Top – . Skirt – Loewe. Heels – Manolo Blahnik. Bag – Celine.
‘Verified’. It’s an open secret that anyone with even a dab of digital presence will have looked up on Google, nay, will have asked various forums and perhaps even inappropriately prodded a vague contact at Instagram (sister of a friend of a friend) how one attains a ‘verified’ status on the platform. The famous blue badge that denotes legitimacy of an account, and all at the same time trivialises the collective effort of the ‘unbadged’ rest. For my journalist friends, it’s Twitter; for my golden-locked and Gucci-clad acquaintances, Instagram, or even Youtube.
I too, can confess to having spent three quarters of a weekend hour (i,e thing of gold) trying to suss the system out… digging around for perhaps a painful W8-BEN type form hidden in the nooks of the settings page, or some fiery hoops to jump through. I figured, nearly ten years in this game, I could flirt with the idea of ‘going legit’. Only, I found out too soon (and suspiciously easily), that there was no system as such. This baffled me. One girl reportedly reported a FB employee who had sold their anointing power to a slew of influencers, and as a thank you for they awarded her said badge. The rest of the advice was ‘amass a huge following’.
Okay.
This got me thinking, given the various ambiguous methods of displaying self/career-worth available, and the seemingly unfulfilling tokens in place, what is it that truly verifies one’s authenticity and credibility? What was my hallmark?
Thankfully, the brands I choose to work with are great teachers in demonstrating exactly this — namely Bentley, and the Mulsanne Hallmark Series: a limited edition by Mulliner released at the Geneva Motorshow, which celebrates the marriage of unparalleled technology and craftsmanship. Only 50 units available in Gold and Silver, symbolic of its inspiration – precious metals which are authenticated by a hallmark, or stamps, validating their worth. No absurd grading system, simply the excellence in product. And the notion that, your true hallmark is purely your own passion and effort, even if there is no blue badge to say so.
Discover the full prestige of the series at Bentley Mulsanne Hallmark Series
Top & trousers – Jacqumus. Belt – Loewe.
