It is with no doubt that the online world has put fashion at its forefront. Along with gaming, beauty and blogs, fashion is one of the most popular categories of content on the internet today. From buying online to admiring online, it is clear that influencer culture and #OOTD have successfully created a fashion community that can be accessed anytime, anywhere.
#OOTD – Outfit of the day
Instagram was launched on the 6th October 2010, with the app gaining 25,000 users in one day. Since then, it has become one of the most influential apps on the market and has created a world full of influencer culture and brand deals.
It has heightened the awareness of the fashion community tenfold and created trends across the globe, one of those being the ‘outfit of the day’ or formally known as #OOTD.
As of 13th November 2020, the hashtag has 335 million posts under it, with the figures going up rapidly every hour. It seems that many Instagrammers are keen to show off their wardrobe, creating a place for many to flock to and admire their different styles. By tagging your post with the hashtag, it attracts fashion lovers into one singular space, resulting in the rise of different trends and styles.
Since the foundation of the tag, it has turned into a national day. Founded by Stassi Schroeder and taking place every June 30th, the tag has created a global community so focused on fashion and style that they now have an entire day dedicated to the trend.
On her blog, Schroeder comments that the founding of the tag and the day was due to “celebrate self-love and personal style” and “put your best outfit forward”. Not only do these key points highlight how the tag celebrates fashion as a form of self-love, but it also promotes the community Instagram has created when it comes to style.
The result of the trend
As well as promoting fashion and self-love, the tag also initiated the rise of influencer culture on Instagram. With such a rapid growth through the tag, it has become easy for many fashion brands to target the online world to advertise their products. It has allowed many people with a significant follower account to use their own OOTD’s as part of their job and influenced many young people to follow in their footsteps.
Arguably, the fashion community created by Instagram has created various career paths that were not as easily accessible as little as 10 years ago. The creation of the #OOTD tag, and similar tags following it, has helped the rise of designers, stylists and increased marketisation.
A key example of this is this article by the Guardian that discusses how luxury brands advertise differently on social media. For brands like Chanel, it is important to target the audience differently than a brand like Nike or Adidas. This creates new jobs as there is now a influx of demand for marketing and advertising skills.
The future of the #OOTD community
As the online world grows, so does the monetisation of fashion on their platforms. Instagram’s latest update introduces a new ‘Shop’ tab for viewers to buy items, usually clothing, on posts. It comes as no surprise that Instagram would do this, with thanks to the vast fashion community, it would be ignorant to not profit off it.
The profits of monetisation of the online fashion community have also trickled down to different social media platforms, with YouTube now a big space for fashion influencers to express their style through videos of their own #OOTD’s. Many of these vloggers, such as BestDressed and Lucy Moon, have now been able to start and maintain a living off their own content, just by sharing and advertising the clothes that they wear.
TikTok is also a vast and upcoming community that is slowly penetrating the market. Although only time will tell if TikTok will make as big of an impact as Instagram and YouTube, it is important to note that there are trends emerging amongst the younger generations.
The creation of style swap videos and the image of many young people wearing typically nonconformist outfits has started to trickle into the mainstream, especially as many videos are receiving millions of views overnight.
Will it ever die out?
Although many have said that #OOTD has created an issue with fast fashion, it is undeniable that it has created a global community for fashion lovers. It is now impossible to see a future without social media and the trends it creates.
Without trends such as #OOTD we would not have had the surge of bucket hats; tie-dye or socks and sandals. It is truly a mesmerising place that creates access to careers, style, and inspiration.
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