“Carefully Curated Social Sharing” is what Duffy refers to as sharing “elements of their personal life with readers,” which is evident in Sykes’ pregnancy shots, seen in Figure 4.5 and on Instagram. Showing her baby bump, she writes “If only we still lived in Chaucerian times, I could see legit store my bump in this bag.” Hence representing a smiling and happy pregnant woman in the image, one could argue that it rather more reflects the voices of pregnant women and their daily struggles with an ever-growing baby bump, who more or less relate themselves to her situation. Mirrored in Sykes’ sarcastic wording in the post, it can be argued that she aims...
“Carefully Curated Social Sharing” is what Duffy refers to as sharing “elements of their personal life with readers,” which is evident in Sykes’ pregnancy shots, seen in Figure 4.5 and on Instagram. Showing her baby bump, she writes “If only we still lived in Chaucerian times, I could see legit store my bump in this bag.” Hence representing a smiling and happy pregnant woman in the image, one could argue that it rather more reflects the voices of pregnant women and their daily struggles with an ever-growing baby bump, who more or less relate themselves to her situation. Mirrored in Sykes’ sarcastic wording in the post, it can be argued that she aims to represent her authentic persona, one that is transparent and does not shy away from speaking the truth. In this sense, Sykes is an example of what Duffy and Hund argue to be “representations [sic] of life that would not appear in the pages of a fashion magazine.” This intimate and private insight into her life leaves the observer with the impression that Sykes is just like one of us, rather than a perfect established key agent.
With the digital media superseding the importance of print nowadays, the role of the fashion journalist has become redefined. Furthermore, I have argued that the construed field of fashion media has changed, with the field of digital media heavily influencing the established position of fashion journalists. While the key agents have remained more or less the same, I have argued that social capital has become the most significant capital for fashion journalists to establish a successful career online. Hence breaking traditional journalistic norms by engaging on social media platforms, fashion journalists have still retained their powerful positions as professionals, specifically through their skill of writing, which I have argued to be essential in creating symbolic value for the fashion industry. Moreover, I have determined that both, a clever implication of traditional journalistic skills combined with the conversational persona, are the main elements to recognize professional fashion journalists in digital media.
