Gucci “most talked about” runway label, front row celebs add huge media value to Fashion Month

Some of the biggest names in luxury fashion won the battle to be the leading topic of conversation during the recent Fashion Month, new proprietary data from influencer and earned media analytics platform WeArisma showed on Wednesday.

Gucci, Dior, Prada and Louis Vuitton topped the list of luxury fashion brands that boosted their profiles the most at the three European fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris. 

In fact, WeArisma said they generated millions in media value (which measures the impact generated by influencers, celebrities and the press) with Gucci in the lead on $25.3 million, followed by Dior on $12.7 million and Prada on $12.2 million.

Behind them were  Louis Vuitton on $10.1 million, Valentino on $9.7 million, Fendi on $9.5 million, and   Givenchy on $9.1 million.

The rest of the top 20 generated media value of $8.7 million down to $5.4 million and comprised (in descending order) Saint Laurent,    Dolce & Gabbana, Loewe, Versace, Diesel, Boss, Moschino, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Victoria Beckham, Burberry, Balmain and Schiaparelli.

But it’s interesting that it wasn’t only what was happening on the catwalk that made a big impact. WeArisma also said the biggest drivers of engagement included “carefully curating front-row guests of A-list celebrities”. By inviting Naomi Campbell to sit front row, Fendi generated a media value of $221.9k from one post from the model of her red carpet outfit.

At Prada, Kylie Jenner, Scarlet Johansson, Hunter Schafer, Emma Watson and more made an impact with Vogue posting an Instagram reel of the celebs’ arrivals and red-carpet moments generating a media value of $763.7k. 

For Dior, Anya Taylor Joy, Jenna Ortega and Robert Pattinson were big publicity generators, while Valentino “strategically leveraged” the presence of Paris Hilton, Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, with the model’s Instagram post from the show driving media value by $405.1k.

Engaging with popular influencers among Gen Z audiences was also key. Burberry, which was the most influential brand at London Fashion Week, saw a post by footballer Bukayo Saka generating a media value of $297.7k.

Louis Vuitton invited popular celeb ambassadors including Zendaya to its show, with Vogue’s Instagram reel featuring an interview with the actor generating a strong media value of $1.1 million. Gucci partnered with popular influencer Emma Chamberlain, along with Instagram, which saw a reel of Emma’s Milan Fashion Week behind-the-scenes journey with the brand generating an impressive media value of $9.4 million.

And harnessing the power of APAC celebrities was crucial too. Louis Vuitton’s appointment of Hyein, Taeyeon and Felix as brand ambassadors boosted mentions and media visibility.

Prada had a big focus on China with celebs and supermodels including Du Juan. Fashion blogger Chrison Wange’s Weibo post highlighting Du Juan’s comeback generated a media value of $70.2k. Meanwhile, Gucci invited Ni Ni and Liu Weng to its show, resulting in “significant” Chinese press coverage including Harper’s Bazaar China posting about the celebrities’ presence on Weibo generating a media value of $128k.