Has Instagram broken or boosted 2010s fashion? Discover how social media and influencers have reshaped trends, luxury brands and audience engagement
This article is part of our special editorial series celebrating the 90th anniversary of Istituto Marangoni. In this chapter, we examine the role of Instagram during the 2010s as it democratises fashion: from micro-trends to the ethical challenges posed by fast fashion and the rise and fall of social media influencers.
Instagram’s Rise and Impact on 2010s Fashion
On 6 October 2010, Instagram went online, changing the internet and the fashion industry forever.
In the 2010s, the fashion landscape was vibrant—glossy like paper magazines and dazzling like the runways of New York, Paris, London, and Milan fashion shows. These platforms served as the primary gatekeepers of trends, controlling how they were presented to the public. Back then, the notion of a fashion influencer was largely associated with industry insiders and pop stars.
Then Instagram came along. The launch of this photo-sharing app heralded a massive shift in how people engaged with fashion, fundamentally changing the way brands connected with their audiences. By bypassing magazine narratives, Instagram redefined how trends emerged and evolved within the dynamics of algorithms.
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Instagram revolutionised fashion communication, shifting power from magazines to algorithms, where trends now rise through selfies, scrolls, and instant digital influence Instagram has also reshaped the roles of many professionals in the fashion industry, including editors and photographers. It has given rise to the influencer and content creator, allowing early-2000s fashion bloggers and new digital talents to reinvent themselves. Let’s explore one of the most challenging decades in fashion history, dominated by an ongoing obsession with mirror selfies (that has yet to fade).
Why Instagram Changed the Fashion Industry Forever
Instagram’s impact on fashion can be viewed as either a positive development or a negative one, depending on your perspective. It opened up what was once a tightly closed door to the fashion world.
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In the 2010s, brands seized the narrative—social media replaced magazines, influencers replaced editors, and fashion’s exclusivity began to dissolve So, how did fashion evolve in the 2010s? Exclusivity gradually diminished with the rise of user-generated content. The once-sacred aura of fashion—already compromised by livestreamed runway shows on web TV—was further weakened by the emergence of the first generation of influencers and content creators. They could attend shows and share pictures on Instagram in real time, which traditional fashion magazines found almost blasphemous, as they were accustomed to a slower, more deliberate pace of reporting.
It was only a matter of time before brands took control of the narrative themselves, managing it directly through their social media profiles.
Top 2010s Fashion Trends on Instagram: OOTD and User-Generated Content
The #OOTD (Outfit of the Day) craze that started in the early 2010s has been the most long-lasting hashtag in Instagram fashion content. Later on, with the launch of Reels, “Get Ready With Me” content became one of the platform’s most popular formats.
People who were once primarily interested in how celebrities dressed began to get curious about what other people and fashion bloggers were wearing. Real, relatable, authentic, and genuine were the attributes that users sought while scrolling through their Instagram feeds, until brands learned how to navigate the influencer marketing tide and capitalise on the social media hype.
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Influencers redefined luxury—authenticity became currency, relatability replaced exclusivity, and smaller brands flourished in fashion’s new social media-driven ecosystem. This era, while often portrayed as golden, was challenging for luxury brands, which felt somewhat vulnerable until they learned how to engage a new breed of fashion influencers and align them with their brand aesthetics. Meanwhile, smaller brands had their best moment using Instagram to shine and reach a broader audience.
How Fashion Bloggers Ruled Instagram
During the 2010s, original formats and personal taste proved to be more entertaining than dusty editorial formats and opinionated magazines.
“Now everyone has an audience! Dressing for Instagram meant wearing statement-making pieces that photographed well. It also led to a rise in fast fashion, as those posting about their style needed a variety of trendy pieces for an endless parade of outfit-of-the-day shots,” pointed out Vogue, reflecting on the pros and cons of that decade.
Early fashion bloggers like Susie Bubble and BryanBoy transitioned from their personal blogs to Instagram, which provided a broader audience. Leandra Medine, the founder of Man Repeller, initially gained attention by creating humorous posts that went viral, focusing on fashion items that women loved but their male partners found repulsive. She began to monetise her fashion sense in 2016 as soon as Instagram launched its shopping feature.
When digital creators with millions of followers—like the 22-year-old Danielle Bernstein (@WeWoreWhat)—started disclosing their six-figure earnings, many people on the internet began to consider ways to replicate their success.
How Instagram Gave Rise to New Fashion Careers
The truth is, you need genuine talent to stand out from the crowd. Once upon a time, there was Bill Cunningham, the influential street-style photographer for the New York Times, whose impact was so significant that many fashion icons, including Anna Wintour, admitted they dressed for him.
Then Scott Schuman, aka The Sartorialist, came along, starting a career on Instagram like many talented professionals who have emerged without the backing of a glossy magazine or newspaper.
Being photographed by The Sartorialist during a casual stroll through Via della Spiga in Milan or Central Park in New York became a badge of honour. Interestingly, he met his partner Anastasia Novaia, a former Istituto Marangoni student, in 2010 in Milan, under similar circumstances.
Fast forward 15 years, and he now voices his concerns about the tyranny of the algorithm, which forces him to rethink his social media strategy in order to stay relevant. Thanks to Instagram and the fashion trends of the 2010s, models became creators, while stylists—once confined to backstage roles—emerged as the main stars of their own #BTS content.
The Instagrammable Selfie: Defining 2010s Style
In 2011, an outfit created by Strawberry_93—featuring an unbranded tank top, denim shorts, a pair of random sneakers, and a duckface (the iconic smile of early selfies)— was photographed in her bedroom in North Carolina and posted on her Instagram profile. This image could garner more likes than a picture of Rihanna in a thousand-dollar Valentino lace dress shot by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue, simply because neither Annie Leibovitz, Vogue US, nor Rihanna were yet on Instagram to post it.
Taking selfies in front of the mirror turned into a daily routine for aspiring fashion influencers, while drawing inspiration from “the ‘gram” became the digital sport of the decade.
Fashion enthusiasts became a new breed of trendsetters. Mastering a personal aesthetic became sufficient for being recognised as tastemakers by hundreds, thousands, or even millions of followers. The concept of “Instagrammable” took hold and somehow became essential for fashion brands to create feed-stopping pieces that stood out in a crowded digital landscape, where regular customers were competing for attention alongside big brands.
Taking selfies in front of the mirror turned into a daily routine for aspiring fashion influencers, while drawing inspiration from “the ‘gram” became the digital sport of the decade.
Instagram Opportunities for Emerging Brands and Designers
Streaming changed everything, granting everyone a virtual seat in the front row. Talent scouting happened by browsing models’ portfolios on Instagram, often bypassing traditional talent agencies. Fashion students and emerging designers could launch their careers and build a global platform without needing to relocate to major fashion capitals like Paris or Milan. Fashion buyers could discover new brands, artists, and manufacturers simply by following relevant hashtags.
In the 2010s, monthly and weekly fashion magazines transitioned to a daily format to maintain a constant presence in a digital space that never sleeps. This rapid approach to fashion content generated fast-paced micro-trends that were almost impossible to keep up with. However, towards the late part of the decade, something shifted.
In 2013, Michael Kors became the first brand to officially advertise on Instagram. That year, the platform launched its advertising programme for sponsored posts, long before the engagement rate (E.R.) was even a metric created to measure and monetise a creator’s ability to actively engage their fanbase.
Luxury brands began collaborating with streetwear and sports brands, resulting in viral campaigns. Limited editions and marketing drops were announced on Instagram first, making it a primary source for reaching audiences and gaining popularity before magazines could confirm the news. In this Instagram era, breaking the mould and getting noticed often involved embracing heresy and chaos as the new norms.
How Luxury Brands Adapted to the Instagram Era
In the early 2010s, brands were rather hesitant; their Instagram profiles featured carefully curated visual identities that often mirrored their websites or, worse, their Facebook pages. Then the fashion industry recognised the platform’s potential to genuinely connect with audiences, promoting a lifestyle and conveying a brand’s values.
Companies began to market lifestyles rather than just shoes or jackets on Instagram. Emerging designers and independent brands used the platform to test different looks, gaining real-time feedback on their audience’s preferences. Instagram effectively became a focus group, helping them understand how people responded to certain styles and pieces.
Not everyone was a fan of Instagram, though. In a 2016 interview with Vogue, the late Karl Lagerfeld described the social media craze as “a fleeting moment,” suggesting that it would soon come to an end. Ten years later, that seems unlikely.
Key 2010s Fashion Trends and Influential Brands
The period between 2010 and 2019 was something of a trend mess. The lingering aesthetics of the Y2K era blended seamlessly with early athleisure inspirations, while a sense of nostalgia brought back vintage styles from previous decades. Many fashion brands experienced an identity crisis as they tried to adapt to the digital age.
You can think of the 2010s as divided into three distinct phases: the Indie Age in the early years, the Athleisure Age that began mid-decade and never really faded, and the Big Bang of the late 2010s, where streetwear, nostalgia, logo mania, maximalism, and 90s and 80s revivals coexisted chaotically.
The party culture of the 2000s morphed into Coachella Core. The fixation on music festivals led to a resurgence of boho-chic fashion, with crochet tops, fringe details on bags and jackets, and gladiator sandals making a huge comeback. Celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens, Paris Hilton, and the Delevingne sisters became unofficial ambassadors of this wave.
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Coachella Core redefined 2010s style—boho-chic reemerged with crochet, fringe, and gladiator sandals, led by icons like Paris Hilton Hipsters took over with their gender-neutral lumberjack attire, plaid shirts, and beanies. Brands like J. Crew, Urban Outfitters, Topshop, and Forever 21 appealed to teenage Millennials, the first generation to embrace the “click and buy” revolution of digital retail.
Among designer brands, Céline, under Phoebe Philo from 2008 to 2018, shaped the sophisticated minimalism of the decade. Philo focused on tailoring and premium luxurious materials, offering a stylish alternative to cheap, fast-fashion garments.
In 2015, Demna at Balenciaga and Alessandro Michele at Gucci started their own style revolutions, introducing dark gothic aesthetics and vintage nostalgia to these major luxury brands, appealing to a new generation of consumers: unapologetic Gen Z.
Supreme and Off-White blurred the lines between streetwear and high fashion, adding an ironic twist to expensive items—a strategy many luxury brands adopted in the following years.
Iconic Fashion Pieces That Went Viral on Instagram
As you scroll through stunning sunsets and Sunday brunch posts, you might stumble upon key fashion pieces that defined the style of the 2010s.
The decade began with the tragic passing of Alexander McQueen, who left behind iconic creations such as the Armadillo shoes. This mystical design, a favourite of Lady Gaga, soon became a cultural sensation.
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The 'Armadillo' boots of were part of Alexander McQueen’s spring/summer 2010 Plato’s Atlantis collection – the last fully-realized collection McQueen presented before his death in February 2010 Few people could actually afford a pair; for many, it was more of a visual fascination. People channelled their desire for dreamy shoes by liking the Armadillos on Instagram, then wore platform shoes, which were a huge trend in the early 2010s.
Brands quickly learned Instagram rule number one: escapism. People don’t necessarily buy what they like. Brands began to go big with bold content—the flashier and dreamier the piece, the better it would perform.
Fashion collections started to reflect the “Instagrammable” aesthetic that dominated feeds. Dior brought neon colours to the runway, later replaced in the mid-2010s by colour-blocking and monochrome styles. Animal prints were everywhere in the endless stream of outfit inspirations posted daily on Instagram.
In 2015, after several years of preparation, the term “athleisure” finally made it into the dictionary: socialites and influencers were seen wearing Nike triacetate jumpers in broad daylight, with no shame in going out to dinner in oversized cardigans over galaxy-printed leggings. Today, this trend is still alive and thriving.
Instagram’s Long-Term Impact on Fashion
Instagram in the 2010s acted as an equaliser: it broke and subverted hierarchies, amplified the voice of anonymous talents, and made room for a more inclusive representation of style. It catered to a wide array of micro-niches and appealed to diverse perspectives. Many of the things we now take for granted were groundbreaking at the time.
Micro-trends emerged rapidly, often overnight, thanks to viral posts, allowing fast-fashion brands to capitalise on the latest hype and distribute the most popular styles.
Fifteen years after its launch, it’s clear that Instagram also encouraged a culture of relentless perfection: polished pictures, refined details, and filters promoted a narrative far removed from the authenticity that people initially craved in the early days of social media. While it sped up the fast-fashion engine, Instagram also provided emerging fashion designers and independent brands with the opportunity to thrive.
Today, Instagram is a giant owned by Meta, but back in its early days, it seemed almost unthinkable that a photo-sharing app could have such a huge impact on the fashion industry. Reflecting on the changes of the 2010s helps us understand the power shifts in fashion in the subsequent decades.
The 2010s Fast Fashion Legacy and Ethical Challenges
Fast-fashion brands began dropping special collections in collaboration with luxury brands—a trend initiated by H&M in the 2000s. This movement brought the styles of Lanvin, Versace, Maison Martin Margiela, Balmain, Marni, Isabel Marant, Alexander Wang, and Kenzo to the masses during the 2010s. These designers embraced the spirit of the decade with capsule collections rooted in athleisure, maximalism, and boho chic.
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Fast-fashion met luxury—H&M’s designer collaborations turned exclusivity into accessibility, blending athleisure, maximalism, and boho chic for the masses. However, the allure of affordable items was shaken in 2013 when the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh collapsed, claiming the lives of over a thousand workers. This tragic incident received extensive media attention and exposed the environmental, ethical, and safety issues within the fast-fashion industry, casting a shadow over overconsumption and consumerism in the fashion of the 2010s.
It was the dawn of a new era of consciousness regarding sustainability—a concept that was neither glamorous nor “Instagrammable” at the time. Today, however, it holds enormous influence over a new generation of social media users who are more informed about major issues and willing to scroll past dupes and fakes in search of truth and authenticity amidst a flood of trendy outfits and bold, shiny pieces.
Gaia Giordani
Editor, Generative AI Explorer and New Media Communication Expert