It should come to no surprise that celebrities influence our choices in clothing, jewelry and accessories. But I’m not sure everyone has notices how far the cult of personality has come when it comes to starting fashion trends and fads. In fact, the traditional fashion centers of the world – New York and Paris – have lost prominence in the last decade simply due to celebrity endorsements of their personal favorite products.
A powerful example of this social trend is Japanese TV personality Rinka, who is enjoying world-wide influence on women’s fashion by simply sharing her passions. By exploring how Rinka uses modern media, you can see how anyone can leverage their favorite ideas, brands, and social causes simply by standing behind what they believe in. This is the power of authenticity in fashion!
Rinka’s Story
Rinka is a Japanese celebrity, most famous for her pop single “Millions of Kisses.” Even though she got her start in show business as a fashion model, it is her audacious personality that has made her a popular TV celebrity in Japan. More recently, she was on the cover of Sweet Magazine.
Rinka often reviews her favorite styles on TV, although this is not how she has influenced women’s styles around the world. No, she owes that to her blog.
Hold on — a celebrity with a blog?
It’s unheard-of in America, where even MySpace pages are updated by employees, not the celebrities themselves. But Rinka’s personal blog gave her a chance to delve into her favorite styles and fashion trends, taking snap-shots of herself before she went out in public.
Rinka’s personal style is unpredictable: sometimes she promotes her favorite women’s hoodie, and other days she publishes a full expose on her favorite luxury bathrobes. This “insider’s view” into a celebrity’s life made Rinka fans for life, and that is why anything Rinka talk about immediately causes a stir around the world.
The Internet and Fashion Trends
Rinka’s story is a “canary in the coal mine” for the fashion industry. Thanks to modern media, such as social networking sites and personal video blogs, anyone with a passion for a subject can share their personal expertise. We have seen this with videos like “the Star Wars kid,” which has resulted in a cult of personality no one could predict!
However, when semi-public figures or rising TV personalities use these grass-roots media platforms too, they have an unprecedented ability to sway public opinion in such a way that no one is the “authority” on what’s hot, what’s important, or what’s sexy. The trend here is towards transparency in personal recommendations, not only for celebrities but also inline shoppers in general.
I wonder, for instance, what would happen if Angelina Jolie started her own blog that focused on her vision of the future…. My guess is there would be less talk of her most recent spat with Brad.
The Future of Women’s Fashion is Diversity
Of course, fashion trends can never be predicted with 100{68d322ae31f1e6e0c1fb01577a31b4c5acc2b218b32cc133daf91ba1cb302777} accuracy, but clearly the traditional power structures in women’s fashion are losing ground to the wave of personal choice that is promoted by 21st century media such as blogging, social networking, and personal promotions. This is great news for women around the world, and also for the fashion industry as a whole, because diversity is healthy for all of us.
It’s sexy too.
