This trip, which has gone viral, with many of the posts since removed, isn’t just about Shein and the ways in which a company shapes a narrative about its brand or does damage control.
After all, to some extent, all companies do this; it’s PR. It’s also about the evolving role of the fashion influencer in a time when labor and sustainability issues are finally getting the necessary attention they deserve.
While the idea of influencing as a job in fashion has taken many forms over the years, whether it be a blogger or It Girl, the social media personality-turned-fashion ambassador is a newer phenomenon. For creators who are subject to the whims of the algorithm, a knighting from a major brand through a campaign, trip or collaboration is essential to maintaining and elevating themselves within the fashion space.
A big designer dubs you front-row material, and you have the endorsement to wear their brand to appearances and events. Others rely on brand deals to make a living. Going on a trip paid for by a brand in exchange for positive coverage or a paycheck is often a normal part of these relationships. The fact that this was a factory tour that hosted people who aren’t experts is what made it stand out.
Fernanda Campuzano told Refinery29: “I would like to make it abundantly clear that I was invited to the Shein trip as a fashion designer, not an influencer. I was invited because I’m one of the top-performing designers on the Shein X program," she wrote in an email response, adding she's been a designer for 10 years and has worked with many brands. Added Campuzano:"A trip to an overseas factory and office is not unusual for a designer to do.
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