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Molly-Mae Hague
Now let us take a trip across the pond to the United Kingdom, where British social media influencer, Molly-Mae Hague has taken the world by storm. Her rise to fame began in 2019, when she appeared on the popular British reality dating show, Love Island, where her and her now boyfriend, Tommy Furry, placed runner ups in the Finals.
Even prior to being on the show, Molly-Mae was working as an influencer on social media, however after her season ended (which was considered to be the the highest rated season of the TV series), her following on social media sky- rocketed, with her Instagram currently having over 6 million followers. During the show, many questioned her authenticity as she was poorly portrayed on the show;
many viewers considered her to be faking and simply there to win the cash prize of £50,000. However, after leaving the Love Island villa and returning to social media, she has been displaying a higher level of authenticity and personality (particularly in the most recent years).
For example, she particularly gained a lot of respect for having many of her face fillers dissolved. On one of her Youtube videos, she explained that she took fillers to an extreme and now feels more comfortable in her skin. She then discussed how she didn’t expect to gain so much respect as she didn’t do it for anyone but herself, but it happy that it has inspired so many others (Tonks, 2021).
Soon after Love Island season 5 ended, Molly-Mae signed a brand deal with well-known fast-fashion retailer, Pretty Little Thing (PLT). Her two collections, PrettyLittleThing x Molly-Mae, were huge successes, selling out within a few hours (Riley & Thomas, 2022).
When her second collection with PLT launched, she recommended that 100% of profits made should go to Mind, a mental health charity in England and Wales, in honour of the passing of Love Island host, Carolyne Flack. PLT approved and supported Molly’s decision and cancelled their launch event out of respect. This is a great example of successful collaboration, whereby brands grant influencers a perfect balance of guidance and creative freedom.
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