It came to my realization this week that it is incredibly, incredibly hard to make a name for yourself in the fashion industry. Correction: establishing yourself as a prominent leader in anything is difficult. But, because fashion sense is such a relative trait and phrase, everyone believes they have their own take on fashion and therefore need a lot of time, followers, and drive to be successful in the industry.
But what does this climb to success entail? It differs for everyone, of course. I decided to explore three different journeys to the top belonging to those who inspire me the most.
Shopmangorabbit.com and @mangorabbitrabbit
Kerina Mango is someone I’ve been following on Instagram for years now. Not only does Kerina have a cute style and sense of color, but she also has built a clothing boutique (shopmangorabbit.com) using solely her Instagram. In order to achieve such success in this tough industry, Kerina had to market herself on Instagram by finding and following girls who had a similar style or interest in fashion. This process allows her to become accessible and at least heard of by those in her targeted demographic as well as gaining potential fans and supporters like myself. Another avenue in which marketing can be utilized is partnering with certain product or fashion brands and promoting them on your Instagram, which Kerina has done as well. Kerina’s collaboration with the hair extension brand Luxyhair has caused her number of followers to exceed 300k, as well as helped get her unique brand and Luxyhair more attention by their target demographics. Side note: Kerina inspires me even more due to the fact that she doesn’t attempt to use her business to make her famous. Even though she has a solid amount of followers, Kerina has never shown her face on her Instagram or website, and wants to keep it that way, according to her website’s blog. She manages to make each media platform she utilizes incredibly personable and relatable, yet none of her followers even know what she looks like. That sense of being anonymous really allows her to prosper because of her talents and hard work, not because of what she looks like. That, to me, is incredibly humble and for that I highly respect her.
mrkate.com and @mrkatedotcom
Mr. Kate is actually better known as Kate Albrecht, a fellow creative who dabbles in fashion, photography, interior design, DIYs, and makeup. Her and husband Joey established Mr. Kate as a blog about life being a creative and eventually led to becoming a vlog on Youtube. Since then, she’s gained close to three-quarters of a million subscribers, and has branched out to Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and began her own fashion line in an online boutique of the same name. Mr. Kate is an inspiration due to her challenging, rebellious nature–an important trait for all leaders and creators–and constant on-the-go attitude. Creators, and really anyone who wants to make an impact on something, need to constantly question the rules and life around them in order to truly realize what is missing that they can provide, and Mr. Kate does just that.
Kim Kardashian
Okay okay, I can already see some of you roll your eyes, but stick around and hear me out on this one. Yes, the only reason she is famous is because of her sex tape, and yes, the only reason she was even able to date Ray J in the first place was because her father raised her in Beverly Hills and comes from that lifestyle, BUT in her decade of fame, Kim has not only stayed in the public eye, but has done so in a way that proves herself to be more than someone’s eye candy.
Kim has proved herself as a multi-talented businesswoman: from turning her not-so-flattering fifteen seconds of fame into a full-on brand containing everything from fragrances to a video game, and shows no signs of slowing down. She was able to turn the public’s perceptions of her into a mother, wife, and fashion icon, and continues to be two steps ahead of the fashion world with her husband, Kanye West. Together, these two are an unstoppable power couple, met with obstacle after obstacle which they tackle and destroy with a flourish. She’s a risk-taker and a confident powerhouse, which every little girl needs to know they can be.. and for that, she is my third major source of inspiration.
So as you can tell, there are an infinite amount of paths one can take to reach the pinnacle of success in the industry. There are multiple types of leaders who take multiple approaches to securing their reign on the fashion industries and their fans, which is what truly makes this industry great. Like I said before, fashion sense is a relative term– it leaves room to cater to different audiences and still come out on top–and therefore, requires more than one leader for people like myself to be inspired by.
Dress Like Delaney 