That's So Last Season: Fashion Trend Agenda Setting by Bloggers or Journalists During The Summer 2016

Abstract

Ten years ago, the only contenders for the role of setting the fashion media agenda were mainstream fashion media magazines such as Vogue. With the evolution of blogging and the popularity of blog sites associated with magazine websites, a new contender was born: the fashion-themed blog. Now mainstream fashion media outlets and fashion bloggers sit side-by-side in the front row at designer fashion shows covering fashion news and trends. This study focused on ten elite fashion-themed blogs (fashion blogs) reporting on women’s fashion and ten mainstream fashion media websites during the summer 2016 fashion season looking retrospectively at the fashion forecast from October 2015 New York Fashion Week. The study examined how media outlets respond to fashion blogs and whether the blogs were used as sources by mainstream fashion media or vice a versa. This study has filled a research gap by conducting the first analysis examining fashion blogs through the lens of agenda setting. This research uncovered a media landscape in transition with fashion bloggers and mainstream fashion media communicating in a new and different way. Communicating fashion news is no longer a one-way street controlled by mainstream fashion media magazines. Instead it is a two-way street where each outlet uses the other and neither plays the role of lead agenda setter. This new synergy suggests the acceptance of fashion blogs as credible sources for fashion news and potential agenda setters for the fashion community. The relationship between bloggers and mainstream fashion media also creates excitement regarding trends because fashion bloggers have the ability to instantly comment and generate buzz on a trend when the mainstream fashion media are reporting on other issues or waiting for their magazines to be published. Out of the five trends studied, denim was the leading trend with 44 percent of the posts or articles discussing denim. With every trend, bloggers were present in the five earliest published posts or articles and continued to post on the trends throughout the study period. Style.com dominated the mainstream fashion media landscape, with 25 published articles. For fashion bloggers, Gal Meets Glam and Atlantic Pacific tied with 19 blog posts each. Over 57.6 percent of the total blog posts and blog articles linked to fashion designer websites where readers could purchase the trend being discussed. Fashion bloggers did not quote sources in their posts; 74 blog posts and articles recognized no sources at all. Understanding the new relationship between fashion bloggers and fashion magazine websites will help guide future reporters of fashion and fashion trends.