How social media represents fashion journalism?

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.

To conclude, in this chapter I have explored the role of the redefined fashion journalist in digital media and how they have become powerful, fashionable personas with the rise of social media. Through Duffy’s work, I have exemplified how Sykes performs “entrepreneurial femininity” through the three tropes defined as The Destiny of Passionate Work, The Glam Life and Carefully Curated Social Sharing. Taken together, they have become signifiers on how to recognize established fashion journalists, who have until now distanced themselves from representations, due to being bound to their traditional roles in the media. Furthermore, I have argued that a “well-crafted social media personae” is crucial for fashion journalists to succeed in digital media, as this represents them as authentic and trustworthy to readers.