This article was taken from the February 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Rarely are fashion bloggers just hobbyists these days -- increasingly they are entrepreneurs with business plans and revenue. With affiliate marketing, advertising partnerships and direct online retailing, blogging has become an efficient way to make money. "Fashion bloggers have always been influential on Depop," says Runar Reistrup, the London-based CEO of the mobile marketplace app that allows users to buy and sell their own clothes. And the fashion industry is taking notice. Dallas-based fashion blogger and entrepreneur Amber Venz Box's affiliate marketing platform rewardStyle allows bloggers to take a cut of products sold through their blogs. She says this would have accounted for more than $270 million (£172m) worth of sales in 2014.
Earnings also come in the form of free clothes from high street stores and payment for ad campaigns for big brands, social-media plugs and evencollaborating on new designs, such as Kate Spade handbags by Garance Doré. "Even airlines such as Qantas are sponsoring bloggers now," says Zoe Suen, an 18-year-old London social-media star originally from Hong Kong. "[They are] a strong force in bringing new products to market because they have such a close relationship to their audience," says Reistrup.
Zoe SuenStill only 18, the London-based law student runs two or three collaborations every ten days with brands such as Shu Uemura, at about £1,000 each. Most business comes from social-media -- one project with Airbnb called for a stream of social-media activity while she holidayed, for free, in Paris. In her native Hong Kong, Suen was American Apparel's media consultant at 16, being paid 14,000HKD (£1,160) a month to update its Instagram account. Suen says: "I think I could make a lot more, it's just not my priority right now."
Rach ParcellParcell, 24, lives in Salt Lake City, where she has a million-dollar income from her blogging business. She uses rewardStyle, an invite-only web tool bloggers integrate on to their sites. Every time a sale is made through her blog, Parcell receives up to 20 per cent commission. Last year, this accounted for $960,000 of her income, putting her at the top end of international blogging earners, alongside the likes of Song of Style's Aimee Song, who charges $50,000 for a TV appearance.
Sammi GrigsbyWith almost 1.5 million YouTube channel subscribers and more than 400,000 Instagram followers, London-based Grigsby's blog has caught the eye of brands such as DKNY and Clinique, who supply her with products to endorse in posts. According to Runar Reistrup, the 25-year-old is also a high-earner on his site -- the items she uploads tend to sell out within 24 hours. YouTube statistics website Social Blade puts her earnings from YouTube alone at about £5,000 a month.
Chiara FerragniItalian blogger Ferragni, 27, uses her blog to pay for travel by documenting the clothes she wears and the hotels she stays in. She sells the clothes she features, such as Celine and Balenciaga, through direct links, rewardStyle and Depop. On Depop, her account has more than a million followers, so she has formed a partnership with the business, which now distributes the goods she sells through the app. However, about 70 per cent of her €6 million (£4.7m) revenue comes from her Chiara Ferragni footwear line, as well as high-end brand collaborations.
Shini ParkHer blog attracts 6,000 hits per day, but Park, 27, is also a photographer, runs a website design company and has published a book, Adorn: 25 DIY Stylish Fashion Projects. "It is a mass public-facing creative agency," says London-based Park. "In most cases brands get in touch with an idea." She charges a scale of fees: a bundle including blog posts and appearances costs £20,000, whereas a social-media plug is £450. Her monthly income is between £6,000 and £10,000, and is highest during peak seasons such as Christmas.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
