Putting passion to work: passionate labour in the fashion blogosphere

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore passionate labour in the fashion blogosphere and addresses two research questions: How does passion animate passionate labour? How does the emotion of passions and the discipline of labour fuse within passionate labour?

Design/methodology/approach

This study presents a three-year netnographic fieldwork of replikate fashion blogger-preneurs. Data are based on in-depth interviews, blogs, social media posts and informed by the relationships developed across these platforms.

Findings

Throughout the findings, this study unpacks the “little passions” that animate the passionate labour of blogger-preneurs. Passions include: passion for performing the royal lifestyle, the mobilisation of passion within strategic sociality and transformation and self-renewal through blogging. Lastly, the cycle of passion illustrates how passions can be recycled into new passionate projects.

Research limitations/implications

This study offers insight on how passionate labour requires the negotiation and mobilisation of emotion alongside a calculated understanding of market logics.

Practical implications

This study raises implications for aspiring blogger-preneurs, luxury brand managers and organisations beyond the blogging context.

Originality/value

The contribution of this study lies in the cultural understanding of passion as a form of labour where passion has become a way of life. The theorisation of passionate labour contributes to existing research in three ways. First, this study identifies social mimesis as a driver of passionate labour and its links to class distinction. Second, it offers insight on how passionate labour requires the negotiation and mobilisation of emotion alongside a calculated understanding of market logics. Third, it advances critical debate around exploitation and inequality within digital labour by demonstrating how passion is unequally distributed.

Citation

McFarlane, A., Hamilton, K. and Hewer, P. (2022), "Putting passion to work: passionate labour in the fashion blogosphere", European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56 No. 4, pp. 1210-1231. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-08-2019-0642