Anyone who is involved in the fashion industry or is a modern consumer will know that bloggers play a huge role within the fashion industry, for both men and women.
Much loved, highly followed bloggers and brand ambassadors are constantly offering style advice and fashion updates across all of our social feeds at just a click of a hashtag!
The industry for fashion influencers is booming and proving to be a highly successful and virtually essential way for brands to get their names in to the spotlight.
Bruce Sturgell, [@chubstr] American founder of Chubster.com said, ‘Bloggers and influencers are popular because they are relatable. They can be people who look like you, come from a similar background as you and they represent the audience they are focused on better than mainstream magazines. We want to see bigger and taller guys like us doing great things, it just means more!’
But with the blogger scene for fashion being heavily influenced by females, does this discourage men from wanting to share their voice?
Are men intimidated and less inclined to blog and question their relevance?
Bruce stated, “I feel like it really comes down to the culture changing. When I started blogging in the U.S., I was the only one really focusing on big men’s fashion. It wasn’t uncommon for people to ask me if what I was doing was actually needed! Fast forward 6 years, and there’s a variety of influencers and bloggers popping up. This is needed and I think men in the UK are seeing that it’s okay to share your style, no matter what your size. That’s important and I’m happy to see it happening”.
Blogger Chez Rust [@chezrust] also commented on the noticeable gender balance, ‘The blogging industry is definitely mainly female but I feel that guys are now becoming just as important which is a great thing! Men now spend just as much time looking after their appearance, so the small amount of male bloggers that are currently out there I think will soon grow as guys realise that there is a place for them in the industry’.
So whilst male bloggers for the big and tall are almost non-existent in the UK, BadRhino has certainly seen the benefits of working with international bloggers through the use of seasonal campaigns and weekly social features, which continues to grow the brands engagement and media presence.
BadRhino has become one of the fastest growing menswear brands in the big and tall market, specializing in fashion for the larger guy in sizes large all the way up to 8XL – which proves difficult when recruiting a UK brand representative of these attributes.
Over the past two years BadRhino has collaborated with lots of familiar faces from ex-footballer Razor Ruddock to Games of Throne actor Kristian Nairn, [@kristiannairn] along with a great mix of international male bloggers – all outside of the UK.
Kavah King [gentlemenscurb] a male blogger from the U.S. who frequently collaborates with BadRhino was asked his thoughts on the importance and the rise of male bloggers and answered, ‘Guys are turning to bloggers for fashion and style advice because they want someone that is authentic! My advice to any upcoming male bloggers would be to establish their voice and to boldly be themselves, if the world was full of clones where would be the fun!’
Darnel Ghramm [dghramm] from New Jersey is also a fashion blogger who has worked with the brand and commented, “I feel like a lot of men are scared to come out of their comfort zone or really express themselves through their style. My advice for any aspiring male bloggers would be to stay true to yourself, work hard and things will all fall into place. Always keep in mind; you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!”
Darnel was asked his thoughts on why the UK is lacking larger male bloggers and influencers and said, “I think there is a lack of male influencers/bloggers in general, especially in the plus size community. There is still not a lot of brand recognition for plus size males. Also, the industry itself has an ideal image of what plus size is and I don’t think it’s realistic! I think a lot of men just get discouraged.”
Stephen Moss, [@StephenMossGdn] feature writer at the Guardian, recently wrote an informative piece on the plus sized men’s revolution and how although some UK retailers may be finally catching up to cater for the larger guy, it is still definitely a struggle to shop the high street favourites as the majority of menswear continues to end at an XXL in stores. Stephen stated, ‘The buzzword now is “inclusivity”: big guys don’t want to be treated like freaks’. After a great read it is still evident… no mention of any British plus size male bloggers leading this crucial change in the men’s fashion market!
Italian Menswear blogger Riccardo Onorato commented on the reason why UK men may be less inclined to blog “Fashion has always been seen as something frivolous and the idea towards a man loving fashion seems to make him “less man”. It could also be that everyone knows what happens when you “go public” with a blog and not everyone is able to deal with the ugly words that can be received.”
We know and admire many male bloggers in straight size and international markets, but what we really need to know is…
Where are the UK’s ‘Big & Tall’ male bloggers ?
BadRhino are now on the hunt for ONE talented blogger to collaborate with. Is this you?
Or maybe you know of a menswear blogger already writing for the big and tall industry in the UK? If so we need to hear from you!
Check out how to apply via the link below and additionally reach out to us using the hash tag #BRBLOGGERSEARCH
https://www.badrhino.com/ti/BadRhinoBloggerSearch-(649)
The top 5 shortlisted bloggers will be shortlisted on the 23rd June and one winner will be announced on the 30th June. The winner of our male blogger search will win a £150 BadRhino gift card – We look forward to hearing from you!
