The ongoing discussion regarding luxury influencers in Mzansi was reignited on Thursday and ThickLeeyonce weighed in.
Twitter user @Nyambose_N reignited the discussion after she said that South Africa mostly has luxury influencers and asked where the more relatable people are.
“Our influencers are luxury and expensive, where is the influence of cute entry level salaries, where are the homes turned cute with affordable furniture, apartment keys with no LV bags, who is the target market for all this luxury if we say we are a poor country? (sic)” she asked.
Our influencers are luxury and expensive, where is the influence of cute entry level salaries, where are the homes turned cute with affordable furniture, apartment keys with no LV bags, who is the target market for all this luxury if we say we are a poor country
— yekani abafana (@Nyambose_N) April 7, 2021
The post wasn’t received well as various content creators have debunked the myth that there are only luxury influencers in the country.
ThickLeeyonce weighed in and said: “Y’all follow the same 10 people and say this ... there’s literally so many local influencers who don’t do luxury content but y’all don’t show them the same love.“
Y’all follow the same 10 people and say this...there’s literally so many local influencers who don’t do luxury content but y’all don’t show them the same love. https://t.co/is1ZUIUjrN
— thickleeyonce (@ThickLeeyonce) April 8, 2021
Beauty influencer Foyin Ogunrombi posted that the simplest answer would just be to not follow them.
i literally hate tweets like this because hell, *eye* follow a ton of non-luxury influencers so if you claim that all our influencers are luxury, you just aren’t trying to seek anything else. yeah algorithms, yeah aesthetic, yeah popularity but take accountability for your tl.
— foyin 🍯 (@foyin_og) April 8, 2021
She added that she follows a number of non-luxury influencers and said the onus is on the individual to curate their social media experience.
“Curate what you want to see instead of coming online and saying it isn’t there.
“Seek out the content you want instead of following the macro influencers and complaining about what they post. Take ownership of your own social media experience,” the “7days7faces” creator said.
curate what you want to see instead of coming online and saying it isn’t there. seek out the content you want instead of following the macro influencers and complaining about what they post. take ownership of your own social media experience.
— foyin 🍯 (@foyin_og) April 8, 2021
She even compiled a thread of non-luxury influencers in different categories.
affordable homeware pic.twitter.com/Dq8GAVmNQv
— foyin 🍯 (@foyin_og) April 8, 2021
Other users also shared their thoughts with many of them sharing the same sentiments.
Broaden your horizon by typing exactly what you want to see in the search bar, following more people & cleansing your heart. https://t.co/TLSrCRJELs
— sibu. (@SibuMak_) April 8, 2021
Influencers need money & luxury pays. Luxury brands use influencer marketing more than entry-level.
— PEACHES (@_Boetie) April 8, 2021
There are plenty of creators that WE don’t pay attention to ‘cause luxury is an aesthetic. Find them. If all else fails, reach out to brands & create the content you’d like to see https://t.co/9ISzIiehaV
Tbh it’s the content you are consuming. There are micro and nano influencers that create quality and affordable content. Not all influencers are “luxury and expensive” it’s all about finding those that create content that fits your lifestyle. https://t.co/RTFdnuHjDG
— Tintswalo Mnisi (@tintswalomnisi3) April 8, 2021
This is incredibly dishonest. https://t.co/qgRpPg1AAr
— Prince (@LwandileZA) April 8, 2021