At Vogue Talks, BoF’s Imran Amed gave his invaluable insights on the current state of fashion. But another conversation took place afterwards, diving deep into the crucial role of problem solving, the impact of the social media voice, the relevance of print media, the value of constructive journalism, and the relationship between perceived luxury and the discernment curve.
Vogue Philippines publisher, Rhoda Aldanese welcomed guests to the seventh Vogue Talks on July 9 in the Samsung Performance Arts Theater, stating that, “fashion is about ideas and how we live,” adding that “fashion and creativity are integral in our society today.” The magazine’s editor-in-chief, Bea Valdes affirmed how the series of Vogue Talks ignite “collective curiosity” with “stories that impact and inspire,” while “connecting visionaries with the Philippines.” She introduced Imran Amed, guest of honor at Vogue Talks. He is the founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of the Business of Fashion (BoF), a blog turned authority in fashion and beauty, with presence in 190 countries since its creation almost two decades ago.
He founded the media empire in 2007 which began as a modest blog just one year before. Imran shares, “At the end of January 2007, we had three subscribers. Everything started with that little blog.” Only eight months later, his commentaries began garnering considerable interest, and articles rapidly went viral. Imran’s vision was to create “a safe place for people to share their ideas, to discuss and debate the things that were shaping the fashion industry.” The groundbreaking media company stands firm on their values of high quality and constructive journalism, a global perspective, and a subscription driven business model.
READ ALSO: Making A Difference: Celebrities Who Use Social Media For Advocacy
As the seventh edition of Vogue Philippines’ Vogue Talks ended, some members of the media had the privilege of sitting down with the BoF founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief. Below are some of the highlights of the intimate interview.
A serendipitous solution
Answering Lifestyle Asia‘s question on what problem he had wanted to solve when he first created his blog in 2006, the innovator reveals, “The problem I set out to solve was my own deep unhappiness and dissatisfaction with my life. As it turned out I think the problem I was trying to solve was the lack of real dialogue and communication between creative people and business people in our industry. The creative people would consider certain sources or resources and the business people would look at other resources and at BoF what we tried to do is marry the business and the creativity.”
He elaborates that the first way he tried to solve that problem was with the first company he set up that failed, only after eight months. But he recognized the problem was that the creative people weren’t trained in business and the business people couldn’t understand the thinking of creative people.
Imran expounds, “The second solution, BoF, I kind of stumbled into it. I didn’t see it as solving the problem. But in retrospect, I think actually, now that you asked me, I think it addresses that original problem. I think business people need to understand how the creative side of fashion works. And creative people need to understand how fashion works as a business. So I think that’s the problem we’re still trying to solve.”
In addition, Imran identifies other aspects they are trying to address like how technology impacts fashion, as well as how shifting customer values impact fashion, and how globalization impacts fashion, among many others.
The innovator states, “We’re always inserting, adapting, that conversation because there are so many things that impact this industry. And if we can be a place that addresses all those different problems and questions that makes us a relevant resource.”
READ ALSO: Living Legacy: Hard Work, Faith In God, And Love Are Pillars Of Nita Laurel-Yupangco’s Family
The impact of social media’s voice
On how social media has transformed the way fashion is communicated and consumed, Imran believes that before social media, fashion was largely a one-way dialogue where brands and media used to communicate one-way to customers.
He shares, “Now fashion is a dialogue or a conversation amongst many different types of entities, not just the brands and the media. There’s influencers, there’s celebrities, there’s customers, and everybody has a voice in the conversation. Sometimes it’s hard to find signal in that conversation, there’s a lot of noise. And so the challenge for the industry now is to find really unique, meaningful, and distinctive voices, whether you’re a brand or a creator–whomever you are, you need to find a unique voice and find unique things to say.”
He continues, “The nice thing is that we do have a music lens on fashion, because music and fashion are intersecting. We have a sports lens on fashion, because sports and fashion are intersecting.
I see fashion as a kind of center of all of these conversations because fashion is connected to technology, it’s connected to film, it’s connected to music, it’s connected to sports. The one thing that all of those industries have in common is that it’s connected to fashion. I see fashion as a really powerful cultural pillar.”
He believes that “before social media, fashion was this kind of isolated industry that people just talked amongst themselves and the only thing you saw was the end product. Now everything is open. Fashion shows are open, increasingly the manufacturing, the supply chain, the photo shoots. I guess we can say that social media just opened the industry up.”
READ ALSO: Sporting Style: When Designer Fashion Meets The Paris Olympics
Is print media still relevant?
On the relevance of print media in this day and age amidst social media and the fast flow of information and access to it, Imran offered some enlightening insights: “You know what’s interesting is, there’s certain kinds of print publications–daily newspapers, weekly magazines, maybe even monthly magazines, that are losing their relevance. But really special publications that maybe come out once every six months that are more collectible or that reach a very specific audience, those magazines are doing really well.”
Further to this, he believes that “what is nice about niche publications where there’s a real editor with a real point of view, there’s a really curated perspective, it’s very differentiated, and it feels very very special.”
He narrates that in Europe and North America, while they may not be selling millions of copies, niche publications are finding loyal readership. Due to their rarity, customers look forward to the next issue, which in some cases may only be available twice a year. Being more special, readers keep them rather than throw them away.
Imran sums it up, “So I think print media still has relevance, it’s just how that media is created, what time period it’s created for, and the way the customer engages with it is very very different from how they engage with something on social media.”
Constructive journalism drives towards a more ethical industry
As the conversation shifted to the responsibility of the media today, Imran emphasized, “I think the media has a big role to play in asking the tough questions of the industry and providing insightful analysis and in acknowledging success stories and examples that other people can live by. I believe in constructive journalism and analysis that helps people. Being constructive is one of our values. So for example, a few years ago, we created something called the BoF Sustainability Index, which ranked 30 of the biggest fashion companies in the world on a variety of six different dimensions on multiple different criteria on the targets they were setting towards becoming more sustainable and more ethical.”
Imran feels that this is a constructive approach since companies actually understand it as their report card where they can gauge their strengths and areas of improvements. He explains, “When you’re in school and your teacher gives you a report card it says this is what you’re really good at and this is where you can do better. I think in a way that’s the role that media can play in driving towards a more ethical industry.”
He believes in fearlessness when it comes to tough stories to ensure that the most important issues in the industry are being addressed openly and honestly. Imran is hopeful that BoF is evidence of the capability to “build a media company with credibility and prestige and reach that is not shallow, that goes beyond the surface and the gloss of the fashion industry, something deeper and more substantial.”
In order to provide such quality journalism, Imran emphasized the importance of investing in quality journalism. One example is Sarah Kent, BoF’s chief sustainability correspondent. Imran proudly says that Sarah is an “authority and expert in the space around fashion and sustainability.” He states with conviction that they “absolutely have invested in her and her journalism because their readers find it valuable,” adding that “it’s absolutely worth investing in.”
Continuing conversations that hold the industry accountable
Speaking of both asking and answering the tough questions, Imran acknowledges that they have observed for years the supply chains of fashion companies have not upheld the rights of workers, whether in fast fashion or the luxury market. He believes that “the people who are least valued are the people who make our clothes.” He referred to an opinion piece he wrote for The New York Times some years back which attempted to answer, “How can a garment be cheaper than a sandwich? How can you make something that’s so cheap?” He believes that the answer is, “The only way to make something that cheap is if the people who have made those garments haven’t been paid properly.”
He continues by saying that he thinks in the luxury industry the question becomes slightly different. He observes that there’s an enormous disparity between the price that customers pay for the end product versus the salary of the garment worker. Imran stressed, “This is a gap that feels very very critical for the industry to understand. The only way these things get addressed is if there’s regulatory questions being asked, if there’s questions being asked in the media, and if our own industry continues to have conversations to hold the industry to account. I find it deeply troubling that our industry continues to have these kinds of reports about the supply chain. And so what I hope is that investigations like the ones happening in Italy and reporting from media outlets and whistleblowers inside the industry continue to raise these issues. Because only then will they be addressed.”
Luxury, logos, status, and the discernment curve
When asked if he sees a shift in customer behavior when it comes to luxury brands and products, Imran believes that “there is a value equation that each customer puts into their mind” when making a purchase.
That equation takes the form of a question that asks, what the value of the product is versus the price. Considerations include the seemingly out of balance calculation in the luxury sector where one is paying 100 or 200 percent more than what the same product cost 10 years ago–and given this scenario, finding alternative products that are more unique, of very good quality, that would feel more special–and for “the extra bonus,” while costing less.
On the desire for status that luxury brands offer and its relevance today, Imran thinks it would depend on the customer. He spoke of the discernment curve, which explains how customers who are engaging with luxury fashion for the first time may be interested in logos and status. However, through the years, customers look for products that are unique, special, and discreet.
He delves deeper into the subject matter by narrating his take on the Japanese customer. He shares that the Japanese were the first famous and well-known luxury customers.
The CEO and editor-in-chief reveals, “And that’s why whenever I’m in Japan I’m always paying attention to the Japanese customer because the Japanese customers, they went through that whole status-logo phase in the 80s. And so now you know how Japanese people dress, there’s so much more self-expression, so discerning about everything. They really care about quality, they really care about uniqueness, and they’re really conscious of getting real value.”
He adds that every customer group goes on that journey, such as the Chinese.
Imran observes, “Now a lot of Chinese customers are super sophisticated customers. A lot of Chinese customers are buying Chinese designers because they see value in buying something that represents who they are but they also–they want something different. They don’t want to have the same bag or the same product as everybody else. And so I think status might still be important for customers who are just engaging with luxury for the first time but for others, they’re looking for something else.”
According to the visionary, “That’s the opportunity for smaller brands.”
A look at some of the guests present at Vogue Philippines’ seventh edition of Vogue Talks:
Top: Richael Cruz and designer Carl Jan Cruz (Photo by Kieran Punay); Designer Mark Bumgarner (Photo by Excel Panlaque); Designer Jo Ann Bitagcol (Photo by Excel Panlaque)/ Bottom: Jess Wilson and Cristalle Belo-Pitt; Pia Wurtzback (Photos by Excel Panlaque)
Photos courtesy of Vogue Philippines.
