Karlie Kloss Has Mixed Feelings About Social Media

Fashion Month just closed in Paris, and while many of us weren't able to hop from one fashion capital to the next, a quick scroll through Twitter or Instagram would have given you an exclusive front row seat. The power of social media has no doubt shaped the way those who love fashion access the newest looks and collections, but some are still pondering if that's a good or bad thing. The latest person to weigh in is supermodel Karlie Kloss who is having mixed feelings about social media and fashion.

According to Dazed, Kloss sat on a panel titled "How Technology Colonized Fashion Week" at SXSW. While discussing the democratization of fashion, Kloss said that there are pros and cons to taking by-the-minute photos when you're in fashion:

"I do think there is something special that has been lost a little bit — that is, simply being present without the distraction...

I think that's the case not just for me as a model, but the audience. All the editors are taking pictures and sharing that. There's good and bad to it."

While considering the good and the bad, Kloss also stated that she thinks that it's "incredible" that a blogger "with a great voice" can earn a front row seat to a show. The concept of bloggers, however, introduces a totally different critique of democracy and fashion, with fashion critics and trend forecasters taking offense to the access that bloggers promote alongside an otherwise exclusive industry.

Most recently, famed trend forecaster Li Edelkoort declared that "it's the end of fashion as we know it," stating among many of her critiques in an interview with Dezeen that "fashion bloggers who are dependent on inducements from the industry means that intelligent critique has been replaced by shallow coverage." She goes on to call it the "like generation," referring to social media. Also recently, Racked created a timeline of the great decline of street style blogs, which has now resurfaced via popular Instagram users, who gain likes well into the thousands. And, just two years ago, widely lauded fashion critic Robin Givhan gave her critique via an article in New York Magazine titled, "The Golden Era of 'Fashion Blogging' is Over." Givhan writes:

"Fashion followers can thank bloggers for making fashion coverage more democratic and forcing design houses to accept (and then exploit) the reality that very little communication is for insiders’ ears only. But, now that so many bloggers have been embraced by the industry — and the Old Guard has learned to keep up with social media — is there still an opportunity for new voices at shows?"

These critiques along with Kloss' are just a handful that are happening with the fashion industry — behind the glamour that we often muse over on social media. Whether or not there is a right a wrong, a limit on social media use or how many bloggers should be present at a show, has not yet been decided. But, as Kloss states, there is good and bad in everything.

Images: Getty Images (2)