Two weeks ago, Yves Saint Laurent announced a major change. The French fashion house revealed that their creative director, Heid Slimane who has been praised for his revival and transformation of the brand, was to be replaced by former Versus Versace creative director Anthony Vaccarello.
But that's not all. YSL then proceeded to revamp their entire Instagram by deleting all of the photos published during Slimane's tenure and posted a single image of Vaccarello. Perhaps it was part of their plan to create a new image for the luxury brand - new director, new directions and all that - or maybe it was exactly what it appeared to be - YSL's attempt to make the split known in the loudest way possible - at least in the 21st century. Wiping social media clean of Slimane is a somewhat bold gesture, considering he repositioned the brand and nursed it back to popularity.
In some ways, documenting your reinvention on social media is the equivalent of ringing and telling your friends. Of course we still do that - personally, I'd much rather tell friends in person - but the option of not having to face people is there. Some people are partial to the passive aggressive paradigm. A status about the woes of life may attract sympathy and pity, and sometimes, it's nice to get that sort of attention and to feel cared for. And then there's the abundance of memes and quotes existing in cyberspace. When a friend starts liking nostalgic, thoughtful quotes about love and heartbreak, I know there's something wrong.
Social media is good, in that sense. It helps connect people. But how do you know if everyone is truly your friend? Not every single one of the 1,746 people you have on Facebook is your friend, surely. So for me, interacting in person is far more ideal. That's the sort of social media we need to get back to.
M x
0 comments:
Post a Comment