In the past decade, the fashion industry has seen a massive influx of brands started by influencers. Social media creators who focused primarily on building a content platform started to create commerce as an extension of their influence. Influencers with large followings, curated content and direct access for audiences seemed like the perfect modern-day entrepreneur.
Of course, for every success, there is a story to warn others. And just like influencers, some influencer-led brands have had success while others have faced a number of obstacles that led to closures or major cutbacks. Why is this happening? On the surface, it appears to be simple: influencer plus audience trust equals guaranteed success in launching a fashion brand.
The actual situation is more elaborate, as the process of building a business is considerably more complex than that of forming a personal brand. This article will discuss the struggles influencer brands have run into in the fashion space by analysing some key case studies to generate insights and takeaways for the wider fashion space.
Fashion Industry Lessons
Instagram transformed everything in fashion. It took fashion from the realm of a privileged few and democratised it, which created a new type of celebrity—the influencer. These creators built loyal fan bases by sharing their style, sharing bits of their lives, and sharing relatable stories.
As they acquired followers, opportunities also grew. Brand partnerships grew into capsule collections, and ultimately into independent fashion labels. Influencers were not just promoting products anymore—they were designing their products. This transition was similarly inspired by a longing for self-sufficiency.
No longer were influencers spokespeople for established fashion houses; instead, they could build their empires. It worked to begin with, and fans were rushing to buy products to duplicate their favourite creators’ style. Get more insights into the Fashion Industry Lessons, reasons why influencer brands stumble and other things.
Reasons Why This Trend Caught the Attention of the Fashion Industry?
Influencers were new to the scene. Unlike traditional celebrities, the people we were seeing and following were perceived as “one of us” – real people with real styles and lifestyles that felt attainable. This realness gave their brands a unique advantage: trust. Within the fashion world, trust was worth its weight in gold.
When working with an influencer, the fashion company often saw an immediate increase in sales. Influencers naturally started thinking: “If I can sell somebody else’s product, why not my own?” But this trend also created fierce competition. All of a sudden, there were dozens of new brands each year, all with a different online star behind them. Not every brand could make it.
Case Study of Challenges: Something Navy, Glossier, and others
Something Navy: Startup Success and Growing Pains
Arielle Charnas’ brand, Something Navy, began to experience rapid growth.
After years of selling private labels via Nordstrom, she decided to launch a fashion line. The first two took off the shelf rapidly, but after expanding into retail locations and ramping up off-take production, operational issues surfaced, and they experienced the intricacies of running a larger organisation.
Glossier: Community and the start through the lens of Pandemic Retail
Glossier harnessed one of the most engaged beauty communities; however, when they became overambitious with retail expansion just before COVID-19, growth strategies hit a wall when they experienced closed stores, layoffs and restructuring.
Revolve: The marketing model delivery platform and course correction
Revolve brought a notable pace-setting influencer lens. Over time, Revolve had become synonymous with exclusivity rather than inclusivity. The lines they invested time running marketing efforts to boost sales on influencer excursions began to ebb as consumer preferences shifted towards less curated lifestyles, and the question became how to remain relevant in the marketplace.
Why Many Influencer Brands Stumble?
Influencer brands are in a good position when they start, with the ability to connect and an audience, and a strong personal brand behind them, but like many brands, influencer brands soon will lose the traction they originally had. Here are some of the most common reasons that influencer brands lose traction.
Growth Before Infrastructure
A big mistake influencer brands can make is growing too quickly. Once they hit a certain amount of great sales, they feel the pressure to grow by expanding their product line, utilising more retail locations, and making more hires, but they won’t have any backend infrastructure necessary to fulfil the new growth. Many influencers, in their excitement of fast growth, will leap from enthusiasm-based hobbies and passion projects to full-scale brands and businesses, without the proper infrastructure, and soon warehouse or customer support becomes critical, as do vendor relationships when acquiring new products, and managing a bigger team!
Public scrutiny and individual branding risks
Unlike conventional brands, influencer brands are strongly tied to an individual. When that influencer lands in personal controversy, the brand will take a hit too. Arielle Charnas experienced this with Something Navy. When public controversies emerged, Something Navy experienced a noticeable decline in standing. Influencers in the past have even had their brands completely boycotted due to personal beliefs, their opinions and(stated) incidents of scandals or ignorance (in the perception of people).
Evolving Consumer Expectations
Fashion consumers today are more considered and demanding than ever. Consumers want more than just pretty clothes—they want transparency, a commitment to the earth and sustainability, an inclusive nature of design, and, overall, an ethical practice.
Many influencer brands launch based on aesthetic and personality, and will struggle to shift as customers start asking more questions. Where is it made? What are the workers getting paid? Is the brand representative of a range of body types and identities?
Conclusion
While the influencer-to-founder pipeline has revolutionised the fashion landscape, it has also uncovered some harsh realities. Popularity will not create a lasting brand – it requires strategy, partnership and a commitment to consider something as a project that will outlast the moment.
Brands like Something Navy, Glossier and Revolve share our pitfalls and opportunities. What they illustrate for us is that success is not about the loudest voice – it is about vision, the right people, and the humility to develop row and learn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fast growth without operational infrastructure is one of the biggest reasons. Influence can’t replace a sensible business strategy.
Sure, but they need to partner with experienced operators, get their value proposition right, as well as be more long-term thinkers.
Consumers want much more transparency, diversity, and ethical behaviour from influencer brands.
For sure. Traditional brands are borrowing influencer-like marketing strategies, but they’re also learning to balance hype with fundamental business practices.