I am a veteran of Instagram, and as part of a generation that grew up with social media, I used Instagram before it became a springboard for a career. As much as I love it, I’ve begun to realise that the platform has soured my ambitions.
There is an expectation that anyone can become someone on Instagram and anyone who does successfully, regardless of what they use the platform for, is inevitably labelled an 'influencer'.
At the moment I am working as an artist, I have a creative alter ego called ‘Lotta Liina Love’. My current art project is a satirical investigation of today’s influencer culture. It’s a concept that’s ironically proving more and more difficult as everyone running a social media account with any level of success is automatically labelled an influencer. With 44K followers I have found brands and publications have started referring to me as such. And if I'm honest, as an artist having a platform like this can be invaluable - but it certainly comes at a cost.
Often Influencers get famous for their personal style, but the more successful they are the less they need or are expected to showcase it. Instead, I’ve seen from personal experience how influencers are expected by brands to fall into line and mass promote the biggest selling trends to our followers, in order to stay relevant - both to as many of their followers as possible, and the brands who want to pay to use their platforms.
There is a paradox at play. Companies who appreciate the aesthetics of my art no longer care what I stand for or what I’m doing, and are only really interested in using me as a walking billboard for their product. I like to use my platform to discuss issues like sustainability with my community, but I was advised by one potential sponsor to stay silent prior and during fashion week on such issues. If I were to speak out about my true thoughts on the industry's lack of environmental responsibility, which I care passionately about, my future career opportunities are threatened.
Ultimately, I'm facing the same question most influencers will come up against at some point: do I give up a livelihood for my principals or swallow my pride and accept the inauthenticity of this side of social media?
I am aware that by putting myself in the public eye as an influencer I am seen only through that lens. I cease to exist as Lotta Lavanti, someone who genuinely cares about politics, about gender equality and above all who believes there should be accountability for influencers pushing fast fashion when the world is in crisis. I’m not perfect but I want to keep evolving and to keep learning. I want to continue holding discussions with my amazing community and not live in a social media bubble. I would like to champion art and intelligence in fashion without risking my financial stability because I refuse to fall in line with being just an walking billboard for the industry.
Change is needed, and if we as ‘influencers’ are actually influencing others, shouldn’t we use our platforms to better our communities?