DIARY Influencer: Jai'me Jan from Boy Meets Fashion
Date Posted: Thursday 15th June 2017
DIARY directory recently caught up with blogger Jai'me Jan from Boy Meets Fashion for a special London Fashion Week Men's Featured Influencer interview. The London-based influencer has been a regular at LFW for over 12 seasons and started his blog in 2010 and has been featured in the Evening Standard's Power 1000 Most Influential Londoners list, the Daily Mail's 'Capital's Most Stylish' feature and by Tatler. He was also one of the judges for the world's longest catwalk show on Regent Street, as well as being shortlisted for awards, including the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards.
London fashion blogger & journalist
8th in the Daily Telegraph’s “Top 50 fashion insiders on Twitter"
“Brands now focus less on advertising in magazines and have instead gone digital."
| Date of birth: | 29th July |
| County & country of residence: | London, United Kingdom |
| Biggest Readership Locations (list top 3): | United Kingdom, United States, Europe |
| 3 main areas of focus: | Fashion, Art, Travel |
| 5 specific areas of interest: | catwalk shows, backstage at fashion week, fashion parties, art exhibitions and city guides |
| Skin type: | Pale |
| Hair colour: | Dark Brown |
| Hair type: | Straight |
| Shoe size: | 9 UK - 43 EUR |
Listed in DIARY directory in the digital influencers subsection, along with 1500+ categorised influencers for PRs to work with, Jai'me discusses the Instagram spambot furore, what PR's can do to be more aware of it and the rise of London Fashion Week Men's.
What got you into blogging, how long ago did you start?
I had lost a lot of weight (over 90 pounds) after I had finished university and needed new clothes as all of my existing clothes were far too big for me. I went through a experimental stage and played with so many different styles, colours, patterns and prints. It was the first time in my life that I took any interest in fashion and I had a fashion journalist friend who asked me to tag along with her to events which helped me get my foot in the door. My fashion crazy friends wanted me to start a blog so I could document what next season's trends would be along with photos showing garments and accessories from next season's collections. This was around mid-2009 and I was against the idea of becoming a blogger until I met Navaz Batliwalla in early 2010, who spent over an hour pushing and motivating me to start a blog. About two months later I launched BoyMeetsFashion.com! Things went so well, I decided to go full-time in 2013.
Selfridge's social media team also gave me my big break as the head of its social media team, Tara, invited to a number of events and encouraged me to take photos and tweet about my experiences. Tara gave me VIP access - it was incredible. She changed my life and I will always be grateful - we still keep in touch on Facebook.
I also write for a number of publications and have written for The Times, Stylist, Huffington Post, American Express, British Airways' The Club (a monthly digital magazine sent to British Airways' Executive Club members), Selfridges and Harrods.
Men’s fashion is your forte - you must thrilled that menswear & British men’s fashion is being highlighted?
Oh God yes. I am extremely thrilled by how much menswear has grown and become such a force. Until recent years, it used to be quite boring and dull and you would just see the same old plain garments in the same old colours - navy, dark brown, grey and black being recycled every season, every year. Then when London Collections: Men (now known as London Fashion Week Men's) was launched in June 2012, it changed everything. Men's fashion week breathed new life into the world of menswear and nothing would ever be the same again. We started seeing shirts, trousers, jumpers, suits in all shades of colours. We started seeing prints, patterns and embroideries. It captured the hearts and minds of young men across the country and made them look at men's fashion in ways they had never looked at it before. And boy they all wanted to be a part of it. Just look at how many men turn up without invites at the fashion show venues during London Fashion Week Men's, just to be photographed and connect with other like-minded well-dressed gents.
Menswear has become such a force that it has heavily influenced women's clothes too. Think about oversized knits and coats. Think about boyfriend jeans, shirts and combat style boots.
Whose show was your favourite this season at LFWM?
I really enjoyed what Tinie Tempah did with What We Wear's SS18 presentation. He had his models playing basketball inside a hall and we (the audience) were allowed to roam around freely. A few members of the press even participated and took a few shots at the hoop. So much fun.
Which up-and-coming designers do we need to look out for?
Who are your top three go-to designers?
It was Burberry at London Fashion Week a few years ago, back at Kensington Gardens when they used to host huge shows. I remember it was a mesmerising experience - absolutely magical. Everyone dressed up and looked like superstars. Everyone. And everywhere I looked I saw someone famous. I felt like I was in a dream and it was such a surreal experience - particularly when I met one of my favourite fashion stars Carine Roitfeld who was every bit as lovely as I had hope. We spent a couple of minutes talking and wore the same colour coat (grey). I also met Sienna Miller, Paloma Faith and Donna Air said she loved my outfit. Cara Delevingne who is another one of my favourite people in fashion led the catwalk show which made it all the more special. I remember the live music and the flower petals that rained in on us after the show drew to a close. It was like living in some kind of fantasy world. I spent 30 minutes inside the venue after the show was over just living in the moment and taking it all in. There were still a few famous celebrities still hanging around for interviews and the security men didn't rush anyone out. It was perfect.
This is something that makes me feel quite sad as I still think there is nothing quite like a print magazine. I have an iPad Pro, as advertising is drying up.
"If you are a PR or brand looking to work with influencers, you really must do your homework."
Other than social blade, what other tools do you find useful?
Someone e-mailed me about another site but I haven't had the chance to look at it properly. There are still other good ways to detect the cheats. It requires more time but is worth it. Check the influencers' list of followers and see who those followers are. Quite often you will find they are dodgy accounts purely created to give likes to those who have paid for them. Also, when you come across an account that pretty much only re-tweets and/or comments on the same person or same group of people and doesn't do much else - this is a very good sign of a fake account.
Random and generic comments on Instagram such as "Great profile!", "I loved your feed!", "Very nice!", "This is cool!" are from people who almost certainly using bots. If you are a PR or brand looking to work with influencers, you really must do your homework.
Also, anyone who has amassed large numbers of followers in a short period of time must be looked at carefully. You should always be suspicious and do a thorough investigation. Brands spend a fortune working with Influencers.
How do you think brands/PRs can work better with influencers? Any pet peeves?
I think it is extremely important that you look at the influencers' work and ensure what you have in mind is relevant. For example, I have no interest in writing about sweets or eyelashes - they are irrelevant to the work I do.
Address them by name. "Dear blogger" is awful. 99% of the e-mails I get from PRs and press officers wanting to communicate with me address me by name.
If you weren’t blogging what would you be doing?
Good question. I would certainly still be working in the fashion industry in some capacity. Perhaps as a consultant.
What would be a dream collaboration that hasn’t yet presented itself?
To be involved in a fashion ad campaign with Burberry! I grew up watching Burberry's fashion shows via live streaming before I even had a blog, and even stood outside at Piccadilly Circus watching it on the big screen, dreaming that one day I would attend its shows. I never thought that dream would ever come reality but incredibly it did.
What other bloggers/influencers do you follow and why?
Prince Cassius, Leroy Dawkins, Verna, Toni Tran, David Evans, Em Sheldon, Nas, Martell Campbell, Maketh The Man, Harry Bartlett, John Jarrett because they are all extraordinary in their own creative ways. They don't follow - they lead and inspire everyone around me - including yours truly.