Tag: social media

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Fashion

Original over Expressionless

Alexis Bittar

When a campaign is out of the box, it should be appreciated. Normally, fashion brands employ the same template. How many expressionless face models have we seen peddling the latest expensive this or that in glossy images? For a creative business, the fashion industry can be numbing with the same staid images.
Brooklyn jewelry and handbag designer Alexis Bitter took a cue from different influences by imagining a universe with the cast of characters that border on tragic comedy, integrating branding and seeding with clever storytelling in short Instagram videos.

Old money maven Margaux and abused assistant Jules or Jules are the golden Manhattan team, a modern dysfunctional duo that makes the new Sex and the City reboot feel wooden.
Theresa is straight from the John Waters casting call. The fabulous Coney Island native has her seven teen fans on TikTok and a husband who loves Fox News.

The FLU newscasters, a bull eyes parody of modern journalism with serpentine smiles glossed over with high-tech graphics.

Alexis Bitter proves originality and risk can triumph.

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Feature

From A No Person to,,

Blue Check

The coveted Blue Check Mark, a sign of a certain social media status, membership into an elite club of verification. Platforms dangled these haute emblems to commoners, an aspirational symbol of digital legitimacy. Recently I started getting message on my Instagram account asking me to verify my account. I stopped posting on IG in 2017, at best I irregularly use Stories and have never posted a Reel. The message was a bit odd. For 16 euros a month, I could get verified, no longer a “A Digital No Person”, suddenly a somebody with my eight hundred or so followers. It is no secret Meta has suffered from a tough economy and some heavy VR investment losses. But to cheapen their most valued commodity to raise fast money is a peculiar plan.

Elon Musk’s Twitter started the cash for easier verification trend. The world’s second richest man overpriced buyout of the text based site came at high price with a low cash flow cupboard. Zuckerberg’s picture sharing site soon followed suite playing on its 2.3 billions monthly users hunger for esteem in the InstaFame galaxy. It asks the question, if person only to pay for for the Blue Check, then perhaps it is not so valuable after all.

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Fashion

Fronting and Fake

Fake

Fronting: Acting like you are more, or you have more, than what really exists.


Fake: is a word to describe people who aren’t themselves in order to gain friends and end up being more popular. They seem very nice to everyone, yet trash-talks them behind their back in order to get attention from people and make “friends” just to improve their social-status.


Shameless display of wealth entered a new dimension with the advent of social media, especially with Instagram. A post is not just a post, a picture is a digital brand. Fronting the fabulous life gives cred to the IG generation, living the Kardashian life. The economic reality behind the filtered smile, a lack of cash to sustain the image. Shopping, shopping, shopping for a designer bag, the latest sneaker, that brilliant fuchsia piece takes money. Bill Gates is now divorced, available, but the tech mogul does not want a clothes horse on his arm.

A TikTok post from a luxury retailer sales person revealed the hard truth. Fronting is mainstream and has reached the top. According to the sales person, people buy items, post them, then return the clothes to the store. Is this behavior new? NO! The past few years, there have been stories about “Instagram Returns”. Customers buy, wear, post, take back to the store. A generation go wearing something then brazenly returning was considered low to no class. In the 21st century, embarrassment is an outdated concept. Attention seeking knows no bounds.

One Saks Fifth Avenue shopper complained the high-end clothing mecca feels more like a thrift store, with many pieces on the store shelf looking worn.

Faking and fronting is contagious.

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Feature

Famous, Why?

I recently had a conversation with a record company press relations head. We talked about his artists rosters. Many I did not know, but I am over the hill.  As the conversation continued I said, “Today, everyone is famous. Either a celebrity, reality show, Instagrammer, YouTuber, 5000 channels, 10.000 programs, and whatever else. All you need is a iPhone. KaBOOM! Instafame!” We both laughed. 

In 2018 if you swing a cat, you will hit a so called “famous” person.  Famous for being Famous. Not a clue how or why. 

Being famous in the past was an exclusive commodity. Reserved for those with talent or a gift from the heavens. Not anymore. Thanks to camera phones and Instagram, fame is the same as mosquitos during a hot summer. Pocket size digital devices replaced sound stages, recording studios, and cameras. As mass media continues to loose its grip on audiences, so too have the boundaries it once set collapses. Fame has become a true democracy, no talent required. There are “Kardashian Wannabes” lurking in every household.  

A 20thcentury invention by mass media, fame evolved over the decades: First, the mass hysteria of Valentino, The swooning for Sinatra, blonde Goddess Monroe, the cultural force of The Beatles, and the seismic shift of Michael Jackson,. These artist shook the world with appeal and talent. 

The 21stdefinition of fame means: Multi-talentless has appeal. Something of no value has a warped value. The generational gap continues, modern fame skill-sets are lost on many parents. Can anyone over 35 understand why the under 25 crowd follows daily selfies? However, my Grandparents, considered Madonna a Flozzy. HA! 

While not begrudging those seeking fame. I bemoan the old rules of being famous. Until recently, it meant something.


Categories
Fashion

STILL, NOPE!

WHY? 

There is no fun in posting the pictures. What was once sharing experiences has turned into narcissism and greed. A digital feel good pill for those desiring “Z Level” fame. Perhaps it is because I had a life and travelled before the platform existed. Showing  “I am living a great fake life” borders on insane. Carefully curated pictures demonstrating fake joy reminds of the 1970’s sitcom “Brady Bunch”. During my college days people like this were called “MGM”. Meaning, they were fake.

My problem, I hate curating perfect experiences.  I am a what you see is what you get character, loving faults. On Instagram being yourself means a filter, photoshop, and rehearsing.

Pills 

Instagram has become a place of Prozac Reality. I cringe at some of poses and postings. The extremes people will do to get attention. A space to give those with no talent, appeal, experience, a chance to find popularity. The past two weeks, there were 3 Instagram Influencer scandals. I looked over the accounts of the three “None Appealing Fame Seekers”.

Lost on me!  If I saw any of them on the street I would not look twice. How and why they have thousands of followers escapes me. Most certainly a click farm service in Thailand has their credit card details. Just Saying! Sadly, one of the above Influencer scandal will involve jail time for “Glaming it Up” with a fake credit card. 

Still have not returned to the site, I check it, like a few pictures by friends.   During a campaign I asked my friends to like an images. But for most I am happy to stay off. Life is too short trying to be a full time Carol Brady. Sharing was once fun but evolved into silly, tragic, exhausting, and horrific.

Black and Paper stopped placing content on Instagram. This article was triggered by the site of an “Influencer” who photoshops pictures menus 8 kilos.

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Feature

Buy Fab! Return Later!


Inside many of us lurks an Elisabeth Taylor trying to get out. Glamour requires the right clothing. Everyone wants to lead a glamorous life. Getting the right looks are a part of the formula, overcoming the obstacle of costs is simple: buy today, wear tomorrow, return the day after tomorrow.  

During Fashion Weeks the “outfit of the day” is crucial for getting noticed by street style photographers. Dressing like a brand groupie gets the shutters clicking while standing outside the show. Getting the attention of a Getty or Vogue Photographer is the ultimate badge for an Instagram post. The lust to appear a part of the “in” crowd. I have often asked how do some afford looks and pieces. They can’t.  All a part of the plan to keep up an appearance, to get noticed. Look at what I am wearing! 

Buy the latest bags, coats and other pieces online or for those bold enough, at a store. Wear it once with the tags carefully pinned inside, show off the fashionista devotion, the fabulousness. Then return for a full refund. The style of a legend does not come cheap but can be obtained during a return policy window. “OOTD”  went to the next evolutionary level. 

Buying online from one of the many high end portal sites is the easiest and most face saving way to become an instant luxury label horse. The return polices are liberal, the reason for not wanting the purchase; no excuse needed.  

Not everything worn is real or even owned. 

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Feature

Our Anniversary

Life is Good

It has been over one year. We quit Instagram to the chagrin of many. Why? Insanity? Lack of followers? How would we survive in an age when so many believe in oversharing? Many thought this action was insane. Amazing how fast time flies. We are still here and doing ok, Instagram Free. 

I can appreciate the amount of time many “influencers” spend on one picture, the interaction with their fans, self esteem based on comments and likes.

However, Black and Paper decided not become a slave to the algorithm system that manipulates insecurities for a smidgen of fame. The joy of sharing overshadowed by digital narcissism. The quest for quick popularity moving as fas as a stroll on a screen. Thriving to show a life not lived, but more about projecting a fantasy in constant branding mode. I wonder how many selfies can a person post? How many selfies can a person see in day? If one scrolls fifty pictures, is the first image recalled?

One Year On! 

After one year, speaking to many professional media people about influencing and influencers there are still questions, many have doubts about how it works or if it works. But fear of missing out drives them. Opinions seem split where the Instagram Hype will go? Some say, “the bubble will pop.” While others firmly believe it will stay and evolve. The verdict is still out.

On a level I recognize the merit of the medium. For the impressionable, for certain products, these consumers look to influencers. Hyper consumption, buy today, wear 7 times, then throw away to buy new, this is the market for influencing, quantity over quality.

Black and Paper philosophy is “buy something that will last”. Have we considered returning to Instagram? No! Imagine spending 1 hour for a post, only 35 likes. We jumped off the merry go round and never looked back. 

Categories
Fashion

Why We Don’t Do It!

Inspired By!  I read this quote from a Hollywood Diva.

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Fashion

Is the Party Over!

Very recently there has been an upheaval in the media and social media world. Has the time of accountability in influencer marketing arrived? Global consumer company advertiser Unilever made a shot across the bow announcing there needs to be more transparency, less bots and false likes. At Cannes Lions, marketing head Keith Weed insisted on more honesty from both the influencers and social media platforms, especially Instagram. If a man in charge of an $8 billion annual ad budget speaks, media listens. By taking a stand against the fraudulent side of the influencer business, Weed deserves our applause. The international brand will no longer work with influencers buying engagement. The open secret is now out. Denial is no longer an option.

Black and Paper quit the sharing site in 2017 due to our lack of trust on the site. How do the algorithms work? Why are certain profiles promoted more than others? There are so many questions unanswered. Many wannabe influencers have no choice, turning to bots for relevance. Trust or authenticity are out the window. $1.000 buys 100.000 followers, all fake!

Influencer marketing has it benefits. There are genuine influencers who work hard and have skills, but the field has now been taken over by greed.  The desire for freebies.  Influencer news of late has been negative,         The Atlantic reported on five star hotel resorts flooded with requests for free rooms from everyone with an Instagram account. The travel influencer who posted photo shopped images of himself in locations, another article reported on the level of false comments on certain post as high as 70%.  The thirst is real! Earning upwards of $5000 a posting would tempt anyone.

Is it any wonder why Black and Paper stopped using Instagram? We got support from some, treated like herpes from others but the journey continues.

Thank you Unilever, happy to know we are on the same side.

Categories
Fashion

In with the Old, Out with the Smart.

The best way to avoid all the issues of data collection and privacy matters, go retro.   A classic is always in style.  Are smartphones falling out of fashion? The more we learn about data gathering, the answer is becoming clearer.  In the Age of Hyper Connectivity,  digital arms length is looking like a safer option. Do you need to check Instagram, Messenger, What’s App every 2 minutes to get the latest news on people you do not know?

Another aspect of the feature phones is the battery life, many can go for days without a recharge.  No need to carry around a power bank or search for a plug.

The writer has a smartphone but loves his old Nokia phone for its elegance, simplicity, and lack of addictive qualities.