@big.chantelle
It is inevitable to recognize that over that the last few years Toronto has been on a wave. Our home and native land have become a trendy topic all over the world thanks to Toronto’s very own OVO, The Weeknd, Partynextdoor, the Raptors, Toronto Street Style, and more. And, we must thank Toronto locals for cultivating our new-found culture because together our city is a creative collective that can only further persevere.
When it comes to street style and comfy-wear in the city, we have to turn to one of the city’s best, Chantelle Silva. Now for those of you who aren’t familiar with Silva, you may know her as @big.chantelle on Instagram. With over 28 K followers and 500 + posts, Silva is killing the Insta-game. Picture Hailey Baldwin’s street style, well folks, Chantelle has been doing this longer than the Baldwin supermodel (Now that’s mad style game #queen). Silva has been a pretty hot commodity in the city of Toronto because of her wicked eye for fashion. She understands that the best thing you can wear is your personality — which is precisely what she does. Chantelle is both laid-back and versatile with her style options. She’s rocked Adidas before it made a major comeback in 2014, and way before girls from Western University started to rock them (*cringe*). Now, before I continue — please, lurk her.
Are you back? OK, good. Let’s get down to business.
I took the liberty of reaching out to Big Chantelle because I was genuinely intrigued by her effective creating and marketing methods used on her social media. However, she never got back to me. So, I took matters into my own hands and decided to analyze her Instagram myself. For one, Chantelle’s Instagram is very minimal and urban. I think that she wants people to see her for her authentic self, and that’s why her page is so admirable and likable. At the end of the day, there’s no façade — just Chantelle.
Silva’s page is minimal in regards to aesthetic composition. She doesn’t use any particular filter for her posts because she wants to remain authentic and raw to audiences. In addition, her page does, however, carry a consistency in colour. She sticks to pastels and neutral colours or shades in order to showcase products clearly. Her Instagram is also reflective of her style which is a major key in this case because of its aesthetic appeal.
The purpose of Big Chantelle’s page is mainly to showcase her authentic and easy-to-do style. Less is more (am I right folks?).
If you proceed to lurk her page you’ll also notice that Chantelle does some product placement here and there. For one, she advertised the Cheetos crunch wrap sliders from Taco Bell last year. And, has also showcased some of her favourite beauty products for her followers.
However, Big Chantelle’s Instagram page mainly acts as a portfolio to showcase the work that she’s done as a stylist. In today’s competitive day and age it is important for Chantelle to reach potential clients and since most of Toronto’s collaborators are now on Instagram it’s easier for clients to reach out to her.
Silva also doesn’t overwhelm her audience when it comes to how much she’s posting as she usually posts once every 2–3 days. This is important because it allows followers to refrain from any annoyance of her presence. I noticed Chantelle doesn’t rely on interactive hashtags like our panel did last week. I think the reason she’s able to attain so many followers is because of her previous work with a multitude of brands like Smoke and Ash, Hastagpaid, and The Full Circle Collective. The reason she stands out is because she uses creativity to really connect with her followers. Her images are rarely repetitive and those that are, are aesthetically pleasing to look at.
If you’re a beauty or fashion-fanatic, go and check out her page! She’s working with some of the coolest up and coming Toronto artists and is always on top of trends before anyone else. The best part? She’s extremely hardworking and down-to-earth, and her page is as real as it gets. How about that for some #realworldnews?
Link to her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/big.chantelle/
