Who remembers the 90’s supermodel? She was iconic, she was bold, she was a celebrity and voice to reckon. Now, all it takes is one viral video on TikTok or Instagram to turn you into a runway model.
You have brands and agencies trying to get a hold of you for one post, and most importantly, you have the doors to fashion week open and ready to welcome you; those same fashion shows that once had a veil of certain elusive mystery and only the crème-de-le-crème of the fashion industry were so privileged as to get access to. And while we may view this change as a good departure from the rather elitist culture that pervaded the fashion scene back in the day, it is certainly up for debate. Inviting influencers to a show is guaranteed promotion for designers, saving them a fortune on marketing. You invite one TikTok influencer to your show, and you have a full behind-the-scenes coverage on their channel, garnering millions of views which is sure to translate into a minimum of a couple hundred sales.
We might even argue that TikTok has made luxury fashion much more accessible and relatable. Someone who used to be a nobody rises to immeasurable fame overnight because of social media and is everywhere on the runways next season. Take for instance, the latest viral sensation, “Tube Girl” - one viral video, and she is walking for Christian Cowan at Paris! Therefore, this trend of hiring influencers is sure opening up a plethora of opportunities for many such talented people who would probably never even get this kind of a spot-light in the 90s.
But what is undeniable is that somewhere in this age of viral fame, we have gone from the undisputable glamour and charm of the likes of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss to an Ariana Grande look-alike at the recent New York Fashion week, who could barely even walk in her high heels, making fashion week more of a disaster fodder for trolls than true iconic moments that would live on timelessly for generations. We don’t get drama at fashion week anymore, that used to rule the tabloids for weeks: like Alexander McQueen shocking in his Fall/Winter '96 show with a skeleton placed next to fashion critic Suzy Menkes, then going on to comment after the show "If I get someone like Suzy Menkes in the front row, wearing her fucking Christian Lacroix, I make sure that lady gets pissed on by one of the girls." All we get now, more often than not, are forgettable moments that might get a million views but would rather classify as comedy; most certainly not as fashion. The question thus remains: are runways at New York, Paris and Milan really evolving with the times, or are they simply plaguing their own legacies in a bet to become more relatable and popular; destroying the very rich fabric of the runway culture by replacing real models with TikTokers, consequently substituting iconic moments for five-minutes of fame.
