Instagram Has Become A Springboard For New Designers To Explore New Talents?

What does Losangeles brand Cult Gaia, London brand Rixo and Copenhagen's Ganni have in common? It is Instagram that makes them famous. When consumers look for inspiration and latest clothes on Instagram, the most influential tastes in fashion circles, including buyers, editors and celebrity stylists, are using Instagram to explore new talents.

Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi is a good example in the 2019 New York autumn and winter fashion week. When he published a bubble like rainbow design on Instagram in January, he did not expect this to attract attention from the stylist and editor of Katie Grand, LOVE magazine. Koizumi said, "Grand trusted me, then we started chatting. Later, she said, "would you like to join a show?"

Although Koizumi has only one month to prepare, in the fashion show held by Marc Jacobs in Madison Boulevard, the Bella Hadid, JoanSmalls and Karen Elson are dressed in colorful costumes, and at the end of the fashion show, Gwendoline Christie wears the fancy dress of the Instagram sticker.

Koizumi said Grand has given him great support and has obviously increased his international influence. Since the fashion week in New York, the number of Instagram tracers has increased by 1000%. Last year's posts only contained hundreds of love. Now he can easily attract thousands of points, and he is welcome to fashion editors and buyers all over the world. Koizumi is already working on its future cooperation plan. He said: "this is really exciting. I never thought that after the fashion show, it could attract retail channels so quickly, but now I have achieved this incredible!"

Although the rapid rise of Koizumi is not normal, Net-A-Porter's Global Sourcing Director Elizabeth von der Goltz confirms that Instagram now plays a decisive role in the purchase strategy. "We are mining new brands with Instagram, including Attico, Staud and Alanui over the past few years," she said. Net-A-Porter's Vanguard plan supports and nurture the new generation of designers. This plan has explored several new designers by Instagram, including jewellery brand Anne Mann and bag rookie Ratio et Motus.

Although some brands follow the big shots in the fashion circle to win attention, the buyer team prefers surprise. Von der Goltz describes the story of a nameless designer who works with Net-A-Porter on Instagram. "When you click in a brand's personal data and find that their fans are less than 100 people, you will have the joy of discovering the new world."

Celebrity Stylist Danielle Nachmani agrees: "Instagram allows you to save a lot of time that you normally spend, and you can find the brand you want." She did not adopt specific strategies to find new talents, but simply followed the way she liked. Danielle recently made actress Laura Harrier wear Commission's flower dress, and Commision is the New York brand that Danielle noticed when looking at Instagram dynamics. Daniel said, "I saw a skirt in a picture with Commission on it. Then I was fascinated by them. I liked their advertising image very much. You want to support new brands, because you know how big the response will be when the actress wears their clothes.

Creative director and brand expert EmmanuelleGoutal said new designers should pay attention to two aspects: one is the images shared on Instagram, and the other two is to ensure that the right people can see their designs. "Instagram's activities are very important, and net red is also an important driver of the brand," Goutal said.

This strategy succeeded in attracting the attention of Net-A-Porter, the new designer Peter Do. At the beginning, the purchasing staff noticed the goddess Maggie Maurer of Mousika, the Do goddess of the Instagram, wearing his fashion cut and pleated middle length skirt. Ochi is also famous for its brand name, which appears in the brand catalog of Vogue Ukraine's fashion designer Julie Pelipas. Von der Goltz explains: "there are several editors in the fashion industry who always support the new brand. We know and trust the taste of Julie, so I know that as long as she is willing to support it, it will be an exciting brand."

That being the case, good design is capable of climbing the trend. Koizumi's works are pure and different. He firmly believes that these characteristics captured the hearts of Grand. "My work is not 100% commercialized, I believe in the power of dreams, and I hope my story can bring confidence to young designers."