The value of fashion photography: a new genre on social media

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2016

Keywords

Social media, Fashion blogs, Fashion media, Fashion photography, Hong Kong, Creative value

Abstract

Fashion, being part of the creative industry, is one of the most highly visual oriented sectors. With the advancement of web technology providing the convenience of image creation and sharing online, a popular trend has emerged in today’s fashion world as the fashion blogging in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The booming fashion contents on social media have challenged the traditional hierarchy of fashion leadership, trend diffusion, and media communication model. This research draws on fashion and culture theories to explore the influence of this visual sharing culture on social media in fashion. The objective is to interpret the creative values and the meanings of such phenomenon from the perspective of fashion media industry in Hong Kong. In-depth interviews, in the exploratory semi-structured format, were adopted in which 20 fashion image producers in Hong Kong were interviewed regarding their increasing involvement in professional fashion image making and blogging. Among the 20 respondents, 12 respondents were younger generation of image producers with experience around 3 years, while 8 respondents have been in the industry for 15 years in average. The findings of this research indicated that the nature of visual oriented social media platform supports a new communication model between the new generation of fashion image producers and fashion readers. It is evident that there is a new trend for young fashion lovers to become successfully engaged in the industry as career bloggers who can create their styles and express their ideas through fashion imaging and sharing. On the other side, the professionalism and authenticity of the young generation of fashion bloggers are sometimes in questions. The finding is significant to further academic studies on the value of fashion visual communication on social media, and to business sectors, in which this study provides insight for young fashion lovers for career development.

Source Publication

Proceedings of The 3rd European Conference on Social Media

First Page

457

Last Page

464

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