The Brief: Instagram closet accounts document in detail the clothes, accessories, and beauty products that celebrities wear, with information on where to buy them.
DEEP DIVE
Instagram closet accounts are fan-run pages that document in detail the exact clothes that celebrities and influencers wear, with links to buy these products. Popular closet accounts have tens and even hundreds of followers and often post ootd breakdowns soon after a celebrity posts a selfie, Instagram story, or is photographed by paparazzi. Although closet accounts often provide marketing for different brands and amplify the influence of social media stars, they are seldom monetized or linked to Instagram’s shopping features.
In a story for The New York Times, Taylor Lorenz investigated the communities and culture built around these accounts. These accounts are often run by teenagers and many of them feature young celebrities, YouTubers, and Instagram influencers. Admins identify clothing items with impressive detail, accuracy, and speed, sometimes competing directly with other accounts. Sometimes more than one popular closet account exists for a celebrity. For example, Emma Chamberlain has inspired both @closetofemmachambie with over 230,000 followers and @emmachambies_closet with 14,000+ followers.
Instagram closet accounts exemplify the amount of (often unpaid) digital labor young people will engage in to show devotion to the stars they stan and in search of social media clout. They also point to a widespread fascination with imitating and replicating the lifestyles of influencers through consumption and hypervigilant following.
Loren Gray Outfits:
Gigi Hadid’s closet: