Paris burnished its fashion-capital crown this season, broadening its lead on other fashion cities with a 30 percent year-over-year leap in its media impact value for the spring 2024 collections.
According to data released Tuesday by Launchmetrics, the French capital netted $499 million in media impact value thanks to rising star attendance, in particular A-listers from the Asia-Pacific region; the nigh-on unlimited access offered by social platforms; and the breadth of its fashion calendar.
In a webcast with Launchmetrics chief executive officer Michael Jais debriefing Paris Fashion Week, the executive president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode Pascal Morand attributed the prominence of Paris to the presence of “big winners” that included global brands, but also to the vitality of an ecosystem that includes brands of all sizes and “stakeholders that work together,” such as press agencies and the federation itself.
Launchmetrics’ proprietary media impact value figure (MIV) tallies the impact of relevant media placements on all channels (online, social and print), inclusive of paid, owned and earned mediums.
What worked this season for brands was fostering A-list relations, as celebrity voices saw a 93 percent growth in Paris, reaching $63.6 million this season versus $32.9 million for spring 2023.
And while A-list relations were a win across the board, celebrities from the wider Asian region outperformed their Europe, Middle East and Africa counterparts by 203 percent, which made it well worth naming local ambassadors.
Cases in point this season: Thailand ranked first in celebrity-generated MIV, thanks to the likes of “KinnPorsche” costars Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (“Apo”) and Phakphum Romsaithong (“Mile”), who respectively scored three of the week’s top placements and the third position among celebrities.
The country with the strongest growth in terms of country split this season was India, up 225 percent, which Launchmetrics attributed to its position as “the latest epicenter for luxury fashion.” India took first place in the region at $29.4 million MIV, closely followed by Thailand at $21.1 million and South Korea at $20.4 million.
Launchmetrics pointed out that this season boasted fewer but more powerful placements. The average value of placements, or publications across platforms and voices, increased 40 percent against the same season last year. In particular, brands posting on their own media channels saw a 32 percent increase in the average MIV, pointing to a sharpening of social strategies.
A separate report from Launchmetrics revealed the tallies of the spring 2024 season across New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks.
Dior came out on top once more, winning $59.5 million in MIV, at 71 percent increase over the previous summer season.
Blackpink member Jisoo, whose full name is Ji-soo Kim, drove 14 percent of the French brand’s overall MIV with the echo around her, while the post on her “special day with Dior,” featuring her show look, was worth $1.6 million with its 4.27 million likes.
But it’s Wattanagitiphat and Romsaithong, who were named Thai ambassadors for Dior Homme in June, who brought eight of the top 10 placements for the brand. Both brought in $6 million in MIV.
The rest of the front row taking in Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Goth-girl collection included Jenna Ortega, Jennifer Lawrence and Rosalía, who brought in $13.4 million between them.
Louis Vuitton took the second place, moving up from third last season and fourth place in spring 2023, at $38.2 million after inviting Zendaya and Australian rapper Felix, the lead of boy group Stray Kids, as well as a host of South Korean celebrities, including members of Le Sserafim, later announced as brand ambassadors.
Coming in third in Paris was Miu Miu, which leapt from eighth place the previous summer thanks to its crowd of Gen Z ambassadors, including top poster Sydney Sweeney, who generated an overall $2 million in echo, and “The Crown’s” Emma Corrin, with $1.5 million.
And not all winning brands came from Paris: Gucci and Prada took the second and third spots on the podium, respectively winning respectively $49.7 million and $48.8 million in MIV.
Sabato De Sarno’s debut for Gucci brought a 165 percent increase versus spring 2023, with Alia Bhatt emerging as the top placement at $1.1 million in MIV.
At Prada, the gooey décor and top-notch collision of materials and genres offered by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons earned its MIV thanks to Kylie Jenner, brand ambassadors Enhypen, as well as other South Korean and Thai celebrities, including Mei Nagano, Song Kang, Twice and Win Metawin O.
Across the fashion capitals, London saw the biggest increase in its media impact, nearly doubling to $87.3 million, thanks to a star-studded front row for Daniel Lee’s sophomore collection at Burberry, J.W. Anderson’s well-received show among the press and the Vogue World event that brought in more than $10 million in MIV.
But Paris isn’t about to rest on its laurels, said Morand, who felt that the 2024 Olympics would be “an innovation tool to do new things and bring novelty” for the French federation and also enjoined the digital conference attended to put their thinking caps on to shape technological progress.