Pay per view

A storm has blown up in the fashion blogging community following an article about bloggers at the shows that appeared in The Independent newspaper. As if often the case, the smartest analysis of the current situation probably comes from Imran Amed at The Business of Fashion who has presented a balanced and sensible response to the article.

Anything I might say would be largely a reiteration of his points. What I would highlight is that at a time when many glossy magazines are refusing to include editorial/product shots not relating to advertisers it seems unbelievable that editors have the audacity to suggest that it is the bloggers who are in some way in the pockets of the fashion PRs. At least most bloggers are not under pressure from a Publisher standing over them, telling them what to feature.

It is this cynical approach and the increasing number of publications that now represent one large, glorified advertorial that have turned fashion-lovers against the mags and driven them to the blogs – many of which are run by hard working writers with a genuine love and understanding of fashion rather a socialite who complains about having to produce one features page of advertiser-driven content each month.