Blogging is serious business

If you are one of those who follows fashion, loves blogging and are contemplating turning into a full-time fashion blogger, now is the time to do it. Harvard University has recently added Fashion Blogging as a subject in its Business School programme, making it serious business.

For the past few years, the blogging segment has witnessed numerous changes — from being just a casual page sharing views to becoming a space that has been taken seriously not just by fashionistas, but also by veterans. The fashion fraternity feels that the move has come at the right time and is giving much needed recognition to the segment.

Fashion bloggger Purushu Arie, who has been blogging for the last seven years, says, “I think the real visionaries are those who not only identify the fast changing world but also embrace the change. Harvard has further cemented its status as a real visionary by catering to the needs and requirements of this fast paced technology-driven world. I was delighted about their decision since fashion blogging is one of the youngest but also the most unorganised sectors in the fashion industry.”

Adding to the point, Shruti Tomar, a freelance fashion writer and blogger, feels that the introduction of such courses will teach professionalism to the new-age bloggers. She says, “Being a freelance writer and a blogger myself, I feel that the segment lacks professionalism and adding fashion blogging to the curriculum will only streamline the segment more.”

Creating a space for oneself in a crowd is the biggest challenge and one of the finest examples of this is the first case study to be done by Harvard on the world’s currently most popular blogger, Chiara Ferragni. The 27-year-old Italian blogger and founder of ‘The Blonde Salad’, has carved a niche by sharing her views on her website supported by visual representation. “A lot of people aspire to be Chiara Ferragni, even in India, and formalising it in a course only makes it that much more accessible and answers a lot of burning questions people have about blogging and its mysterious ways of working,” shares Anshu Khanna, fashion communication guest lecturer at NIFT New Delhi, and adds, “The competition and the noise is endless. But there is scope if you are innovative and have something different to offer. Such courses will offer youngsters the understanding of the subject and how they can use the platform to reach out to a wider audience.”

In the past few years, the segment has increasingly been accepted as a profession, shares Purushu. “The recent batches of fashion communication students at NIFT New Delhi are asked to maintain a fashion blog as part of their course curriculum. Most fashion events of today are incomplete without the presence of fashion bloggers. Even the quality of Indian fashion bloggers is only getting better with every day. However, we are yet to have a how-a-blogger-made-a-million-dollars story from India. Hopefully, it’s only a matter of time,” he says.

Visuals and illustrations are positive aspects that a budding blogger can use, says Anshu. “Many students from my class use visual representation very well in their blogs and it also adds to their advantage as Internet users do not like to follow textual blogs. Pictures and illustrations with small captions are user and browser friendly,” she shares.

Purushu agrees and also goes on to add, “Technological knowledge also comes in handy. It is necessary for a fashion blogger to have certain knowledge of web maintenance, aesthetics and marketing apart from understanding different fashion terminologies. The marketing world has considerably changed in the last ten years and most marketing campaigns of today are powered by social media.”

This can open up new professional avenues for fashion design students, explains Akriti, who is currently pursuing a fashion-designing course. “Whenever we discuss about our career options we think of either being a stylist or illustrator, if not a designer. But now we can also opt for professional blogging. A degree in the same subject helps us add value and authenticity to what we are writing. It also provides a platform to showcase our creativity and stand out in a crowd,” she points out.

The segment is still at a very nascent stage and has a wide scope for innovation and improvement. Shruti says, “Blogging means pure business internationally. India will follow suit, I’m sure, because the market has begun to take bloggers a lot more seriously now — seeing the potential and the mileage it (blogging) can provide a brand or a product.”