When we started the Style Summit it was simply a catalyst for bringing local style bloggers offline to connect in real life, but since it’s inception in 2016, it’s grown to become so much more than that. Today the Style Summit is a much-anticipated annual event that brings a variety of fashion influencers offline to connect in real life, discuss market trends, collaborate on creative projects, and create a shared vision for the future of fashion in the city.

The 4th Annual Gossip & Glamour Style Summit kicked off with an overview of the Seattle Style: Fashion/Function exhibit. Curator Clara Berg shared her insight with the group about how the exhibit came together including the process of sourcing items for display from MOHAI’s archives of over 30,000 garments, flat textiles, and accessories. The collection focuses on items that were made, worn, or sold in the Puget Sound region and picking items to tell a larger story about Seattle’s rich fashion history was no easy task. Clara also highlighted key style influencers in the city including John Doyle Bishop, who was a fashion designer and retailer in the 1950’s, and Helen Igoe, who regularly made trips to Europe to buy fashion for her shop which was in business from 1910-1950 on the corner of 5th and Union.

The conversation continued with the Influencer 2.0 panel moderated by Sydney Mintle of Gossip & Glamour and featuring style blogger Tiffany Ishiguro of I Am Style-Ish, Youtuber Monica Church, marketing expert Danny Done, and photographer and social media strategist Karla Melgarejo. The conversation spanned from mobile-first indexing on Google to monetization and the importance of standing out in a crowded market. Here are 5 key takeaways from the panel:

1) IF YOU WANT TO WORK WITH A BRAND, DO YOUR RESEARCH. Brands get pitched all the time and it’s important for bloggers and influencers to understand the mission and values of the brands they are pitching. Partnerships will feel more organic if influencers are already posting about brands they love and tagging them to get on their radar. Another tip? Brainstorm specific ideas about what a collaboration will look like and how it will benefit both the brand and your audience. Brands also like seeing examples of work you have done in the past and any metrics you are willing to show about engagement and conversions.

2) COMMUNITY BUILDING TAKES TIME, EVERYONE STARTS SMALL. If you’re wondering how to boost your engagement regardless of what social media platform you’re using, start by taking the time to engage with people who already engage with you. So many influencers forget about the community they’ve already established and that’s just not cool. It’s also important to be honest and be yourself. “People will relate to that,” says Monica Church. You also want to ask engaging questions to prompt people to get involved in the conversation.

3) CREATE MEANINGFUL DIALOGUE IN YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS. “How are you showing up in your social media feeds?” asked social media expert Karla Melgarejo. “A pretty picture is not enough if there is no story behind it.” It’s important to get raw, ask questions, respond to comments, and add value to the conversations you’re having on social media in order to establish trust with your community and drive engagement.

4) COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION. Don’t look at your peers as competitors, look to them as collaborators. As they say, “A rising tide lifts all boats”. Get to know the other influencers in your niche and make a conscious effort to support their work. Find opportunities to collaborate on creative projects and share resources.

5) UNDERSTAND HOW MOBILE-FIRST INDEXING WILL IMPACT YOU. Mobile-first indexing means Google predominantly uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking. The result is a much more catered search engine results page. “Google knows a brand is more valuable depending on how engaging the brand is.” says Danny Done. It’s important to structure content in a way that is easy to access on a mobile device.

This year the Style Summit introduced a new panel, called Balance + Blogging, designed to help creatives dive deeper into the topic of mental health. Featured speakers included Melody Todd of Honest Chatter, photographer and author Masoud Torabi, author and retail expert Moorea Seal, naturopathic doctor Ayla Hopkins, and influencer + podcast host Lestraundra Alfred of Balanced Black Girl. Here are 5 takeaways from the panel:

1) The Top three pillars for a balanced and healthy lifestyle, according to Dr. Ayla Hopkins are: Lifestyle (water, sleep, food intake, vitamins, exercise), Therapy (talking through things even when life is going well and during times of struggle/stress), and Intentional Alone Time (“If you don’t truly understand yourself, then the rest is just a band-aid). Being a content creator can be stressful, it’s important to make time for balance in your life.

2) It’s ok to be vunerable in your posts. Not everything you post on social media needs to be perfectly polished. When we all put vulnerable posts online, we feel: empowered, supported, loved, and inspired. People want to see something they can relate to when they look through their social media feeds. Stop trying so hard to be perfect.

3) Create healthy boundaries. Trying to go-go-go 24/7 is the quickest way to burn yourself out. Make time for breaks. Tune in to how you’re feeling and when something isn’t working, instead of being hard on yourself, go back to the “why” of the project or task to determine if it’s a good use of your time.

4) Don’t go down the rabbit hole of social media. We are ALL guilty of this and it’s easy to start comparing yourself to others when you’re spending large amounts of time on social media. Going down the virtual rabbit hole also means that you’re likely taking yourself away from other things in your life that may need attention. Set time limits for yourself on social media and start to notice when social media starts to impact your mood or outlook on life.

5) Do what works for you. “You don’t have to follow formula.” says Masoud Torabi. Feeling pressure to do things a certain way to build your brand because that’s what other content creators are doing is silly. You have to do what works for you in a way that feels organic.

In the final panel focused on the FUTURE OF FASHION, moderator Andrew Hoge of Seattle Magazine discussed industry trends and future predictions with a panel of experts including Brittany Hicks of Amazon Fashion/WOC Worldwide, Liz Kang Yates of K Banana, Jessica Couch of Luxor and Finch, and April Pride Of Like Minds. Given that the backdrop of this year’s summit was the MOHAI Seattle Style exhibit, Andrew Hoge was quick to point out that, “Seattle is having a fashion moment.” The conversation covered consumer trends, industry insight about fashion technology, experiential retail, and sustainability in a fast fashion world.

Key takeaways from the Future of Fashion panel:

• Consumers want to buy from brands they trust and whose corporate values align with their personal ones. - Liz Kang Yates

• The fashion industry in Seattle has always been focused on functionality and we are continuing to see that trend in the market.

• April Pride created her brand Van der Pop to connect women, fashion and cannabis.

• Retail is transitioning to be more consumer centric, which means that a company aligns its products and services to best fit the needs of its most valuable customers.

• In the future, fitting rooms will be the focal point of retail stores because consumers will place a greater emphasis on fit.

• Its up to consumers to hold the brands they shop from accountable for not being diverse in their marketing and social media campaigns.

• Fit problems in fashion start with production. “There is a disconnect with supply and demand when it comes to fashion. They do not know what consumers want. They are just creating and casting a wide net. Companies need to do a better job at understanding their kind of customers and actually listen to their needs and wants – Jessica Couch

• Diversity is important. Fashion teams that are more diverse are 2-3x more likely to have an impact and achive better results. - Brittany Hicks

• The unique thing about the fashion industry is that it touches everyone impacts everything around us.

The day ended with a networking session hosted by three local style bloggers, Elisa Yip of E for Elisa, Cortney Bigelow of The Grey Edit, and Mary Krosnjar of Sportsanista. The goal of the session was to help local creatives make new connections and spark joint collaborations.

Guests of the Style Summit also received free access to the MOHAI Seattle Style: Fashion/Function exhibit. We want to extend a big thank you to Monica Hart of Party Crush for doing beautiful tablescapes and flowers for the Style Summit, Trophy Cupcakes for sweet treats, Gourmondo Catering for providing lunch to Style Summit guests, and Caffee Umbria for providing morning coffee. View a full style summit photo gallery here.

2019 Style Summit Advisory Board

Darcy Camden

Rachel Waldorf

Jessica Branning

Andrew Hoge

*Thank you to Savanah Clements for helping us compile this year’s Style Summit Notes.