Much has been said about the connection between fashion and social media, but even though modeling’s stars now rely on Instagram to book jobs and bloggers often sit front row (and, in recent news, are gaining big advertising campaigns), there has remained a traditional disconnect between the Internet’s biggest stars and the business of luxury. Influential netizens like PewDiePie may have close to 11 billion views, but we have yet to see them seated front row at a major show. (Give it time, though—fashion and gaming are currently in the midst of the meet-cute phase of their relationship.) The first bona fide Web celeb to land that particular honor is Cameron Dallas, a telegenic California native whose online following exceeds that of Lucky Blue Smith, Karlie Kloss, and Chrissy Teigen combined.
In fact, with an audience of 28.8 million across Instagram, Vine, YouTube, and Twitter, Dallas is one of the most followed people on earth. He is also Calvin Klein’s latest It boy, leveraging his massive audience into a burgeoning relationship with one of the world’s biggest brands. Seated front row at Italo Zucchelli’s Milan menswear show, Dallas fit right in with the crowd of editors and insiders. Only difference was that the hordes of screaming fans outside were there for him.
Given the Calvin Klein brand’s history of tapping into buzzy personalities—“Good Vibrations”–era Marky Mark and modern-day (but also pants-dropping) Justin Bieber among them—Dallas seems like a logical choice for its roster. With his pouty lips, wholesome good looks, and ripped abs, he trades on the kind of boy-next-door appeal that labels (and teenage girls) love. (And in case you forgot, labels love the unfettered devotion—and burgeoning buying power—of teenage girls.) Like most millennials, Dallas began his interactions with social media early and largely for personal reasons. What separates him from the millions of attractive selfie experts pervading the Internet is the way in which he turned his hobby into a full-fledged career: Starting his Vine account back in 2013 with uploads of pranks and pratfalls, Dallas quickly gained a following. Taking things one step further via updates to Instagram and YouTube, Dallas expanded his reach exponentially and soon began testing the waters in “old media,” snagging a role in 2015’s The Outfield opposite fellow Vine star Nash Grier, dropping a hip-hop single, and opening the doors for a transition to Hollywood, which looks to include a part in the upcoming film Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising.
Whether or not Dallas will take Hollywood by storm remains to be seen, but one thing is for certain: His career as a fashion insider is off to an impressive start. In a moment that is already being compared with peak Beatlemania, a large crowd of screaming fans assembled in the street outside the Calvin Klein show on Sunday simply to catch a peek of the comely Dallas, and with his image splashed all over the brand’s official Instagram—and a come-hither #MyCalvins image already racking up thousands of likes on his feed—we wouldn’t be surprised if we see him staring down at us from one of the brand’s infamous billboards very soon. Don’t worry: He’s made it very easy to watch this space.
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