Traveling isn’t just about the destination. Carry On is our series devoted to how we get away in the digital age, from the choices we make to the experiences we share.
When Alyssa Ramos packs for a trip, functionality is far from her top priority. This solo traveler researches which colors will pop in her next destination, and brainstorms how outfits will fare with her Instagram audience.
Sure, it sounds extra, but packing for Instagram is part of Ramos’ job. As a full-time travel influencer, she gets paid to take gorgeous photos in drool-worthy destinations, and she makes money through partnerships with fashion brands.
But influencers aren’t the only ones matching outfits to locations these days. Instagram, which already plays a role in where people travel, is now changing the way these travelers pack for trips.
For Ramos, matching outfits with destinations started as a way to enhance her feed. As her following grew, her go-to black-on-black wasn’t cutting it. When she—like hundreds of fellow travel influencers—sprinkled color and character into her suitcase, the likes poured in. Slowly, so did business opportunities.
“My entire wardrobe is ‘Instagram clothes’ now, and my audience jokes about whether or not I even own a pair of jeans,” she said. “I get a lot of people asking for packing or styling tips, too. I have some token items and outfits that I see followers purchasing and wearing, including a yellow or white flowy dress and a floppy red hat.”
Thanks to Instagram, floppy hats like the one Ramos made popular saw huge sales spikes in 2016, particularly among the travel audience. These oversized accessories added flair and interest to travel photos. Hotels even jumped on to the trend: Riad Dar Anika in Marrakesh created custom sun hats to sneak their branding into the ‘gram.
Fashion entrepreneur Diana Jakowchuk heard about this bubbling hat trend from her daughter-in-law (who unsurprisingly saw the style on social media). Jakowchuk created one custom hat for her daughter-in-law’s beach vacation, then tested the waters in her Etsy shop. Her embroidered hats took off—literally.
“My customers posted their hat travels all over Instagram,” she said. “My hats have been to Europe, South Africa, Puerto Rico, Asia, and the Maldives.”
From 2016 to 2017—the peak of the floppy hat Instagram trend— Jakowchuk was selling 175 to 200 hats per month. Business was booming; she bought out her vendors to meet the demand.
But, just as Instagram travel “hot spots” can rise and fall—think Iceland’s largely (and now fading) Instagram-driven popularity—so can the platform’s fashion trends. Jakowchuk’s numbers dropped to 30 hats per month in 2018, and about eight hats per month in 2019.
Another fashion brand that rose to success through Instagram is The Elephant Pants. This boho-chic clothing brand—best known for elephant-pattern harem pants—gave a portion of all sales to the International Elephant Foundation. At its prime, the now-shuttered brand had over 3,000 Instagram ambassadors who “would not rest until everyone and their mother knew about the struggles elephants were facing,” The Elephant Pants’ founder, Nathan Coleman, said.
These pants appealed to travelers thanks to their comfort, style and social-good message—which is one of the many reasons over 19,000 #TheElephantPants posts can be found on Instagram, with customers still sharing images of their pants almost daily.
The Elephant Pants shut its doors without explanation in late 2018. Rabid fans are still posting on the brand’s last Instagram post for answers. Now, they might finally get the news they’ve been hoping for: The Elephant Pants could be returning, Coleman said, but re-launch specifics are still under wraps.
It may seem like harem pant-populated airports and floppy-hat-spotted beaches are the result of Instagram influencers, but Ramos says her wardrobe choices are actually dictated by her audience.
“Since I wear a different outfit in almost every photo, I gauge popularity by the amount of people asking where I got it from,” she said. “That’s super helpful because I can aim to wear similar things.”
Ramos’ followers are particularly excited by content featuring sustainable brands like Wolven Threads and Bionica Shoes, but by and large, their biggest interest centers on how to “pop” in their own travel photos. Ramos’ secret? A color wheel.
“The goal is to contrast with your surroundings,” she wrote in a blog post. “Find a color closest to what your background is and pick a color on the opposite end of the wheel to wear.”
This strategic fashion-and-destination matching helps Ramos generate profit through successful affiliate programs and sponsorships. But, given her followers are actually following her (down to the specific color), she’s beginning to comprehend her true sway and business potential as a travel influencer.
“We were on one of my group trips going to Chefchaouen [Morocco], the ‘blue city,’ and I told everyone to wear yellow or white if they wanted banger photos,” she said. “The next morning, all 12 of them showed up with either yellow or white, including the two guys!”
Some, particularly those skeptical about Instagram culture, may raise an eyebrow at this next-level influence. For Ramos, though, it’s the proof she’s been waiting for that influencer marketing can actually work.
“One of my proudest accomplishments is when I see people going to the same place as me, and even posing and dressing like me; it shows I’ve become truly influential, which is something a lot of people call themselves yet hack the system,” she said. “It’s a hassle and [wearing Instagram clothes] can be embarrassing, but you know what? I’m the one getting the banger photo and likely getting paid for it!”
