This fall, a new documentary on tastemakers is coming out. Influencers, a short film directed by Paul Rojanathara and Davis Johnson, focuses on the social and cultural power of prominent New York City-based creatives working in advertising, design, fashion, and the like.
I’m definitely looking forward to seeing the film, but want to point out a couple of caveats in its focus.
First and foremost, the trailer gives that trends flow more like a river – from “Influencers” to the rest of us. This is sometimes the case- as it was in fashion before ready-to-wear came along- however trends are more like oceans – far more complex and full of a mixture of strong, underlying currents, rising and falling tides, rogue waves, tidal waves, and hurricanes – than rivers. The concept of one-way trends is too simplistic, and anyone seeking to explain trends as one-way roads is going to come up with faulty, incomplete theories.
Second, the film focuses only on individuals in New York City- certainly a smart move if one had to pick a single city, and definitely a smart move if one wanted to exhibit the inception, growth, and flowering of trends in a very exaggerated manner, but it is important to point out that, though NYC is a trend capitol, it is not the only trend capitol, nor is any city really able to claim a monopoly on trends for any specific sector.
Finally, the film focuses on specific individuals and how they have come to influence the rest of society. It cannot be denied that specific individuals emerge at the forefront of certain trends, and depending on their ability to create new clothing, technology, etc… are able to even start certain trends, but it must be kept in mind that trends by definition are never the product of one person. The key (and far more difficult to explain) substance of a trend consists of a complex mixture of societal, political, economic, environmental, and other factors. Individuals, or Influencers, are more like the Presidents of trends. They have influence, but they do not rule neither autocratically nor permanently.
Think of it this way: trends are quite like souffles: if the mixture of ingredients, temperature, and timing are not exactly right, they will not successfully rise. Just as we would never dare to say that souffles simply exist thanks to custard and egg whites, we cannot say that trends simply exist thanks to a few key individuals.
Friendly criticism aside, I’d say Influencers is another must-see for trend spotters and coolhunters alike, if not for its fascinating subject matter, then for its cool direction, music, and cinematic motifs (such as the mysterious figure that keeps popping up).
One final point of interest: R+I Creative, the company producing Influencers, is not a film-specific company per-se, but rather a “Branding + Creative Content” company based in Paris that acts as “a full service label dedicated to producing creative content for commercials, television, music, and interactive projects.” Is Influencers branded entertainment, by any chance; designed to establish certain individuals in present time and history as tastemakers? One should never forget that documentation often influences the way that the present day- as well as history- are interpreted…
. . .
Influeners - produced by R+I Creative – Fall release date (specifics still unknown)
(Influencers on Facebook, Vimeo)
[via Fast Company on Facebook]
Via the top drawer curation of Kyle Cameron Studstill, I came across a most fascinating 
