Social media dominates our lives and influencer culture has transformed the way we connect with brands. Amongst this, Jamie Azzopardi stands out as a voice of authenticity. A celebrated celebrity fashion stylist and internet personality, Jamie has built a career not just on aesthetics but on integrity and genuine connection.
In our conversation, he offers candid insights into the complexities of being an influencer in a world where purchased followers, photoshop, and fleeting fame often overshadow hard work and authenticity. Here’s what Jamie had to say about why true influence must be earned, not bought.
Jessica:
In a previous interview with Megan Pusetto on So Dramatic!, you highlighted some candidates in various industries are likely to have a piece of paper documenting their credentials or achievements. However, as an influencer, your following is essentially your ‘proof’ of credibility. However, we have seen talent or influencers purchase followers over the past few years, skewing their actual following.
How does that impact genuine influencers like yourself, who’ve carefully cultivated their audience over time?
Jamie:
I think it impacts us greatly. We miss out on jobs because somebody’s taken that job.
There’s not an infinite amount of jobs out there. There are lots of different jobs, for sure, and they will consider different people, but you’re taking away somebody’s income. You don’t know who that person is or what their circumstances are. They could be millionaires or struggling. They could be, you know, single mums trying to make it for their kids. We don’t do this for work just so we can be undercut.
Imagine if being in an office, somebody was getting more money than you for the same job that you’re doing, you wouldn’t like that, and you’d call them out. So here is my chance to say, “Hey, this isn’t right”. Not that I think brands have listened to it necessarily.
These self-called influencers are essentially representing me even though they have purchased their following, and few people seem to actually know who they are.
Jessica:
You also made comments about photoshopping and the lack of authenticity this has in your So Dramatic! Interview. Many people would assume this is rampant within the influencer industry. Have you found this?
Jamie:
Is it? I don’t follow anyone that photoshops, I follow a lot of people, probably more than most of my peers and I don’t know a single person that photoshops.
Maybe they change the lighting, or maybe, I mean, maybe it’s a younger skew, I’m 31. I don’t care if I have a pimple. Right now, I have a pimple, and I’m going to an event tonight. So it is what it is. I also have the money to be able to cover it up with makeup.
But I don’t know people who Photoshop, and my friends are pretty open and honest. If they had to Photoshop something, they would say. I probably wouldn’t work with someone if they Photoshopped themselves without a valid reason and were hiding it.
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Jessica:
I think that’s the difference between truly professional influencers, though, and those who are striving to be considered as influencers. The ones who have established a following or cultivated that community. Those people aren’t necessarily who you would think are photoshopping and face-tuning.
Jamie:
But there’s also a difference between the creator and the creative.
Jessica:
How would you describe that difference in your words?
Jamie:
Well, I’m not famous. I’m famous for dressing people. So, I have a job that made my world famous, rather than being famous for absolutely nothing, which is apparently what everyone wants these days.
But that’s not how you become famous. You become infamous that way. So there’s a difference between infamy and fame, and infamy comes and goes.
Jessica:
You mentioned you consider purchasing followers fraudulent and implied that businesses don’t necessarily care.
If a business is looking to invest in influencer partnerships with people and does care, what kind of advice would you give them so they can avoid working with talent who may have skewed their numbers?
Jamie:
Don’t rely on somebody else. Your best friend is you. Do your research. Because at the end of the day, if a brand gets blamed for something, that’s all on you. It’s you, the person who chose it. Just like on set, if something goes wrong, everyone gets blamed for it. The model, the lighting tech, the lighting, you know, the guy who switched the lights on in the morning, the person who owns the studio, the stylist, the creatives. It’s not a ‘this went wrong – one of you is in trouble’, it’s ‘this went wrong, and all of you are in trouble’. So it’s the same with brands. And you see it every day.
Note from interviewer: The act of purchasing followers may seem frivolous and ‘silly.’ However, this has great implications. As Jamie highlights, in some environments it’s essentially a fraudulent act. If you’re using the number of followers you have to negotiate your worth and financial value in commercial agreements with a disingenuous following figure this could and should have greater implications.
Additionally, it’s problematic when followers of various influencers are compared and influencers with fewer followers (despite not having purchased their followers) may not be chosen as a result. While some responsibility should also lie with the business entering the commercial arrangement to do their due diligence and assess things like engagement rates, the responsibility ultimately lies on the influencer or ‘talent’ to present themselves as authentically as they can.
Jessica:
There is so much more that goes into being a creator than just creating great content. There are complexities. Could you discuss some of the hidden responsibilities that people and brands wouldn’t understand or consider that you take on as a creator? You’re obviously across the applicable laws, and you’re across where you need to be within the partnerships you take on.
Jamie:
I come from a very poor family. A super, super, super poor family. If you know anything about me, you know that I am a Brazilian. I grew up in Brazil. I, you know, I have one black and one white parent. My dad is Indigenous. So I’ve worked super hard to be able to say I have 13 full-time employees that we pay every single day.
Now, you can ask any one of my assistants, they get paid just under $1,000, which for an assistant in the fashion world is unheard of. It’s not something that is done. But I do it as it’s because of them that I get to do my job. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to mentally take on as many jobs as we do.
Next week, we are dressing 738 people. So, for me, we have to be across the laws. We have to be across the ideas of what the laws mean and what they physically and emotionally mean for not just myself, but everyone else.
I’m very lucky to have travelled most of the world and seen that, but there are very strict laws that cover what we do.
If you’re talking about finance or some really strict laws about what you can and can’t say, how much you’re paying for a job and what you charge for a job, there are really strict ways that you can talk about that, and you have to be aware.
If you’re talking about alcohol, you have to be across the ABAC code. They’re super strict about the way that they promote their things, and a lot of brands don’t adhere to that.
It’s a huge reason why people are fined in our industry. There are things like you can’t include children, and you can’t say that you’re going to get drunk off it, you can’t get a taste evaluation. You can’t be in front of water, you can’t say that it makes you sexually promiscuous, you can’t say any of those things. Because the minute you do, you’re looking at jail time. It’s not a fine, you could go to jail.
When you’re talking about health and beauty, it’s even stricter. There are things that you can and that you cannot say. And here’s one that a lot of people don’t know, especially a lot of people in my field of fashion, there are a lot of things that you can and can’t actually physically say.
For example, if you say so and so is ‘like’ somebody else’s brand, you can be sued. The ‘likeness’ of that is something that you also have to pertain to. It’s five points of difference between one garment and another. Now, it could just be a white T-shirt. But in that world, the idea of intellectual property is huge. What is mine is mine. And what is created by me is my creative. So if you’re going to use it, there’s a payment that comes along with that.
And look, you can talk to anybody who’s ever really known me. They will tell you I’m not the money guy. If I were going to be the money guy, I would have been a lawyer. I just think that when it comes to our business, people could be smarter about what the actual laws of those things are. Because we can get in some very serious trouble. And you’ve seen it time and time again. In Australia, J Kevin Foster and overseas, Anna Delvey. There are plenty of people who have gone to jail for the literal wording of fraud, which is a conglomerate of things that people maybe don’t understand.
Jessica:
Hopefully, the industry can shift and evolve and take these things more seriously.
Jamie:
What will happen is brands will start being held accountable. When brands are held accountable, they’ll start really caring about what, who, where and why.
I mean, we are a relatively new industry. When you talk about industries or pillars of industries – we’re relatively new in the social world. As we’ve seen with every other industry, finance, sport, or any industry in the world, the rules get tougher as the progression of that happens.
You saw it this year with the laws of what can and can’t be claimed on tax because a lot of influencers were claiming their taxi between their house, and an event was to be claimed on tax. But that’s not true. If you’re not being paid. That’s not a viable way of getting around that. So you really have to do your research on a whole bunch of things.
It comes down to how much you earn and what you put back into the tax bracket and all those kinds of things. But that’s the difference between people with influence and influencers.
Jessica:
Looking at the youth of today, many want to grow up and be YouTubers or influencers, yet they don’t really have a true understanding or representation of what that role or job kind of entails. It’s not all glamour and glitz.
Jamie:
You can’t blame them. I mean, they see what they see. But they don’t see the million hours it takes to get to where you’re going before the school of hard knocks.
I mean, my grandparents don’t see it. They think that what I do is a joke like, how do you make money off putting a photo on Instagram? But I make more than a doctor in a month.
I’m really lucky to have come from a minority, and I have used that minority to build a platform where I speak not only to my minority but also to a wider world.
I also think there is something to say about loving your job. I get to create fashion, and that art is seen around the world every single day.
We have a really big tradition that we do here. And it’s to send a message either prior to or after a show that says; Hey, guys, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I, you know, I lost my mum and dad when I was super young, and I get to create art now and work a million-dollar job because of you incredible humans in this room. You know, without you I know that I’m nothing because it’s you that helps me propel the idea that art is more than any one person.
It’s also about the idea of collaboration. A lot of influencers (or the self-claimed influencers) really struggle because they do it all themselves. Why do that? Why put yourself under that strain? Pay somebody. That’s how you become famous. That’s how infamy becomes fame. You have a team that is backing you, that will back you with anything.
You can ask my photographers, my videographers, hair and makeup. They’re not on every shoot, but if they can be, they are because we work stronger together.
Jessica: Thanks, Jamie! I appreciate you being so generous with your time, knowledge and unique experiences. I look forward to seeing where your career takes you.
Jamie Azzopardi’s journey as a creator, collaborator, and advocate for authenticity highlights the immense effort and responsibility that come with true influence.
His commitment to ethical practices, collaboration, and understanding the nuances of industry laws underscores what it takes to succeed in an ever-evolving space.
As Jamie aptly puts it, influence isn’t just about numbers—it’s about meaningful connections, hard work, and a dedication to artistry that resonates far beyond the screen. It’s a lesson both influencers and brands would do well to remember as they navigate the industry.
