Internet Girl Breaks the Internet

I have been fascinated by Bella McFadden for about a year now. I found her when she began gaining traction as YouTuber; however, McFadden revolutionized the “thrifting” world years before this on the resale clothing app Depop. 

McFadden, better known as “Internet girl” or “iGirl” by her followers, began selling thrifted finds from her local resale stores in Winnipeg, Canada in 2016. Her “big break” came when she began selling styling bundles — a one time price for a full outfit styled by McFadden herself in the desired style of the buyer — in 2018. According to a New York Times article profiling McFadden, she decided to begin selling these bundles because “[she] wasn’t really getting any opportunity to do styling work” and realized “that [she] was pulling together all these iconic outfits. [she] was just like, ‘Damn, [she] should be selling this.’”McFadden is now the number one seller on Depop. She has also began creating her own designs of jewelry and clothing that she sells to her followers and includes in their bundles. 

The “iGirl bundle” is a prime example of McFadden’s ability as a divergent thinker. Before McFadden’s styling bundles, this had never been done before. She is taking advantage of her talent of styling and building up an aesthetic and the profit that she can turn by reselling thrifted clothes at a high price of $150 per order. McFadden’s ability to think outside of the box has established her brand as a commodity that her followers are committed to purchasing, whether that be a bundle, a piece of her custom jewelry, or simply a piece of clothing she finds at a thrift store. Because of this, I believe she is a big-c creative in her domain because she has revolutionized the field. 

Her creative process is also informed by analogy, or the ability to take things seen in other domains and appropriate them to fit another. The Depop superstar curates an aesthetic full of nostalgic pop culture references and fits them into the bundles she creates. In this lookbook posted on her YouTube channel, she describes outfits using referential terms from tv shows, movies and periods of fashion history. For example, she references Bratz, a doll from the early to mid 2000s that she often creates stickers of in this style. McFadden’s use of analogy in her branding and looks pulls popular, nostalgic pieces of culture that are now relevant with her demographic. The recycling of fashion is prominent throughout the industry, but because of her strong brand established on pop culture, McFadden’s use serves to enhance her success. 

McFadden’s business is extremely well established, as she references in her latest vlog she has hit over 25,000 orders from her Depop. Without her ability to think outside the box and use analogy throughout her branding, I do not believe she would have found this success. 

If you’re interested in learning more about Internet Girl, visit her YouTube channel. I’d recommend watching the first episode of Trashion a styling/talk show style series that hosts those relevant for her demographic. This is also another great example of analogy in her work, as she fully places viewers in a time period that can only be referred to as “y2k, dream, punk,” in her words.