20 of Asia’s top style and beauty influencers – where they go, fashion follows
From China to Singapore and beyond, these bloggers, vloggers, Instagrammers and live-streamers can sell out a product in five minutes and make or break a brand in Asia
As our daily lives continue to be ruled by smartphones, “influencers” infiltrate our social media feeds the way commercials punctuate television programmes, except now, on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, their success is measured in likes and views, leaving nothing to chance when a brand pays one of these key opinion leaders (KOLs) to promote their wares for cash.
While there is no shortage of KOLs in Asia, a select few have the kind of, well, influence, that can make or break a brand, and build profitable businesses for themselves in the process. In a year that has required a new level of remote engagement, ruling online has become goal number one for the 20 most powerful online influencers in East Asia.
Austin Li
It may seem odd that the “Lipstick King” is male but former beauty sales assistant Austin Li Jiaqi, 27, has earned the title, setting a Guinness record for “most lipstick applications in 30 seconds” by putting lipstick on four models in that time. His real talent, though, is sales.
As one of Taobao’s top three live-streaming anchors, he has a proven ability to sell 15,000 lipsticks in five minutes, as well as lifestyle products and food, making him one of China’s richest and most successful KOLs.
Mr Bags
If you’re looking for a luxury handbag expert in China, Tao Liang, 28, is your guy. He started his blog Mr Bags in 2012, and quickly amassed millions of followers across digital platforms such as Weibo and WeChat, with in-depth articles and candid vlogs about which handbags to buy.