Culture

Anna Carter

The Model is Dead, Long Live the Celebrity: How Fame Replaced the Fashion Model

A close-up headshot of a young woman with fair skin, reddish-brown hair, and light blue eyes. Her hair is parted on the side and styled with soft waves framing her face. She has a gentle smile, wearing glossy coral lipstick and a silver-toned, rounded earring on her right ear. She is dressed in a dark, open-knit cardigan over a light gray top, against a soft, light-colored background.

Anna Carter is a Professional Communications student in her final year of study with a strong passion for fashion, social media, and cultural analysis. Her work explores how digital platforms are reshaping the fashion industry, particularly the rise of influencer and celebrity culture. With a background in competitive figure skating and an interest in visual storytelling, she brings a unique perspective to fashion, viewing it as both performance and identity. Anna is especially interested in branding, media strategy, and the evolving relationship between fashion, visibility, and influence. She is planning to expand her knowledge in fashion communication and branding through courses offered at the Vogue School of Fashion this summer.

This project examines the growing replacement of traditional fashion models with celebrities and influencers in campaigns, editorials, magazine covers, and runway shows. Once valued as “blank canvases,” models are now competing with highly visible figures who bring established audiences and personal branding power. This research aims to take that analysis of the increase in brands using celebrities and influencers as marketing tactics, and how platforms like Instagram have transformed casting decisions. Case studies are presented featuring individuals such as Zendaya, Julia Fox, Anok Yai, and Alex Consani, and through analysis of social media feeds of various designer brands. Ultimately, the argument is presented that fashion now operates within an attention economy where visibility, influence, and storytelling have become more valuable than traditional modelling aesthetics.

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