Gogoboi 

April 29, 2016 / interview by Selena Li

When did you realise that you were no longer just writing something on Weibo, but becoming a real fashion blogger?

About four or five years ago, when a client approached me and invited me to post a paid Weibo post. I only had 7,000 followers at that time. 

Are you influenced by readers’ reactions, such as the hits or page views of a post? Between the desire to say whatever you want to say and your readers’ preferences, which one is more important to you?

I am influenced. This is my job, not my personal interest. I am satisfied because readers are satisfied.

How long does it take to prepare a post on Weibo? What is the longest time you’ve ever spent?

Summarising clothing on a Korean television series takes the longest time. I once worked with my assistant on such a post – it took three whole days.

Among your “Year-End Summary” series, which one was your favourite?

My favourite one was the exhibition tour. Only at that moment did I feel I was promoting knowledge instead of just judging someone.

What conditions suit you best in terms of finding inspiration?

Actually, I think what I am writing is not a novel or prose; it’s not a literary creation, so I don’t need inspiration. To some degree, I am more like a librarian or a cashier. Practice makes perfect and I just do my job one step at a time. 

You’ve admitted that you are a latecomer to the WeChat platform. Do you still find it difficult to manage now?

It’s not that difficult to manage; the key is to find balance. There are some rules for those popular articles on the WeChat platform. But if you only care about page views, you will be trapped by those conventional patterns, losing your personal style and personality. So for me, finding the balance between being popular and being myself is not easy.

How do you assign work to your assistants?

I’ve got several assistants who are responsible for research. I’m not a good boss and I always lose my temper, shouting at them.

Apart from reading press releases, how do you ensure you know the biggest news in the industry every day?

There’s no big news in fashion. So you won’t regret it, even if you miss it.

Among all your posts, what is the breakdown of paid promotional articles and hard-core fashion reviews? Do you have a proportion for these different types of content?

The amount of editorial content and promotional articles should be balanced. There should be no more than one promotional article and the amount of editorial content must be more than the promotional articles.

When brands contact you, what are your criteria when selecting partners?

My personal preference. If I really don’t like the brand, I will definitely refuse to work with them.

The first time those really big brands approached you, how did you feel?

I felt like, “You are so stingy.”

When you discuss the paid promotional articles with brands, are there brainstorming sessions? If disagreements arise, do brands take your advice and adjust their campaigns accordingly?

There are no brainstorming sessions. They do send me related materials, but I create the content based on my own thoughts and style. Sometimes I offer ideas and advice on their campaign strategy, but they definitely don’t change it. Because almost every campaign of each brand is decided by their head office, it won’t be influenced by me.

In a BoF interview, you said very directly that it’s important to make money in this industry – and at the end of the interview you said you wanted to make 100 million RMB. What is the nature of your profession?

Just like everyone else – making money.

You said in another interview: “Since I became a fashion blogger, I did many things which I hadn’t even dared to dream about. I can sit and talk with Gisele Bündchen like we’re friends; my favourite beautiful girl, [K-pop singer] Yoona, I can meet her and she even gestured at me during her concert… it’s all very magical.” If you had to list your top three experiences, what would they be? Would the flight experience with IWC be one of them?

I can’t list the top three, because everything is incredible. When all those people you can’t reach before become normal people in your daily life and all the places you dreamed about become so ordinary, just like Starbucks… the flight experience with IWC was nothing compared to some of the others.

Do you have any fashion blogger friends? Or do you just communicate regarding business? Is it an exclusive circle?

I don’t have a personal relationship with other bloggers and I don’t discuss business with them, because I am an otaku and I don’t make friends outside. I don’t think there’s a circle for fashion bloggers, because we work independently.

Who is your favourite foreign fashion blogger? 

I don’t have any favourite foreign fashion bloggers, but I have designers I admire.

Your lovely dog has been shown on Weibo more than you. Can showing your face attract more fans?

I can’t attract more fans with my face. At the start, every time I showed my image on Weibo, I lost fans – but now I won’t lose fans when showing my images. The key is that I learned a good command of Photoshop. 

You said in an interview: “Since I became a fashion blogger, I did many things which I hadn’t even dared to dream about. I can sit and talk with Gisele Bündchen like we’re friends; my favourite beautiful girl, [K-pop singer] Yoona, I can meet her and she even gestured at me during her concert… it’s all very magical.” If you had to list your top three experiences, what would they be? Would the flight experience with IWC be one of them?

I can’t list the top three, because everything is incredible. When all those people you can’t reach before become normal people in your daily life and all the places you dreamed about become so ordinary just like Starbucks… the flight experience with IWC is nothing compared to some of the others.

In the BoF interview, you said very directly that it’s important to make money in this industry – and at the end of the interview you said you wanted to make 100 million RMB. What is the nature of your profession?

Just like everyone else – making money.

Do you have any fashion blogger friends? Or do you just communicate regarding business? Is it an exclusive circle?

I don’t have a personal relationship with other bloggers and I don’t discuss business with them, because I am an otaku and I don’t make friends outside. I don’t think there’s a circle for fashion bloggers, because we work independently.

Who is your favourite foreign fashion blogger? 

I don’t have any favourite foreign fashion bloggers, but I have designers I admire. 

There are many fashion bloggers out there, but not much original content. When you find your articles being plagiarised, do you get angry? Have you ever tried any effective ways to report them or give a warning?

Actually, fashion bloggers write articles themselves, but some websites and media platforms like to plagiarise. In the past, when I noticed someone copying my articles, I was so angry. But now, I don’t care. All I have to focus on is doing my own job well.

You frequently go to Paris and Milan. How do you see Shanghai in terms of it emerging as China’s fashion hub?

First of all, I don’t think everyone in New York or Paris is fashionable. Some of them in Paris and Milan are so out of date. Some fashionable people in Shanghai are as good as their counterparts in those places. But on the whole, we’re not better than them in terms of fashion. This is a problem of education. People in those places think dressing nicely is a way of showing respect to others. It’s an important and proud thing to do. But Chinese parents always tell their kids to only focus on studying and not to get distracted by dressing, that it’s not an appropriate thing for children.

You worked for fashion magazines before and remarked that you can’t always say good things about celebrities – that you have to be critical. What do you think about fashion magazines that are saying harsh things now? Are you worried about being upstaged by these bloggers for the new-style fashion magazines?

No one will be replaced. I think if you have talent, there will be a stage for you.

As for your collaboration with Chinese lifestyle brand The Beast, why did you decide to make a cup?

Because making a cup is easy – I just wanted to give it a try. I will have products with more advanced techniques in the future.

How do you handle meeting celebrities that you’ve criticised before?

Our relationship is not as bad as you think. In the world of adults, there is no such thing as hostility; we are just working.

Your Weibo tag is “Going forward into the fire of the stupid fans.” In the conversation with Kris Wu, you said that you can’t understand his fans – “How can they unconditionally love someone they have never met?” Apart from the pressure from stars’ agencies, the criticism of their fans must also be very harsh, right?

I totally understand their fans, so no matter what they say, I don’t care at all.

You have done many video interviews and you have a stable partnership with Tecent. What has been the most satisfying video interview for you?

It’s not easy to do video interviews. Because of some restrictions of some objective conditions, there’s not one that has satisfied me yet. I always want to do random interviews, but I have tried many times and they aren’t good. 

Describe an average day in the life of Gogoboi.

I get up at 6am and have breakfast. Then I go back to sleep and get up again at around 11am. I work until 11pm, then watch several episodes of Japanese animation and American TV shows, and go to bed around 3 in the morning.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? 

I hate travelling and am a super-geek. Whenever I don’t need to travel, I stay at home. I don’t party, don’t have a social life, live on takeaway. I once stayed at home for three whole days without stepping outside my door at all.

If you could dress up any celebrity, who would it be?

Probably Fan Bingbing. She has the ultimate beauty, yet her style doesn’t do her beauty justice.

What’s the best advice someone ever gave you?

When I was struggling with my writing, my boss, who was the editor-in-chief of the magazine I worked for at the time, said to me: “Don’t take it too seriously. There is nothing complicated about fashion. In time, you will get it.”

Gogoboi

因为在微博上发表对明星着装和时装界的犀利点评，叶嗣（又名Gogoboi）已成为中国当下最有影响的时尚力量之一，更以博主身份出现在各类时装秀前排。他曾任职于中国版《红秀GRAZIA》杂志，担任时装专题助理编辑。开设微博账号Gogoboi后，已拥有百万粉丝。2014年，Gogoboi入围《时装商业评论》（Business of Fashion）评选的“全球时尚影响力500人”（BoF500）。现在，Gogoboi与各品牌保持密切合作，是中国当下最受欢迎和最有影响力的时尚博主之一。
使用平台：微博、微信、Instagram
微博粉丝数：524万

什么时候开始意识到自己不再是简单找个微博写写东西，而被正式称为“时尚博主”的？

大概四五年前，有客户找上门说要出钱让我帮他们发微博，那时候我的微博粉丝只有7000多。

发布内容的随心所欲程度会不会随着对点击/分享量的追求而逐步递减？哪一个更重要，自己写的开心还是粉丝看得爽快？

会的。这毕竟是我的工作，而不是我的兴趣爱好，大家爽我才爽。

一条微博，从构思到发布，最长需要花费多长时间？

最费时间的是韩剧时装盘点，有一次我跟助理两人三天三夜废寝忘食才做完一条微博。

在什么时间段/地理位置/身体状况获取灵感最多？

其实我觉得我写的东西不是小说不是散文，算不上文学创作，所以不太需要灵感。某种程度上更像图书管理员或收银员的工作，熟能生巧、按部就班就好了。

视觉效果对一条推文来说是重中之重-你之前大方承认转战微信平台的时候是个后来者，现在还会觉得难以驾驭吗？表达的方式有没有作出相应的改变？

不至于难以驾驭，关键问题在于取舍。其实微信上的爆款文章是有迹可循的，但是如果一味地追求阅读量就会陷入俗套的深渊，失去自己的风格和个性。所以，对我来说比较难的是在受欢迎和做自己之间找到平衡。

你的团队里有两个全职的编辑，你怎么安排他们的工作？

没有编辑，编辑的活儿都是我在做。有几个助理，负责找资料之类的。我不算个好老板，总是发脾气，骂骂骂。

除了看完发来的公关稿，还有什么诀窍能确保不错过今天时尚界的重磅新闻吗？

时尚界没有重磅新闻，错过了也完全不可惜。

在每天各个平台的发布里，软性的内容和纯粹的时尚评论分别占几成？

编辑内容和广告内容会保持平衡，每天不多于一篇广告，编辑内容一定要比广告多。

那些“高大上”的品牌第一次主动联系你谈合作的时候，你的心情是怎样的？

我的心情是：原来你们这么抠门啊……

筛选合作的品牌，最主要的参考标准是什么？

根据我自己的喜好，如果实在不欣赏的品牌，就绝对不合作。

与品牌合作，如果要写一个系列的话，会与品牌一起头脑风暴吗？他们会不会也常听从你的建议修改campaign的方案？

不会头脑风暴。他们会发资料给我，具体的内容要根据我自己的想法和风格来做。有时候我会给他们的campaign提想法和意见，但他们绝对不会改，因为几乎所有的品牌的campaign都是由总部决定的，不是我们能左右的。

什么时候发现露脸涨粉更快？还是发完照片真的有成为明星的感觉让你欲罢不能？

露脸从来不会给我涨粉。最开始每发一次自己的照片就会掉不少粉，现在发照片不掉了。分水岭就是我熟练地掌握了photoshop技术。

你曾在采访中说“当博主以来，好多以前连做梦也不敢想的事情，都成了现实。”如果需要排出前三的话，哪些是博主最梦幻的经验？

排不出前三，因为一切都太不真实了，那些遥不可及的人都变成了生活里的普通人，那些做梦也到不了的地方变得跟星巴克一样平常。

你在BOF的采访里说的很直接，这是门生意，赚钱很重要，文章末尾说你要赚一个亿。这与“时尚博主的升级版是有钱人”这样的回答如出一辙。你的工作的本质是什么？

和所有人工作的本质都是一样的，挣钱。

与博主圈里的其他人是私交为主，还是业务沟通更多？

既没有私交，也没有业务沟通，我是个宅男，平时不出去交朋友。我也不觉得博主有个圈子，大家都是各自为战。

欣赏的国外同行有谁？

有欣赏的设计师，但是没有欣赏的同行，也不认识什么国外同行。

时尚博主很多，原创内容很少，看到抄袭的时候会不会有掀桌的冲动？

其实博主们大部分的内容都是原创的，反倒是那些网站媒体爱抄袭内容。以前看到别人抄袭我的东西会非常生气，但现在无所谓了。只要把自己的工作做好就够了。

常去纽约巴黎米兰的你，怎么看上海作为中国的时尚之都的后发优势/先天不足？

首先，我不觉得纽约巴黎米兰的人多时髦，巴黎米兰很多人都很村，上海的潮人一点不输他们。但整体来说，会有差距。这是个教育的问题。他们觉得打扮得好看是对别人的尊重，是一件重要的、值得骄傲的事情。而我们爸妈从小就教育我们，要好好学习，喜欢打扮是不正经，衣服够穿就好了。

之前在杂志呆过，你觉得不能一味的只说明星穿得好，评论要犀利，要critical。现在偶尔也能看见杂志编辑毒舌，他们也在进步，他们的微信公众号越来越会卖萌，怕不怕时尚杂志2.0会干掉博主们？

没有谁干掉谁。我觉得，有才华就应该有施展的舞台。.

和时尚生活品牌“野兽派”的联乘：为什么想到做杯子？

因为比较简单，做个试水，之后会出比较有技术含量的东西。

和常批评的艺人们见面，如何挤出一个真诚的微笑？

我们的关系没你们想的那么恶劣，并且成年人的世界里也没有苦大仇深的事，大家都是工作。

会埋怨自己性格里的宅属性吗？会不会想象如果自己特别长袖善舞，事业会更上一个台阶？

得到的已经超乎想象了，不会埋怨。如果特别八面玲珑，估计也不会走到这一天。

视频做了好多期了，也跟腾讯有特别稳定的合作关系，目前最满意的视频采访是？进军主持界之后会不会特别享受用随机提问去拷问来的明星们？

视频采访，一言难尽。由于我自己的先天因素，由于客观条件的制约，目前没有做出一期满意的。我最想做的就是随机提问，但是试过几次，效果极差。
 

你每天的日程安排是什么？

我早上6点起床然后吃早饭。之后再睡个回笼觉直到11点。之后看几集日本动画和美剧。我每天大概凌晨3点睡觉。
 

关于你的什么事情会让人大吃一惊？

我讨厌旅行，还有我其实超级宅。只要不旅行我就会呆在家里。我不参加聚会，也没有什么社交活动，每天都吃外卖。我有一次呆在家里三天三夜不出门。
 

如果可以给一位名人做造型，你会选择谁？

范冰冰。她非常漂亮，但她的穿衣风格并没有衬托她的美。
 

你收到的最好的建议是？

以前当我因为写作抓狂时，我当时工作的杂志的主编曾对我说：“不要太纠结。时尚没什么难的。以后你就会知道了。”

Images: Gogoboi