Online influencers have shaped the way people interact with brands since the advent of social media, adding context to products outside of typical advertising channels. But the idea that more followers equate to more consumer sway is not always true. How exactly is influencer marketing evolving?

Celebrity endorsements are old hat, but digitisation has bred a discerning consumer that demands transparency, leaving these partnerships feeling inauthentic. Instead – as seen in Nike and FKA Twigs’ ‘Do You Believe in More?’ – brands and celebrities are ‘collaborating’.

Once staunchly anti-social, with working-class roots, tattoos are experiencing a renaissance. A new collaboration between Swiss watchmaker Hublot and tattooist Maxime Buchi is the latest in counter-culture luxe, demonstrating that distinctions between high and low culture have all but disappeared.

EOS lip balm has become a cult hit, selling over 1,000 units per week at Selfridges in 2013 and being named the fourth most influential brand in the world for female Gen Yers. But how has a seemingly dull product spawned one of the most coveted and identifiable brands for women around the globe?