At the dawn of the millennium, the fashion publishing world was faced with a new quandary, the blogger. Outspoken and with no affiliation, bloggers could publish what they wanted, when they wanted. And, this posed a challenge to media corporations. But, while magazines like Voguestill struggle to get along with these upstarts, the brands have tamed them. One label, in particular, spent the weekend showing just how much control they have over this once-renegade community.
Not one, or two but, a cast of social media influencers walked at Dolce & Gabbana’s autumn winter 2017 men’s fashion show in Milan. Designed with the Snapchat generation in mind, the brand used Vine star Cameron Dallas, Stallone sisters Sistine and Sophia, Jack Guinness, Vlogger Jim Chapman, Jude's son Rafferty Law, pop star Austin Mahone, Chinese tween idol Chen Xue Dong, Tinie Tempah, Immy Waterhouse and Sofia Richie amongst others instead of professional models.
Last season multiple stories (e.g. this and this) were published when Dallas sat front row at Dolce’s shows. While media elders didn’t recognise the young star, his fans certainly did and he was mobbed. This season they let him open the show.
As a key cog in Dolce’s new model army, one would expect Dallas to be a dedicated follower of fashion. But, unlike the blogging community of yore, which included the Tavi’s and Susie (Lau) Bubble’s of the world, Dallas has a more laissez-faire approach to his new career. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal he explained his unconventional vocation: ‘When asked what he does for a living, he looked momentarily blank.
'“My interests are vast,” he finally replied. “I think I’m just an entrepreneur. I do the Instagram thing. I like music. Now I want to learn about the fashion space.”’
We assume the masterminds at this Italian label were hoping to break the internet. However, they haven't quite succeeded. With many of the models either the scions of celebrities or boasting a formidable social media following, Dolce & Gabbana were painfully obviously courting a tween generation. Sadly for the label, Gen-Z has yet to earn the money that’s required to buy one of their high-end pieces. And, furthermore, they’ve been left with the press (we included) falling over itself to talk about the millennial models, not the collection, which, lest we forget, is the main reason for this presentation.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.