Instagirls are Being Bullied by the Fashion Elite

Beware Instagirls (aka models discovered via Instagram)! There are some bitter biddies out there all ready to throw some shade on how you gained your fame.

In case you’re a bit behind on the fashionable times, Instagirls are the new crop of the fashion industry’s favorite ladies, who earned their supermodel status through simply snapping Instagram selfies or have gained a huge fan following through being social media queens. The trend has resulted in whirlwind modeling careers for girls like Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, and Kendall Jenner, brands' new social media campaigns to find fresh faces, a modeling agency dedicated to social media scouting, and some very jealous old-school members of the fashion elite.

In an interview on The Meredith Viera Show, ‘90s supermodel Naomi Campbell let her distaste of the Instagirls’ rise to fame be known, stating: "We had to earn our stripes and take our stepping stones to get to where we've gotten, and to accomplish what we have achieved... Then it just comes like that for them — but I sometimes believe easy come, easy go." And elite fashion photographer Steven Meisel recently shared his disappointment with where the modeling industry is headed with The Wall Street Journal. “It’s more [about] how many likes you get on Instagram, which I do not do. I’m not into it.”

Ouch. It sounds like in their opinion, these Instagirls woke up one day, snapped some selfies between classes, got some likes in study hall, and were famous before the lunch bell rang. Essentially, a modeling contact was handed to them for a payment of Instagram likes. But as Refinery29 smartly points out, the Instagirls have already jumped a huge hurdle of simply being noticed in a sea of pretty selfies. It’s up to the them to get their faces out there, instead of waiting around to be discovered or spend the better part of their youth going around knocking on agency doors, looking for someone else to do it. Or — ahm — in Campbell and Moss’ case, getting discovered by a stroke of luck in an airport or shopping mall.

I mean, the social media age has obviously changed so many aspects of our lives already, so why shouldn’t it also change the way how the scouting industry works? When you break it down, it’s essentially just another tool to accomplish the tasks of marketing, self-promoting, and scouting — and a useful one at that. So not take advantage of it?

Sorry guys, but green is a tough shade to pull off and envy isn’t flattering on anyone — even 90’s supermodels.