By Paulette Safdieh
The former fashion director at Sam Edelman discusses her switch to bloggerville.
Photo Credit: Edgify Me
Laura Harari made it. With coveted internships at Bloomingdale’s and Women’s Wear Daily under her belt, Harari was hired by American shoe designer Sam Edelman just three months after her graduation from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Harari, 22, quickly climbed the ranks to fashion director of Edelman’s company.
But last year, Harari ditched her 45-minute commute from Brooklyn to 57th Street for a walk down the hall to her home office. After a year in the work force she traded in her fashion director salary to focus full-time on her fashion blog, Edgify Me. No paycheck included.
Harari sat down with COLLIDE to discuss how blogging continues to shift the fashion world as we know it, and why she just can’t help but dance in front of the mirror.
COLLIDE: What did you leave a stable job in such a highly competitive industry to blog?
LAURA HARARI: I was at a point in my life where I wanted to try something new, to take a risk, to make a name for myself. The blogging world has become a full-blown business sector with tremendous opportunity and growth potential. Not to mention, I love to blog and I am confident that I have what it takes to be successful.
C: Was it intimidating to dive head first into a world where there’s already well-known people at the top?
LH: Of course it’s a challenge to adjust to a new norm but I love every minute of it. It can be intimidating if you let it be. I choose not to focus on the fact that I’m just starting out, and rather focus on gunning ahead and making a name for myself.
C: How do you think blogging has affected fashion?
LH: It is revolutionary! Fashion has become incredibly accessible through blogging. You can see the growth of the blogging industry just by looking at the front row during fashion week. Bloggers have become such important influencers and it is sort of democratizing fashion. It is no longer exclusively celebrities, and magazines that are dictating the direction of fashion. People are looking to bloggers, now more than ever, for an authentic opinion on what is happening.
I think that as long as bloggers maintain integrity and authenticity, they will continue to grow and influence the fashion industry more and more.
C: What differentiates you from other fashion bloggers?
LH: A lot of major fashion bloggers out there now are all about personal style and posting pictures of themselves and their outfits. I’ll admit, I do that too, but only sometimes and when it has a purpose. Instead I focus more on my personal take on what is happening in the industry. I also think a big differentiation between other bloggers and myself is my experience in the fashion industry. I’m able to bring more depth to my blog and my content because of that experience.
What I’m trying to do with my blog is reinforce the excitement that fashion should and can bring to everyone’s lives. I believe fashion should be emotional and I always say it should make you dance in front of your mirror. If my readers are getting excited by what they’re reading on my blog, then I’m doing my job.
C: Does the fashion blogging world differ from the rest of the industry?
LH: They are very different in the way they work. When you work for a brand, there is a team of people working to send a consistent brand message and you are completely product-driven. With blogging, it is all extremely personal and all about being authentic and creating content that interests your readers. It is similar in that you always need to stay current, on top of trends, industry news and all that.
C: What are some specific ways your job has helped you with the blog?
LH: I have learned so much from working for a major brand that has helped me with my blog. As fashion director at Sam Edelman, I was responsible for knowing every important trend, interpreting those trends for our customer and doing a ton of market research which is pretty much what I do now on my blog, just in a more personalized way.