The Devil Wears Prada: Twitter Edition

Many people know of the movie The Devil Wears Prada, but is the fashion industry really like that? The movie itself is undeniably based on Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue. However, what about the rest of fashion?

Of course you cannot judge every person who works in fashion to act like Miranda Priestly, but one Twitter account shows us that there are people who do act like that in real life. The account "Conde Elevator," made up of just 36 tweets, made quite the stir in 2011 when it posted juicy tidbits heard from the Conde Nast elevator. (For those who do not know- Conde Nast was the building that hosted the corporate offices of Vogue, Elle, Lucky, and all the top magazines prior to 2015). After growing a following of 70,000 followers in just a matter of weeks, the account halted after threats made from the corporate level. Fortunately though several unforgettable tweets were forever immortalized and are still available on the @CondeElevator Twitter account.

 What is the problem with "Conde Elevator" account? Nothing, so long as you are not a major fashion magazine. (For everyone else it is quite the funny read). For those fashion magazines housed at Conde Nast during the time (aka 2011), this was very bad press. It confirmed that the some of the stereotypes portrayed in Devil Wears Prada were in fact founded in some truth. 

Although this situation is different than if a specific company or in this case magazine (cough, cough- Vogue) was criticized, it still presents the issue of how much power and influence consumers, or even disgruntled employees have using social media. News of the account spread like wildfire and the tweets garnered a lot of attention. (Look--> here, here, and here). When this happened though Conde Nast made no comment or public statement. Instead they tried desperately to shush the chatter from suing the author of the account. 

Do you think Conde Nast needed to address the account publically or was it better to handle it quietly? Although I'm not sure how it would have turned out differently had they publically addressed it, I am sure that no matter the outcome that brands have little control over how their audience perceives them.