Fashion blogging, fast fashion & accountability with Erica Davies
"What I am saying to people is what I want to say." I don’t know about you but to me it feels like the world of blogging and social media is going through an evolution of late, and teaching a new stage in maturity, and accountability. We’re seeing it in lots of areas - in necessary conversations about representation and race, in updated guidelines about ads and disclosure, and in the world of fashion blogging, in an attempt to hold each their more accountable for the damaging effects of fast fashion on the environment, in makers and on the communities where clothing is manufactured. My guest this week Erica Davies has lead the charge on that last count amongst the fashion influencers I follow, holding herself more accountable and striving to find ways to blend her love of shopping and new looks with her sense of duty to the cause. We talk about all of these things and more in the following conversation, which we recorded a few months back, during a spate of unusual organisation on my part!
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Show Notes
Things we talk about in this episode:
- Erica's move from working as a journalist and fashion editor to running her own 'mini magazine' on her Instagram & blog
- The impact of showing your real self online
- Moving away from London - and how this brought Erica clarity on her brand and voice
- Being a 40-year-old, size 12-14 fashion blogger - and why there's the need for every kind of body on Instagram
- Ways to make money as a fashion influencer - sponsored posts, ongoing brand partnerships, affiliate links etc.
- The importance of due diligence when choosing sponsorships and partnerships
- Transparency about sponsored content, and respecting your audience's trust
- The lack of transparency around adverting and product placement in traditional media such as magazines and music videos, and the inequality of the conversations around it
- 'Fast fashion' and why we all should be buying fewer clothes
- The problem of money when it comes to choosing between fast fashion and more ethical brands
- Using your "influence" in positive ways, and to change the industry
- Why fashion and interior design is not superficial or frivolous
- Managing the demands of family life as a self-employed person
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Stacey Dooley Investigates - Fashion's Dirty Secrets
- Erica's manifesto for moving away from fast fashion
- Marks & Spencer, one of Erica's long term brand partners
- How Erica explains her sponsored work to her audience
- My paid partnership post with Starbucks (ad)
- Brene Brown
- Erica's Instagram
- Product placement in Katy Perry's videos - check out the pointlessly gratuitous logo belt and glasses shots in the club scene!
- Erica's Blog
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