Weston Smith Core Post #2:“Recurrent images of women Stars as the leaders of fashion:” Richard Dyer

“Recurrent images of women Stars as the leaders of fashion:” Richard Dyer

I once googled “Valley Eyewear Sunglasses” after a friend told me the brand would suit my face. Naturally, the first link that popped up was for the company’s online store. However, the second link caught my eye. Instead of simply providing a link for an alternate retailer (those came later), it said “GIGI HADID: Valley Eyewear sunglasses in Peach.” Gigi Hadid is a young model/current “it girl” in today’s fashion and celebrity culture. I’m particularly fascinated by her rise to fame because she is not just another Kendall Jenner in mine and my friend’s eyes. She literally used to be the girl next door-- a friend and fellow horseback rider at a small show barn in Santa Barbara where we both grew up. Her fame seems to have exploded in the last two years. Certainly, many would accredit this to her mother’s place on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but I think that was just the catalyst. I personally think her fame has only continued to grow because as a successful model, she has become a fashion icon or trendsetter-- bridging the gap between the world of models and celebrities with peers like Cara Delevigne and Kendall Jenner.

When I clicked the link, I was taken to a tumblr entitled “Hadid’s Closet.” Originally dedicated solely to following Gigi Hadid’s style, the site now follows both her and her sister, Bella’s, style. This site blew me away. It has hundreds of thousands of hits. The creator herself had become a sort of celebrity amongst her followers--or if not a celebrity, at least someone they latched on to, desperate for her to answer questions on the life of the Hadid sisters. What is particularly relevant about my discovery in relation to Richard Dyer’s writing on “An anatomy of the lifestyle,” is that the girl who runs the tumblr posts pictures of Gigi in certain outfits, and posts links to buy the exact articles of clothing, as well as cheaper alternatives for more frugal fans. She also posts on beauty and workout routines that Gigi is known to follow, with links on where to buy the products and workout gear. This website provides an experience spot on with what Dyer describes: “Fashion and notions of beauty (charm/glamour/sex appeal, etc) were also to be shared by star and fan” (Dyer, 38). The tumblr also reposts Gigi’s photos. While she works as a model, she Instagrams at “work” on a beautiful tropical island. Or, she shares photos with her fans riding horses, working out, or dining lavishly. The existence of this tumblr, in conjunction with the lifestyle Gigi shares through social media, asserts and supports the idea that Gigi Hadid has not only become a fashion leader to fans, but also what Dyer would call an “Idol of Consumption”--an entertainer who's private life is also a life of consumption. Dyer writes: "They may spend more than the average person, but none the less they can be, on a smaller scale, imitated. Their fashions are to be copied, their fads followed, their sports pursued, their hobbies taken up" (39).

http://hadidscloset.tumblr.com/