Making Space: An Empathy-Forward Approach to Social Media in Fashion
*Article from Lexington Line’s Autumn/Winter 2021 Issue, pages 58-59
Check out the full issue here.
"If people can become brands, brands can become people," Steff Yotka wrote in Vogue in 2019.
These days, fashion brands have a symbiotic relationship with social media. Without a vibrant presence on Instagram or Tiktok, many would cease to exist. Social media can project a brand into the limelight, collect valuable customer data, close the gap with a customer, and allow a brand to cultivate its image.
But more and more research concludes that social media is dangerous for users, leading to mental health issues and even eating disorders. The fashion industry has long been criticized for promoting unhealthy and unattainable body types and for embodying a culture of exclusivity—both themes that contribute to what the Wall Street Journal calls the “perceived isolation” of social media users.
The New York Times reported in 2021 that within 24 hours of creating a social media account, children as young as 13 are targeted on social media with “harmful content, including material related to eating disorders, extreme diets, sexualized imagery, body shaming, self-harm, and suicide.”
The Wall Street Journal found that “32 percent of teen girls said that when they felt bad about their bodies, Instagram made them feel worse.”
More and more fashion brands are pivoting to sustainable and ethical business practices; developing empathetic social media marketing tactics might prove to be a critical extension of this. That is, brands can use empathy to avoid contributing to social media loneliness, and this will likely benefit the brands as much as the consumers.
People today want authentic experiences with the brands they purchase from. According to Social Media Today, 86% of users say that authenticity matters to them when they are choosing which brands to support. With "perceived isolation" on the rise, fashion brands have an opportunity to walk back the idea of exclusivity and move towards inclusivity: that is, letting “average” consumers experience something that is not merely shown to them, but that includes them. In this way, the brand becomes more real, the experience more authentic.
Some brands do this with “behind the scenes” content. Pierpaolo Piccioli, Creative Director for Valentino, has been documenting the making of his collections on Instagram since 2018. In 2019, all the ateliers who hand-crafted the clothing were invited on stage to do the closing walk with Pierpaolo for his Haute Couture A/W ‘20. These photos and videos created transparency between the consumers and the brand.
Balenciaga showed similar instincts last September, bypassing the runway and showcasing their Summer ‘22 collection directly on Instagram. Every Instagram follower was suddenly included in something historically exclusive.
Other brands, like Aerie, are using their social media accounts to directly combat body dysmorphia and promote inclusivity.
It’s time for fashion brands to brainstorm further about how to be more transparent, inclusive, and authentic. For example, they might consider identifying their most devoted followers—those who tend to like and share their content—and from that group, prioritizing those who have the fewest followers of their own. If they like and comment on the posts of those who aren’t "famous," other followers are incentivized to interact with the brand.
But this is just one idea. In recent years, Prada, Gucci, Valentino, and numerous others have found innovative uses for social media. No doubt, this is a priority for all fashion brands, more important now than any runway show. It seems likely that using social media accounts to break down walls will in effect give consumers what they want: to feel seen, included, and accepted.