Inner Monologue

While fashion influencers seem like such a routine part of online life in 2026, we have to remember that these people are only here because, almost 20 years ago, a small group of original fashion bloggers opened up that rarified world to us. At the time this was met with absolute horror from the notoriously elitist and insular fashion world. “Who are these random people sitting front row with…laptops???” But this first class of bloggers (think Tavi, Bryan, Susie, etc) were the first wave of people opening up the fashion world and asking the question “who gets to participate?”

For hobbyists like me, this was incredible: here were people from the outside, allowing us to see into the runways and showrooms that had previously been exclusively the purview of industry (writers, designers, editors, buyers). They dared to assert that people outside of that system had not only a genuine interest in fashion, but a right to have opinions on it as well. I could not agree more…..

Except…..

it’s gone too far. Fashion has now become a part of general pop culture and everyone seems to have an opinion, or at least a (ill-informed) hot take. For many people their first experience of fashion is through celebrity, so they understand it based on red carpets, press tours and the photoshoots. Or they see fashion influencers and bloggers who say they’re fashion people, but have a very shallow understanding formed in the last five years. A general PSA to the internet: liking clothes is not the same as liking fashion. And that’s fine, I really do not think it’s for everyone and it doesn’t have to be.

What I find annoying is that people claim to love fashion, they follow the shows but they know close to nothing about the industry or the history. I talk to people (usually women) all the time who say things like “I loved the Dior show” but have no idea with JW Anderson or even John Galliano are. A brand like Balenciaga has been in the mainstream culture for ten years now, but these same people had never heard of it before Demna took over as Creative Director. For god’s sake, if you don’t know that Schiaparelli was named after Elsa, don’t talk to me! But they posture and act like they are such big “fashion girlies”, which, I’m sorry, comes with a baseline knowledge that you just need to have.

In my opinion, you don’t get to be a fashion person if you can’t answer:

• What is the Battle of Versailles?
• Who is Mary Quant?
• What house did Marc Jacobs get fired from and why?
• What is Donna Karan’s signature collection called?
• Can you name at least two of the Antwerp Six?
• What are “Le Smoking” and “New Look”?

I’m not against anyone joining in, but put in the time to “learn the lore” as the kids say. Read fashion books, go through old magazines, look at runway shows, watch documentaries. You don’t just get to drop into that world on an Instagram surface level and decide that your (uninformed) opinions have any merit. Until then, you are not a fashion person, you are someone who likes clothes and pop culture.