Victoria Magrath - The New Fashion Rules - Inthefrow

Then we saw Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, selling out the stock levels of Scottish accessories brand Strathberry in 2017 when she carried their tote to a charity event. The world once again saw the power of the Royals, and other influential faces, for selling out products in abundance. I was in the midst of designing my own collaboration collection with Strathberry when the images of Meghan broke. I was delighted. It sure did throw some more eyes onto a brand that I had loved for years.

Viral products are a phenomenon. An item suddenly picks up hype and goes out of stock overnight. A celebrity might wear it, a blogger might style it or a social star is paid to promote it. Suddenly the world and their mother own it and it becomes the most coveted item on the web. You may have noticed it happen in recent years with the popularity of the Chloé Faye handbag, Dior feminism T-shirts, Valentino Rockstuds, Supreme clothing, the Chanel Boy bag or a pair of Yeezy trainers. The more people wear it, the more people want it.

I remember the days of Von Dutch baseball hats, Rockport boots, Burberry baseball caps and Juicy Couture velour tracksuits – trends that exploded organically, even before the web, image-sharing sites or blogs. But now we’re in a place where there are a multitude of platforms through which you can promote yourself and be noticed, and it takes just one significant moment, or a culmination of moments, to send a product into a viral frenzy.

Kylie Jenner in Von Dutch(Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images)

How to spot and buy a viral item

This is a tough one – a huge social star with 100 million followers could share a product and it may go out of stock within hours. In that case, you’re out of luck unless you immediately google every retailer that might sell it. Use key words to describe the item you’re looking for, and the chances are Google will find it in the images or shopping tabs.

Viral items are not just the products that sell out before you’ve even spotted them, though. Rather, they’re the products that you see everywhere for a day or a week before they suddenly end up sold out in every store. Usually it’s because the blogging and Instagram community have caught on to a particular trend. They’re featuring it on their stories and Instagram feeds, so that product ends up going out of stock in a matter of days. That’s certainly what happened for the Aquazzura Christy pumps in 2015, the double-G Gucci belt, the black Balenciaga Knife boots, the Dior bandeau bra with the contrast straps and the Dior T-shirts from the same line by Maria Grazia Chiuri. All of these products were all the rage until the point when you couldn’t get your hands on them.

The best way to spot the items that are blowing up is to follow as many of the top fashion Instagrammers and bloggers as you can. If you start to notice one particular product appearing constantly during your scrolling, the chances are you’re looking at a viral product.

9

November 2013

Michael Kors is first to sponsor an Instagram ad

Can you even remember the days when you logged on to your social media account and it was only your friends’ pictures that would show up in the feed? I remember reading articles suggesting that Facebook was eager to start monetising the platform – to take advantage of the billions of accounts that logged in every day. I was so disappointed. I knew it would mean advert after advert slotted in between Natalie’s baby-scan photo and David’s booze-cruise snaps, and I didn’t want this friendly platform to change. But everything is different now. Nothing is free and you can’t spend a minute online without seeing someone promoting something or other. I can’t complain; as a blogger, I’m part of this issue.

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