6 Things to Learn From Eva Chen
If you’re a follower of Vogue and the Conde Nast sphere, then you must have heard of Eva Chen. Yesterday, the new head of fashion partnerships in Instagram flew all the way from NY to Melbourne to attend Vogue Australia’s Vogue Codes summit. As Eva sat down on stage with Edwina McCann (Editor in Chief of Vogue Australia), the entire room is illuminated with a strong presence of charm and modesty.
Eva has not always been in fashion. She started off taking pre-med as a university degree before working for some time in law firms and taking in PR jobs – all of which she did not enjoy nor excel in. As a PR officer, having a list of event attendees did not stop her from letting other people into the party. After her internship in Harper’s Bazaar, she realised that fashion is the path she wants to go for. But what we can learn from Eva here is that there is no one course in life, it is not wrong to deviate yourself from the path you started off with. Everything is just a lesson for you to learn about yourself. Read on to discover the 6 things Eva taught us from Vogue Codes 2018 in Melbun (Eva's followers will get the joke).
1. How to use Instagram Wisely
Eva’s role in Instagram is to bridge how the fashion community uses the platform, and how Instagram can support them. Instagram is not merely about your curated grids or having the most followers. It’s about using the right social features on the platform for the proper purposes. The three main features include your grid, stories and live.
Grid: This is what’s presented on your account when a person clicks on it – the standard 3x3 square of your Instagram feeds. We sometimes obsess with getting that perfect collage but really what’s important is the feed, not the grid. Treat your single posts like a meal because it’s more critical for you to post more frequently to get that conversion. Put the content you want to last here.
Stories: There is never too many stories. Instagram can hold up to 100 stories per day, and the content you put up here is meant to be more like a snack. It’s to update your followers on the everyday scenes you experience, or for brands, to give them a sneak peek to behind the scenes work happening in the company. There’s also highlights now to keep the story longer.
Live: Live would have to be the most casual content. It’s like having your friend over the phone while you’re doing your homework together. You don’t necessarily engage with the audience because there’s almost nothing going on and it’s not the most sensational out of all the contents you may post. But the idea of Instagram live is that it recognises that people want to be in the same place as you, and so this feature lends a script to that reality.
2. Honesty and Consistency Wins!
Social media’s heading towards a turning point where honesty, consistency and authenticity win over others. Maintain your online presence better by ticking these three boxes.
3. See now, Buy now
See now buy now is not for everyone. Always remember to do what’s right for your brand. You don’t see a Hermes bag, that takes 150 hours to make, ready on a see now buy now event do you? I thought so too.
4. Best pieces of advice from Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour’s known for her short 2-4 word emails. One of Eva’s favourites is “move forward”, sent after one of Eva’s magazine editions underperformed. Another one is for Eva to always be early for meetings and shows because Anna time means 15 minutes early for everything. Edwina agreed with her on this.
5. How young graduates can qualify for the role
Fashion editorial and technology are two very competitive industries to break into, so how can young graduates leverage themselves to be eligible for the role? Edwina said having a good online presence is essential. You have to build your own brand profile but don’t put yourself before the brand you’ll be representing. You need to synchronise with it instead, find ways to augment the brand by having something new to offer. Eva’s answer highlighted having to do your homework. You can’t simply say you want to work at Vogue or fashion for the sake of liking fashion. You need to understand why you want to work in fashion. Learn from articles, or editors, or fashion curators and photographers. Learn from the experts.
6. The famous #evachenpose
Eva’s not always prepared for an OOTD shot, but she loves her accessories, and she knows that she always have killer shoes and a matching handbag to go along with it. More often than not, she’s constantly inside a cab on the go, so this is when #evachenpose was truly born. It’s a reflection of Eva’s style and daily adventures, but of course, figuring out the hashtag itself took quite a while because she thought it’s too egomaniacal for her taste (although I thought it was perfect).