Social Media

If you have visited @DKNY this week on Twitter, you were welcomed by an empty feed. Mashable noticed on Tuesday that the fashion company had erased almost all existing content on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Preceding the purge, there had been a few cryptic messages from DKNY PR Girl, SVP of Communications Aliza Licht, hinting that changes were coming and to follow her personal Twitter handle. DKNY PR Girl proved to be an instant social media hit for the brand. With over half a million followers, the initially anonymous Licht brought a millennial voice to the brand (despite being a mother of two), live tweeting everything from TV shows to award shows. Her work defined what brands could do on social media and garnered several awards. Currently, the only recent social media posting from DKNY is a paned black and white photo with the caption “Work in progress” and the date “9.16.15”, the same date as the brand’s NYFW show. The change shouldn’t come as a huge surprise given the amount of flux at the company. In April, the designers of Public School, Maxwell Osborne and Dao Yi Chow, were appointed creative directors of DKNY and, in July, Donna Karan stepped down. It will be interesting to see what the voice that the fashion brand uses for social media moving forward. We are fearful given that the carefree avatar has been replaced with the company’s logo that it will take on a much more serious, corporate tone.