Gendered entrepreneurialism and the labour of online consumption in the independent fashion sector

In the intersecting space between contemporary economic models, social media, and fashion and the body, it has been suggested that women are performing emotional and esthetic labor with increasing scrutiny, intensity and impact. This article considers interactions between and within two Instagram accounts from the perspective of these intersecting issues, using the labor they perform within the context of online consumption as a case study. The purpose is first to understand how these interactions occur in online contexts; and secondly, to examine what insight these interactions can offer into gendered labor and entrepreneurialism in fashion. Data was collected over a 12-month period in which the Instagram accounts of the fashion label Elizabeth Suzann and an Instagram community dedicated to her clothing were observed. Findings highlight the centrality of the body in their interactions and it is proposed that the accounts studied reflect a type of gendered entrepreneurialism in which esthetic and emotional labor is performed in order to create a welcoming, safe and useful space - especially for women whose bodies do not conform to social and industry norms.