This past Monday wasn’t just a Monday; Twitter turned 10! We’ll give you a moment to stop feeling old (there’s no way it has been around for ten years, right? We must have stepped into a time-warp).
The social media platform has absolutely changed the way we interact; thanks to Twitter, we get instant access to breaking news, events, and can interact with everyone from your mom to your favorite actor to the restaurant where you ate dinner. Twitter creates connections between people all over the world everyday and brought us the hashtag. Before Twitter, that was just the pound sign! Now most kids born in the last ten years will see the symbol on their phone or keyboards and think hashtag rather than the button you would press to bypass a directory on the phone.
Twitter has also revolutionized fashion. Thanks to its services, brands and fashion houses can share product photos, behind the scenes looks, provide customer service, and engage with their customers and fans. Gone are the days where you had to call a 1-800 to ask where the jeans you ordered a week ago were; with a few keystrokes, you can get an answer from someone running their social media account. Twitter also allows you to get front row seats to every fashion show around the world; those lucky attendees often live-tweet reviews and images, giving you a first look moments after they walk down the runway.
Needless to say, Twitter is pretty awesome and we’re pretty thankful it’s been around for ten years and continues to give us a platform to interact and create. We took a little walk down memory lane to round up some innovators we feel deserve a shout out; those in the fashion industry who adopted it early and used it to hone their brands and develop their voices.
Read on below for some of our faves! We’ve included their first tweet—for nostalgic purposes, of course.
Aliza Licht - @AlizaLicht
The former SVP of Global Communications for Donna Karen truly took social media branding to the next level. Licht was originally known under her super secret alter-ego, @DKNYPRGirl, where she tweeted all the deets and must have info about DKNY’s fantastic pieces. Licht was one of the first to show what it truly meant to build and grow your brand through social media, specifically Twitter. Not only did Licht share her thoughts with her followers, but she interacted with them and the brand grew a quick and popular following. After the publication of her first book, Leave Your Mark, Licht left Donna Karen to pursue new dreams, but her legacy lives on!
Burberry - @Burberry
This wouldn’t be a list involving fashion and technology on social if it didn’t include Burberry! Always the innovators, Burberry adopted Twitter early on and hasn’t let up since; out of all of its social media platforms, the brand is most active on their Twitter account. In 2012, they live-streamed their Spring/Summer collection on Twitter and even introduced a ‘Buy Now’ feature in 2014, allowing fashionistas to purchase items directly through their Twitter feed.
Alexa Chung - @alexa_chung
The key to being an It Girl is to ensure you get to the party at exactly the right time, which is exactly what Alexa Chung has done. In 2009 at the height of her Internet popularity—she was hosting her own talk-show at the time!—Alexa signed up for Twitter and was already dismayed to see that someone had stolen her name. Today Alexa has successfully published a book, It, and hosts the Future of Fashion series for British Vogue, which gives viewers an inside look on the ins and outs of the fashion industry.
Marc Jacobs - @marcjacobs
Everyone’s favorite Marc Jacobs was one of the later brands to join the Twitter bandwagon, but that didn’t stop them from using Twitter in a unique way. In addition to connecting with fans and followers, in 2012 CEO and co-founder, Robert Duffy, announced they were hiring someone to take on their social accounts…and you got the gig via Twitter. “Be clever. Smart. Understand our DNA. Say it in one tweet! That is your interview!” the tweet read. They were serious, too. During the process, one overworked intern went on a rant about how tiring it all was. Talk about #TwitterDrama.
Joe Zee - @mrjoezee
The current Editor-in-Chief for Yahoo Style was the Creative Director ELLE when he signed up for Twitter and gained a strong following. Giving an inside look at the day to day of a fashion editor’s life, Zee was also known for his stint on MTV’s The City. His entertaining tweets landed him the honor of being one of Time’s Best Twitter Feeds of 2012 (he was #55 out of 140).
Who are your favorite fashion Twitters to follow? Do you think we missed anyone on the list? Sound off below!
Diana Pasgas is a writer & social media addict. She is kind of short & is often seen wearing red lipstick. She’s also a grey sweater enthusiast. In her spare time she enjoys playing the ukulele & searching for new brunch spots.
