Putting passion to work: passionate labour in the fashion blogosphere

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore passionate labour in the fashion blogosphere and addresses two research questions: How does passion animate passionate labour? How does the emotion of passions and the discipline of labour fuse within passionate labour? Design/methodology/approach This study presents a three-year netnographic fieldwork of replikate fashion blogger-preneurs. Data are based on in-depth interviews, blogs, social media posts and informed by the relationships developed across these platforms. Findings Throughout the findings, this study unpacks the “little passions” that animate the passionate labour of blogger-preneurs. Passions include: passion for performing the royal lifestyle, the mobilisation of passion within strategic sociality and transformation and self-renewal through blogging. Lastly, the cycle of passion illustrates how passions can be recycled into new passionate projects. Research limitations/implications This study offers insight on how passionate labour requires the negotiation and mobilisation of emotion alongside a calculated understanding of market logics. Practical implications This study raises implications for aspiring blogger-preneurs, luxury brand managers and organisations beyond the blogging context. Originality/value The contribution of this study lies in the cultural understanding of passion as a form of labour where passion has become a way of life. The theorisation of passionate labour contributes to existing research in three ways. First, this study identifies social mimesis as a driver of passionate labour and its links to class distinction. Second, it offers insight on how passionate labour requires the negotiation and mobilisation of emotion alongside a calculated understanding of market logics. Third, it advances critical debate around exploitation and inequality within digital labour by demonstrating how passion is unequally distributed.

Fashioning the Circular Economy with Disruptive Marketing Tactics Mimicking Fast Fashion’s Exploitation of Social Capital: A Case Study Exploring the Innovative Fashion Rental Business Model “Wardrobe”

“…Trickling down from haute couture, fast fashion retailers began to collaborate with well-known celebrities to promote bespoke collections [35], and this evolved to co-creating collections with well-known societal personas (influencers/celebrities) that are marketed on social media [4] to the benefit of the brand and celebrity capital [21]. McFarlane, Hamilton, and Hewer [36] describe this as a form of micro-entrepreneurship that can market to a mass audience to illustrate their "passion for fashion." Influencer culture depicts an enviable lifestyle [37], where fashion plays a central role in forming social capital [36], and this encourages rapid trend change, which has led to the shame of re-wearing an outfit for Generation Z [13,14,20].…”

“…McFarlane, Hamilton, and Hewer [36] describe this as a form of micro-entrepreneurship that can market to a mass audience to illustrate their "passion for fashion." Influencer culture depicts an enviable lifestyle [37], where fashion plays a central role in forming social capital [36], and this encourages rapid trend change, which has led to the shame of re-wearing an outfit for Generation Z [13,14,20]. Through this lens, economic capital is generated by combining brand/celebrity capital within the aesthetic economy [38].…”

“…Engagement navigates between inviting celebrities and influencers to rent their wardrobe on the platform and the renting process. Renters can maximise their inventory by collecting revenue on their assets within 2 h of posting, and the highest earning lender has, to date, earned USD10K+, which is symbolic of the micro-entrepreneurship noted by McFarlane et al [36]. There has been less focus on marketing, with the priority on streamlining efficiencies in the users' experience (both those who rent out their wardrobe and those who rent the garments) and using technology to maximise the turnaround of cleaning and shipping.…”

“…New consumer categories are evident in both the influencers/celebrities who rent out their wardrobes and the borrowers who may be renting fashion for the first time, given that the practice is still to infuse into societal norms [2,50]. Whereas celebrities/influencers are often used as marketing intermediaries to sell the inventory of fashion brands [21,33,36], Wardrobe is unique in being the intermediary between celebrities/influencers and consumers, who are often admirers of the celebrity. Marketing that depicts fashion-focused lifestyles deepens the emotive connection between the celebrity and the audience.…”