The subtle line between perseverance and…stalking?

In a city like Milan, one of the world’s capital of fashion, in the year 2020, when almost every girl’s dream is to become an influencer (I prefer to be called a content creator), the competition is skyrocketing. It is true, there are plenty of brands in the world but the increasing number of influencers are even higher. Finding brands on Instagram and sending them an email, after you make sure to like, comment and follow first, telling how much you love their new collection and how bad you want to work with them, is not working anymore. From ten emails sent, you are lucky if you get an answer with the phrase: “At the moment we already made the selection for the present campaign. We will let you know for the next ones.”

In this case, if you repute yourself a serious influencer, you need to be baptize as one. However, you cannot do that alone. You need a Godfather. Who is the Godfather of the reputable influencers? The agencies! The ones that keep in touch the brands and the influencers! I think the real Godfather of them all is NEXT Management! If you are lucky to enter in its grace, you, the reputable influencer, will work with the best brands in the fashion industry. If they do not observe you, you will continue creating content for a t-shirts from Fashionnova instead of Celine, Dior, Prada or…you will be literally nada. That, if you cannot afford them, if you do, well, you will create content just as a hobby. Good for you.

A girl like me dream big and aim high. Therefore, with all my confidence I sent them a direct message on Instagram. Hahahaha. Of course, they did not reply. After a few months, I send them an email. Ahahahah. Jokes on me. Why would they reply? I am not posting only Celine, Dior, Prada or Bottega Veneta. I also post many vintage pieces that I find at the weekly market in Milan, at 1, 2 or 3€. And I don’t have 100k followers. I only have 58k. So why would I represent any kind of interest to them? Especially when my name is Alina, not Linda, Chloe, Eva, or Chiara.

However, my perseverance did not stopped there. They are not the only ones who keep in touch brands and influencers. No, no! Therefore, I started looking for other agencies from Milan, Paris, and London and send them emails with the optimism and nativity of an 8 years old child. Oh poor me.

After months of no reply, which is still a reply (a big, silent NO) I find myself talking with my sister about the girls that have pretty much the same aesthetics like mine, the same number of followers but a thing in their bio that I don’t have, which is; “Represented by…” So why is so? I stopped wonder, and gave up at wanted to be “represented by…” but my sis is bugged about this and she keeps pushing me to send another email, another DM, to even call them!!!

I remember an episode of Gilmore Girls when Rory was looking for a job at a newspaper and the owner already told her that he doesn’t have any position open for her, but she was stubborn and didn’t gave up, she just took a seat there on a corridor and waited for the newspaper owner to change his mind. As I was watching that, my admiration for her and her perseverance grown so high. But that was 20 years ago.

In 2020 if you insist with emails, DMs and calls when it is clear “they are just not that into you”, you may be called a stalker! Therefore, my dear sis, I am not going to call them. One DM and two emails are enough to understand that I do not represent any kind of interest to them.

Meanwhile, I will let my work to represent me!

(maybe I will still sent them an email in the future, you can never know, right?)

the photo are raw. no edit whatsoever