Throughout the last decades of the 20th century, fashion houses such as Armani, Versace, Dolce&Gabbana made Italy synonym of class, quality, and excellence. The Italian fashion Industry became so powerful and renowned that it seemed impossible for it to change. The Milan fashion week became an exclusive event for a very limited number of people who had been working in the industry for years. However, in the last few years the Internet made the fashion world more accessible for outsiders, too. Blogs gave the possibility to a wider audience to write about fashion, dismantling the inaccessibility of the fashion industry, and the new Fashion bloggers took over the runway shows. Among the many who tried, Chiara Ferragni is commonly considered the first outsider who sat in the front rows of the most famous fashion shows of the Milan fashion week, but her presence there was initially nothing but welcome.

Chiara Ferragni

 

Chiara Ferragni was born in 1987 in Cremona. Her early career began in 2009 when she started her fashion blog “The Blonde Salad”, and since then her career has been unstoppable. In 2011, Teen Vogue chose her as the “Blogger of the moment” and by 2013 she collaborated with internationally renowned designers. In January 2015, Chiara’s own brand (Chiara Ferragni Collection) became a case study at Harvard Business School and two months later she became the first fashion blogger to appear on any Vogue cover. She appeared on the American reality show “Project Runway” as a guest judge in 2014, and in 2020 she took part in “Making the Cut”. She is probably most famous for her documentary “Chiara Ferragni- unposted” produced by Amazon Prime Video and RAI, released in 2019.

Being the Italian fashion Industry so unwelcoming towards the emerging fashion blogger, in 2017, Chiara Ferragni decided to move to the United States. Los Angeles has been a happy place for the Italian fashionista and entrepreneur, and on her Instagram account she has always showed loved and affection for the Californian city. Thanks to her long stay in L.A., Chiara got in touch with the American fashion world and with important personalities of the showbiz. Even though Los Angeles played such an important role both in Ferragni’s personal and professional life, she decided to leave the sunny beaches of L.A. to come back to Milan, one of the European capital cities. Chiara Ferragni and her husband, the Italian singer Fedez, wanted their firstborn to grow up in Italy, surrounded by the love of the child’s extended family and closer to the Italian traditions. Her love for the Italian city is so deep that Chiara Ferragni and her husband were acknowledged by the City of Milan with the Ambrogino d’Oro due to their active involvement and contribution for the common good during the pandemic.

Chiara Ferragni Brand

Because of her 24-milion-broad audience on Instagram, Chiara Ferragni managed to collaborate with international brands inside and outside the fashion industry. For instance, in one of her most recent collaborations, Ferragni partnered with Nespresso and opened a temporary café in Milan. She is now one of the most followed public figures on Instagram, where she decides to share some details of her private life. The most important representatives of Italian fashion who have always looked down on Chiara had to change their minds about the talents and the potential of the former blogger. Due to her large following on social media, she is now able to influence people’s choices in terms of clothing items and make-up products, but her influence goes way beyond garments. Because of her unexpected and lasting success, Chiara Ferragni proved herself to be all but a fleeting fad becoming one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Italy. Her Instagram posts are worth millions, and her company’s turnover is over
the roof.

Chiara Ferragni detached herself from the stereotypical image of “blondie” to embrace her role as C.E.O and Creative Director of the Chiara Ferragni brand. She is the first person using the expression imprenditrice digitale (literally, digital entrepreneur) to better describe her job.

Since Chiara Ferragni decided to post online many aspects of her private life, she is often criticized by the tabloids. Her constant exposure on social media plays a major role in enlarging her fashion brand. Regardless of her choices in terms of sharing her private life, it must be acknowledged that she managed to change one of the most elitist industry of the Bel Paese. She led the way creating her online persona, and now she is profiting out of it. She sets the example for many young female entrepreneurs, she advocates for gender-equality issues, and she runs a global brand. Whether the fashion industry likes it or not, Chiara Ferragni turned the tables, and she is now one of the most influential personalities of the fashion world.