They have ruled the fashion world for generations, but the formidable gatekeepers of Vogue have been branded “jealous, catty and hypocritical” by young fashion bloggers and fans after editors criticised the new breed of social media fashionista.



Four US Vogue editors have been told to “get back to their Werther’s Originals”, after complaining about the presence of “pathetic” and “desperate” fashion bloggers at Milan fashion week, the Times reported. The senior staff members criticised bloggers for changing their outfits every hour, going as far to suggest that by “trolling up and down outside shows” they were risking traffic accidents.



“Note to bloggers who change head-to-toe paid-to-wear outfits every hour: please stop. Find another business. You are heralding the death of style,” wrote Sally Singer, the magazine’s creative digital director.



Sarah Mower, vogue.com chief critic, chipped in: “Sally, the professional blogger bit, with the added aggression of the street photographers’ swarm who attend them, is horrible but most of all pathetic for these girls, when you watch how many times the desperate troll up and down outside shows, in traffic, risking accidents even, in hopes of being snapped.”



Nicole Phelps, director of the magazine’s runway app, described the “the street style mess” as distressing. “It’s not just sad for the women who preen for the cameras in borrowed clothes, it’s distressing, as well, to watch so many brands participate,” she wrote.



Alessandra Codinha, vogue.com fashion news editor, was critical of bloggers for taking payment to wear clothes in return for granting brands’ exposure on blogs and Instagram feeds – the “whole practice of paid appearances and borrowed outfits” was “gross”, she said.



She wrote: “Am I allowed to admit that I did a little fist pump when Sally broached the blogger paradox? Rather than a celebration of any actual style, it seems to be all about turning up, looking ridiculous, posing, twitching in your seat as you check your social media feeds, fleeing, changing, repeating … It’s all pretty embarrassing.”



Fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni attends the launch of her fashion collection in Milan this month. Photograph: Timur Emek/Getty Images

She said looking for style in a row full of bloggers was “like going to a strip club looking for romance. Sure, it’s all kind of in the same ballpark, but it’s not even close to the real thing.”



But while in the past young fashion consumers may have bowed their heads in deference, the new breed of influencers showed they would not be cowed, with one telling the women to get back to their “Werther’s Originals, a nice blanket, a Midsomer Murders box set and stop worrying about us young ’uns”.



In recent years, fashion bloggers such as Susie Lau, Chiara Ferragni and Shea Marie have amassed huge followings on social media. Their youthful style has been copied by teenagers across the globe, while brands and labels have flocked to clothe the self-professed “fashion influencers”. LA-based Ferragni, whose blog is called The Blonde Salad, has 6.7 million followers on Instagram and has her own shoe range; British blogger Lau, known as Susie Bubble, has 277,000 followers on Twitter; 302,000 on Instagram and attends about 140 shows a season; while Shea Marie – who calls herself a “fashion influencer, designer, stylist, creative consultant, TV host, photographer, model” – has a million Instagram followers.

Showing there is little more likely to spill blood on the catwalk than the changing of the old guard for the new, bloggers and their fans hit back. Many levelled accusations of hypocrisy at the magazine, which they pointed out also borrowed clothes for fashion shoots. Others noted the amount of editorial space given to big advertisers in the fashion bible.



Marie said: “The only thing that is ‘pathetic’ here is this jealous, catty and hypocritical article you’ve just published. You are exactly the type of people that have given the fashion world the cold, unwelcoming and ruthless reputation it has had in the past. Thankfully those times are changing … I would think an institution such as Vogue would respect young entrepreneurs instead of belittling them.”



Nodding to the fact that Ferragni featured on the cover of Vogue Spain last year, she added: “It’s ironic how you make degrading comments about influencers and then put them on your international covers to boost sales.”



Vogue declined to comment.

