Far from her Valencia roots, 25-year-old fashion blogger Natalie Suarez descended the stairs in her New York City apartment to check the mail – her next product had just arrived. As she held up Tommy Hilfiger’s new line of 90s-inspired bras and boyshorts, images of NYC fashion icons flashed through her mind: Chloe Sevigny in high-waisted shorts; Liv Tyler hitting Time Square in Chuck Taylors; Christy Turlington rocking a flashy gold tracksuit.
Calling her sister, 28-year-old Dylana, the two discussed the details of a photo shoot. While Dylana grabbed her camera and prepared to head over, Natalie started on her next blog post.
“The best thing about the 90s was the sportswear,” she wrote. “Baggy basketball shorts. Bandeau bras. And lip gloss. Fresh off the runway, this sporty set brings back what Tommy is all about. All-American youth.”
Well on their way to completing their next project, fashion model/bloggers Natalie and Dylana have found themselves on the cutting-edge of influence marketing: a fast-growing form of marketing that promotes products through the social media platforms of key individuals. Called “influencers,” these well-followed individuals receive products – only those they believe in – and plug them online.
“It’s a more organic form of advertising,” Natalie said, “that comes from real people who actually wear these brands.”
Several studies support the power of this word-of-mouth marketing, which is now made easier and faster through social media, blogs, reviews, etc., according to Forbes. As retailers recognize this growing trend, many are adapting their marketing strategies to support print advertising with influencers’ online coverage. When Natalie and Dylana first jumped into the fashion world, however, they never expected to find themselves at the forefront of a global shift in marketing.
“When we started our blogs, we didn’t know the whole industry was going to change,” Natalie said.
Natalie’s journey began at age 15 with a full-time career in modeling. Her diverse heritage – Chinese, Spanish and Mexican – quickly landed her a contract with Ford Models in Beverly Hills. Looking to promote her work and share her passion, Natalie launched a fashion blog while still in high school. In 2009, Dylana also launched a blog to support her love of photography and design. Often, Natalie would model, and Dylana would shoot. Within a year, global fashion retailer Free People noticed the Suarez sisters and reached out to collaborate.
“It was the first time anyone recognized us,” Natalie recalled. “They wanted to launch a campaign with real girls who were telling their stories through blogs. And at the time, we were some of the first fashion bloggers out there – and the only sisters.”
With Dylana as the photographer and Natalie as the model, the two landed the 2010 fall catalog cover. The collaboration led to a full-time job at Free People for Dylana, and a jump in followers for Natalie. Together with Free People, the sisters had tapped into a major marketing shift in the fashion world.
At ages 20 and 23, respectively, Natalie and Dylana moved to the East Coast to chase job opportunities. Following the success of the Free People campaign, Natalie and Dylana recognized the demand for honest, product-based fashion blogs that were relatable to the “everygirl.”
“The blogging world was blowing up,” Natalie said. “We wanted to tell stories with products from brands we loved. To do that, we had to stay true to ourselves – that’s what helped us stand out from the pack.”
As their blogs grew, the two pursued more opportunities in influence marketing, pitching campaign ideas and collaboration proposals to brands they already knew and wore. Quickly, the projects started flooding in.
“We’d call friends we worked with before; we’d talk to other girls who were doing the same thing,” Natatlie said. “We were helping brands come up with creative ideas to get what they wanted. They may not have done something like this before, so we were able to provide creative direction and a lot of input.”
Soon the tables had turned and retailers were contacting the Suarez sisters. To date, they have worked with brands across the globe, including: L’oreal Paris, Saks 5th Avenue, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Coach, Levi’s, Sunglass Hut, Revlon, Urban Decay, Absolut, T-Mobile and more. According to any blogger’s standards, the Suarez sisters have made it in the community of social media influencers.
As they continue to grow and adapt to a shifting market, Natalie and Dylana turn their focus toward even more subtle forms of product promotion. Road trips, music festivals and international fashion galas have all made it onto the Suarez blogs, and the two are taking a more lifestyle-oriented approach to their posts.
“We don’t just write about fashion; we write about friends, social issues, creative projects,” Dylana said.
“It offers a more realistic perspective,” Natalie added, “and makes the fashion attainable for real girls.”
As for the future, the Suarez sisters are chasing any and every opportunity they can find.
“It’s so interesting how things came about just by having this little blog. We never really know what’s going to happen next,” Natalie said. “But we always come up with more ideas along the way.”
For more information, please visit the Suarez sisters’ blogs at www.natalieoffduty.com and www.dylanasuarez.com, or follow them on Instagram: @natalieoffduty and
@dylanasuarez.
