Before you walk out the front door in the morning you take a quick mirror selfie - #ootd (outfit of the day). As soon as lunch hits the table, you tell everyone to freeze - their forks already in mid-air, poised to take a bite - #food #yum #foodporn #instafood #canweeatyet?!

Instagram has undoubtedly changed the photography game. Some say it’s changed the way we look at the world around us, making us more likely to seek out beauty in the quotidian -- but you could say the same of the reverse, that we’ve reduced our lives to manicured, commodified images. Others also blame the popular app for creating a culture of false impressions in which people can curate lives until they’re picture perfect, a culture in which we “do it for the ‘gram.”

Either way, with 400 million users, Instagram has huge power and potential to influence and spark social change. It constantly uses its account to showcase images from around the globe and profile its users - from the last three northern white rhinos in the world to Katie Higgins, the first female Blue Angels pilot.

“If we don’t do something about it, we are going to lose everything that we have here in Africa,” says 30-year-old James Suter (@jamessuter), the co-founder of Black Bean Productions — a media studio on a mission to spotlight wildlife conservation issues. Cape Town, South Africa-based James and his team recently returned from a trip to Central Kenya where they documented the world’s last three northern white rhinos — two of which are pictured here. “Pre-1960, there were over 2,000 in Central and East Africa, south of the Sahara,” James says. “And at the moment, there are three left in one location.” While the future of the northern white rhino looks grim, James isn’t losing hope. “We’re trying to educate people and trying to spread the word. And I think the same can be done by anyone.” #WorldEnvironmentDay Photo by @jamessuter

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With the launch of its latest initiative, #RunwayForAll, the company hopes to now use its influence to promote diversity and inclusivity in fashion.

The app has already greatly influenced the fashion world, from haute-couture runways to city sidewalks. Designers and luxury brands have used the app to show a more accessible, relatable side of high fashion, often sharing behind-the-scenes images. Models like Cara Delevingne and Karlie Kloss whose famous faces we’ve seen in magazines, on runways, and billboards, use the platform to highlight their work but also to share glimpses into their everyday lives with goofy photos and candid videos.

Instagram has also given rise to another kind of fashion star: the fashion blogger or style “influencer.” The difference being that these fashion icons are not models by profession, but rather people with a passion for fashion and sharing. Many influencers, like Aimee Song (Song of Style) and Emily Schuman (Cupcakes and Cashmere), started personal style blogs that have earned hundreds of thousands - even millions - of followers.

A photo posted by Aimee Song (@songofstyle) on

Though these influencers tend to be more relatable than celebrities, they don’t necessarily capture the world’s diversity. So now that Instagram has become essential to the fashion world, it’s using its influence for good.

The #RunwayForAll initiative that launched last week used Instagram’s official account to put the spotlight on someone new each day by “sharing the story of a model who is redefining industry standards and making sure there’s room on the #RunwayForAll.”

They began by featuring with Mama Cax, a model, blogger, and cancer-survivor. On the post, Cax explains that she rarely saw models that looked like her featured when she was growing up, and so modelling seemed an unlikely career option for her, made seemingly more impossible after her leg amputation. She now wears a prosthetic leg that she treats as a fashion accessory, challenging stereotypes and societal norms. Cax also shares her perspectives on being a person of color and having a disability on her travel blog.

“#RunwayForAll means any teenager feels represented when they open a magazine or watch a fashion show,” says Mama Cax (@caxmee). Mama grew up in Haiti, lives in New York City and never aspired to be a model — “not only because there were very few dark models on magazine covers but also because I grew up with very little knowledge of the fashion industry,” she says. “Eight years ago, after getting my leg amputated, the idea of being a model was even more far-fetched.” Today, Mama is modeling and doing other things that she was told there was no audience for, like sharing tips for traveling as a black female amputee. “The majority of humans do not look like the mainstream idea of beauty,” she says. “One of the greatest barriers is not belonging. Through modeling I hope to show that beauty does not always wear a size zero and beauty does not always walk on two limbs.” Every day this week, we’ll be sharing the story of a model who is redefining industry standards and making sure there’s room on the #RunwayForAll. Photo of @caxmee by @simonhuemaen

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During the week, Instagram featured Jillian Mercado, a creative director and model who has muscular dystrophy and Shaun Ross, a male model of color with albinism. Ross is also an activist who strives to change the narrative of “beauty” through his movement In My Skin I Win.

“#RunwayForAll is a world where everyone is treated the same,” says Shaun Ross (@shaundross). When he started modeling nearly a decade ago, Shaun was the only male model of color with albinism. “I remember when I first entered the industry all I saw were models that looked the same,” he says. “Now here we are almost 10 years later, and I see the choice I’ve made has helped the industry to see beauty in many ways, such as casting models and rising icons like @winnieharlow, @jilly_peppa and more to help lead the fight with me to diversity.” When he started, Shaun was one of a few openly gay models in the industry. “Agents always told male models to be masculine, but that was never the case for me. I never wanted to hide my sexuality,” he says. “I’d rather be myself.” Photo by @shaundross

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Instagram’s efforts are helping to expand how we represent beauty in fashion. #RunwayForAll reflects not only the (slowly) growing trend of racially diverse representations in fashion, but also representations that are more inclusive overall. During the Spring 2016 New York Fashion Week, Madeleine Stuart, an aspiring model with Down Syndrome owned the catwalk for the second time. She and model Jack Eyers, who was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency that ultimately led him to have his leg amputated at age 16, walked with other models living with disabilities at FTL Moda’s show.  

The #RunwayForAll initiative has also encouraged Instagram users to claim the tag for themselves and to share photos of themselves.

The secret to modeling is not being perfect.

A photo posted by Nicole Bonifacio (@nikkibon_) on

Instagram touches so many facets of people’s lives, from food to travel to fashion. It reflects the way we see the world. There has been so much criticism of Instagram and social media for portraying the world artificially. We complain that the world represented on Instagram and other social platforms is contrived, crafted and calculated to garner the most likes and draw envy (or at least a #FOMO comment) from others.

But the truth is that we are in control of Instagram. The app provides us with a platform to share our worldview with others, but we are the one’s with the tools in our hands. Though the impact of initiatives like #RunwayForAll may seem to be small, they go a long way towards fighting discrimination and entrenched social norms.

Instagram gives us the opportunity to catalog treasured moments and to capture beautiful imagery. But it’s up to us to challenge preconceived notions of what is “beautiful.” It may be true that social media negatively impacts self-esteem because of idealized representations of the world, but we as users and individuals have the power to change that - and that is worth a double-tap.

TopicsTechnologySocial MediaInstagramFinance & InnovationDiversityfashionDisabilitysocial change

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