If you take a look at the who’s who of the blogging industry, you’ll start to notice a pattern over the past 12 months. Diversification. We Wore What’s Danielle Bernstein has created two clothing collections, The Blonde Salad’s Chiara Ferragni continues to deliver shoe and accessory lines, Kayture’s Kristina Bazan has released a music single, Zoella’s Zoe Sugg has penned her third book… the list goes on.
Closer to home, 2016 saw super successful Australian bloggers They All Hate Us Tash Sefton and Elle Ferguson move into television – with the two hosting Style Squad, a makeover show aired on Foxtel’s Style Network. A perfect alignment for the best friends who know pretty much everything there is to know about fashion trends… In fact They All Hate Us is now one of Australia’s biggest online stores and fashion websites thanks to its almost 8 million viewers each year.
Catching up with Elle and Tash at the recent media launch for their collaboration with The Outnet, Husskie gets the low-down on everything from graduating from bloggers to television stars, staying relevant in a competitive market, and the upsides and downsides of a fashion blogging career.
Congratulations on Style Squad! Was television something you always wanted to do?
Tash: We have always worked behind the scenes in the fashion world, so being on TV wasn’t something we thought about initially. However it’s a really natural progression of our journey – mainly because our readers and followers have only seen images of us – being able to talk to them is amazing ! We have so much information to share, so our TV show gave us this opportunity. It actually was an incredible experience.
Elle: It’s actually a dream come true! Tash and I filmed a pilot for a show ten years ago and never thought this day would come. Filming a TV show with your best friend is a once in a lifetime opportunity that we are very thankful for.
Do you feel like Style Squad has opened up more career doors for you?
Elle: We have met so many amazingly talented people through this process. TV is an amazing platform to connect with people and I hope this is just the beginning for us.
Tash: We have done a lot of filming and talking on stage in the past — such as TV commercials, editorial videos on YouTube, and lots of tutorials on stage styling — and it really does come naturally to us. Because we are so close, our natural banter just works. The show was not at all scripted, so we were lucky Pip, our director, just let us go! We do have a lot of fun and laughs along the way. We would love to more!
You’ve been doing blogging for a while now. Do you try and think outside the box to ensure you stay relevant?
Elle: Tash and I, and the world of They All Hate Us, is very organic. We spend a lot of time on our shop where we always ensure we are first-to-market. Other than that, it’s just all very real.
Tash: We have a personal style and stay very true to this — I think that is our signature and our brand. We don’t go on fashion tangents or only wear head to toe designer, so I think that is refreshing in this space.
Is being a blogger the dream life it looks to be?
Elle: It’s a lot of hard work and you can never really ‘switch off’, however the opportunities that we get are unbelievable.
Are there any downsides?
Tash: Our job is a business – our online store, clothing label, TV and relationships with brands is real! It’s actually more work than I’ve ever experienced in my career, mainly as it’s 24/7. Our audience is global so there is no time difference. I was previously head of womenswear for a large retailer, which was mental, but this world now is more intense. But it is a dream to work with my best friend.
What has been your favourite campaign to work on and why?
Elle: It would have to be Style Squad and also launching the They All Hate Us online store that now is a global business.
Career highlight?
Tash: Our TV show was incredible – not many people get their own TV show!
Career lowlight?
Tash: Every experience good or bad is just part of the journey. I learn and move on.
Elle: Being attacked by an alpaca whist shooting a commercial!
You must do a lot together. Do your partners ever get jealous?!
Tash: My husband just gets it – Elle to him is just part of the family.
Elle: They’re all in the They All Hate Us family.
What has been the ultimate fashion item you’ve been gifted?
Tash: To be honest we buy 99 per cent of what we wear.
Elle: I’ve worked super hard and saved for some ah-mazing handbags!
Do you still go clothes shopping regularly?
Tash: Yes! Everyday. Either online or instore – it’s a problem, but it’s my job, so hey!
Elle: I’m shopping right now…
What advice do you have for budding bloggers?
Tash: Don’t do it for the perception of free things, parties and front row – this is not reality. Have a voice and stick to it, be different to the norm and don’t do it for ego.
Elle: Find who you are. Don’t try and be something you are not.
Where do you see They All Hate Us in five years time?
Tash: I barely know what day it is today! But we do have a few things up our sleeve to really shake things up.
Elle: Is world domination a too big of an ask?! Or just healthy and happy…
Images and words by Husskie Editor Yelena Fairfax.
