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The development of modern fashion is always associated with ‘influencers’ – both in the traditional and literal sense.
From innovative designers like Coco Chanel, Gianni Versace or Virgil Abloh to celebrity fashion icons like Jean Shrimpton, Grace Kelly, or Harry Styles… While supermodels still exist, fashion today is a game driven mostly by social media influencers. Indeed, many influencers have gone beyond simply modeling new clothes or pioneering new trends and have branched out into producing their own fashion lines – take Kylie Jenner or Alexa Chung.
Now it seems that the next front line of fashion is ‘anti-influencer’ fashion. For every Gwyneth Paltrow shilling turtleneck and yoni egg to an admiring number of followers, there’s a savvy social commentator who stabs the influencer world with hilarious memes and takedowns. Some of these accounts have become so influential in their own right that they have also started offering their own fashion lines, which have ironically become more popular than some of the influencers, brands and products they viciously insinuate.
Take the Super Slutty Snake (@supersnake) – a British Instagram account that viciously satirizes the world of 1%, influencer culture and modern high mode. Not only did SSS quickly become one of the sharpest and most influential satirical accounts on social media platforms, but also its own fashion line – SSS London – has become a very hot property among some circles which he despises greatly.
Most notably, the highest influencer and aspiring boxer Logan Paul was spotted wearing spotted SSS underwear x The culprit both before and after his headliner fight against Floyd Mayweather – positive evidence that ‘meme merch’, the anti-influencer fad (or just live ‘influencers’), whatever they are called – is a real phenomenon.
Image: @supersnake
“It was a big coup, I wish more people knew! Logan is a friend of mine and also a close friend of Doer’s founder, so he always wears our underwear,” SSS shared exclusively with DMARGE on her wedding night. June merchandise drop. While there’s a big difference between quipping a clothing brand and creating your own, SSS attributing expansion to e-commerce is a “quite logical move”.
“Once you create a page, you are consistently looking for ways to make money and clothing emerges as the most obvious route to me. I’ve always seen SSS as a badge of “knowing” or feeling part of a movement and so I’ve always dreamed of followers wearing that logo. This is a very important way to grow an audience and build brand loyalty. I still get overwhelmed when I see people on the streets wearing my products; it is a great honor and I never take it for granted.”
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Indeed, it is this ‘if you know, you know’ aspect of the fad of accounts or sources like hers that is an important element of their appeal. Wearing a close SSS, for example, suggests that you love luxury fashion, but are self-aware or smart enough not to fall for the drawbacks (or outrageous price tags) that come with that lifestyle. More importantly, SSS argues that fashion influencers offer a level of authenticity and value that genuine haute couture, like he and others satire, cannot compete with:
“I really see ‘influencer’ fashion as the future of fashion. I feel that consumers are increasingly frustrated with the margins of luxury fashion brands and cannot justify spending £300 on a t-shirt. Influencers connect with their followers on a very genuine and natural basis, which means that we understand what to offer our fans and how to price them.”
“I often post polls on my page to see what followers really want and whether or not they think the price is fair; this is very important to me. I want to offer my followers very quality and fashionable clothes; I don’t want to exploit them for money.”
SSS is not the only operator in this space. Take The Gstaad Guy (@gstaadguy), another Brit whose self-conscious brand of skit comedy is equally ruining the privileged world of international jet-sets, which not only offers its own wares but has even secured high-end collaborations with brands like the Italian menswear label. Loro Piana, the cult cashmere knitwear brand Lieutenant and British cosmetic companies Organic Pharmacy.
Other accounts that are more news-focused also have successful merchandising lines. Prada Diet (@diet_prada), one of the leading sources of news and social commentary in the fashion industry, has a successful lineup of fashionable home decor. owned by Australia Betoota Lawyer – a well-known satirical newspaper that satirizes everything from Australian politics to sports gear – also made a bit of a change by selling everything from parodies of rugby league jerseys and totes to their very own beer, Betoota Bitter.
This is all to say that it’s interesting that internet comedians’ e-commerce offerings are often more successful than the brands or people they often make fun of.
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Of course, not all meme merchandise is created equal. Serious satirists and influencers alike cannot rest on their laurels if they are to succeed in the highly competitive world of modern fashion.
“A lot of the merchandise that I see on the internet is very unimaginative, low-budget, and derisive,” says SSS.
“Followers are not stupid and the only chance you have to build a true brand is by providing clothes that people REALLY want to wear. I feel that some makers are just whipping the product for the sake of whipping and seem to think followers will just buy blindly.”
“My view is that SSS London is a means for me to give my followers a genuine fashion label, which happens to be SSS branded. The product quality is very high and the design is fantastic. We’ve even hired a team to be able to execute high-quality clothing twice a month, one drop of “affordable” merchandise style and one drop of high-end fashion.”
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Ultimately, the most valuable currency in modern fashion is authenticity. And that’s why SSS and others like her have become so successful when it comes to fashion and e-commerce: they’re authentic in a way that Dolce & Gabbanas and Danielle Bernsteins don’t have in the world.
This is definitely food for thought. Especially if the food in question is grilled tagliolini from Cip. Again, if you know, you know…
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