Fan Bingbing sits among other stars at the Schiaparelli show in Paris.
In 2023, every luxury brand is hungry for internet virality. Meme-based fashion is dominating — from Balenciaga’s trash bag, to Jacquemus’ ultra-mini Chiqito purses, as well as overtly performative runway shows elbowing their way into the limelight. However, the Fall 2023 season in Paris saw less of these two internet-grabbing tactics.
At Paris Fashion Week (PFW), celebrities were the vehicle in maintaining consumer-attention, something that oftentimes distracted from the actual collections. As a result, across Chinese social media, PFW trending topics were more about the Chinese stars perched on the front row, rather than the runway or even designs.
For example, the sole reason that Dior saw meteoric engagement figures was because local singer Liu Yu Xin went to the show; #刘雨昕巴黎时装周# (#liuyuxinparisfashionweek) gained 920 million views, and 39.38 million organic mentions on Weibo.
Similarly, the whereabouts of actress and Louis Vuitton ambassador Liu Yi Fei was avidly followed by netizens, with the hashtag ##刘亦菲巴黎时装周(#liuyifeiparisfashionweek) seeing 120 million views.
Both Louis Vuitton and Dior were some of influencer marketing platform Lefty’s top five performing brands at PFW overall, along with Valentino, Saint Laurent, and Loewe. All of which gained traction in China for inviting major local celebrities and key opinion leaders (KOLs): Loewe’s show featured Chinese actress Sun Qian (孙千) (5.375million on Weibo), Valentino had new ambassador WayV’s Winwin attend the show, and South Korean K-pop group Blackpink’s Rosé graced the frow at Saint Laurent. Continue to read the full article here
