Tessa Love is a writer whose work focuses on the undertones of culture and human experience. Her work has been featured in Outside Magazine, The Believer, Longreads, BBC, and more. She is also a cultural researcher and trend analyst specialising in youth behaviours and insights. She has produced reports, articles, white papers, and films that have informed the strategies of some of the world’s biggest brands, and she previously served as the editorial director of Western Europe for the global youth insights and research agency YPulse.

In a hyper-connected world, it feels like everything previously ‘insider’ is more available than ever: from behind-the-scenes access to the lives of public figures to travel experiences immersing people into worlds previously deemed unattainable. But while people embrace this community-based inclusivity and unprecedented access to their icons, they still yearn for touches of exclusivity to define their status.

As the age-old understanding of exclusivity is eroded, people are redefining status for themselves using a broad range of factors beyond solely economic ones. This new iteration of status is often based around increasingly niche and local signifiers – from luxury dupes to the rise of members clubs and closed-community spaces based on shared interests. Status is becoming a mode of belonging and connection with like-minded people.

People are erecting walls of their exclusive communities, relying on more subtle markers of identity. This is apparent with middle-class people fetishising working-class aesthetics, athletes turning to niche sports like padel, and social media groups organising around niche interests – spawning companies. As status-defined micro-trends on social media accelerate, brands face a challenge to keep up. If previously certain legacy items were automatically associated with exclusivity, now people are much more trusting of the UGC-defined vision of what status means. More than ever, speed, knowledge, inventiveness, and being plugged into the community determine what – and who – is in.

Insider Status

Alessandro Bogliari is a digital entrepreneur and growth marketer. He is the co-founder and CEO of the Influencer Marketing Factory, a global influencer marketing agency that helps brands and companies launch influencer marketing campaigns on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

United States

Social networking

TV, film, and social media video

Fox News

The Hollywood Reporter

Today

Insider

TikTok

The New York Times

Civic Science

Interview with Alessandro Bogliari conducted by the author

Business Wire

Meltwater

Glossy

The Crimson

PR Week

Trendalytics

Influencer Alix Earle became TikTok royalty almost overnight, and the products she recommends routinely go viral – a phenomenon dubbed the ‘Alix Earle effect’. But more than beauty secrets, the key to Earle’s success lies in her relatable persona, which has earned her a devoted fanbase.

Cultivate

Values and Identity

Alix Earle: the relatable influencer next door