention to the world clothing shoes and hats net.