Welcome back!
Now more than ever it appears to
have become standard practice for brands, ranging in size and status, to
recruit well known faces in order to boost their profile within the competitive
industry that is fashion. For the most part this isn’t an issue as brands are
merely using a particular technique to promote themselves, but I’m beginning to
notice that there is a certain slyness surrounding how these transactions take
place.
The ‘pay for play’ model is something I have only
recently become aware of. It essentially consists of celebrities being paid a
large sum of money to wear a particular outfit whilst going about their daily
business. Depending on the person a brand wishes to dress, the payment is said
to range between $5,000 and $10,000 according to a source found on Refinery29.
Before I discovered the model and how it works, I would see pictures in
magazines of supermodels walking the streets wearing particularly beautiful
outfits, thinking only that they have an incredible wardrobe and sense of
style. It never once crossed my mind that doing something as simple as getting
dressed in the morning resulted in them making a significant amount of money. I
can understand why high profile models and celebrities in particular are on
board with ‘pay for play’ as it seems like the easiest possible way to earn. In
reality, who would ever turn down a few thousand dollars if all they had to do
was wear an outfit for a few hours? That being said, I feel this form of
promotion is unfair as it misleads consumers massively. As a result, my
trust in luxury level brands particularly has decreased. If money has been
exchanged, why shouldn’t we as customers and loyal fans of brands be made
aware? This strategy is a clever one as it isn’t obvious in the slightest, at
least initially, that a product is being endorsed. Photographs captured by the
paparazzi are then posted on Instagram accounts with millions of followers,
exposing every single one of them to that particular brand. It isn’t a surprise
then, that the ‘pay for play’ model its being heavily used as it clearly has a
high success rate.
A recent example I have
seen of the ‘pay for play’ model being utilized involves model of the moment
Gigi Hadid. She recently posted a candid shot of herself on her Instagram
account sitting in the back of a car, most likely taken by paparazzi. In the
photograph she is seen sporting a gorgeous pearl embellished dress. Her caption
states nothing about what or who she is wearing, merely saying “midnite in
Paris.” It wasn’t until I checked to see who was tagged in the image that I was
introduced to designer Adam Selman. After visiting his Instagram account, the
product placement became inexplicably obvious. The caption on one of his posts,
again of Gigi in his dress, exclaims that it’s available to pre order. Due to
Gigi’s current status within the fashion world, dressing her will
come with a serious price tag, but it’s a gamble pretty much guaranteed to pay
off due to the instant and extreme level of exposure Selman will have received.
Love, Lana Skye x
Source Credit: Refinery29, The New York Times.
Photo Credit: Gigi Hadid Instagram, Adam Selman Instagram.
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