A new report says that the AW26 runway shows generated as much as $754.5 million in earned media value (EMV) — that is, the equivalent ad spend of the impressions gained — and that “Milan stole the spotlight”.
That was because it was the only city that grew this season, with its Share of Voice (SoV) up compared to the SS26 runway month. In fact, it grew 21% season-on-season (SoS).
Admittedly, while Milan was the star given its growth, Paris still held the top spot with a 54% SoV, albeit it softened this time.
Who says so? The report comes from three of The Independents partner agencies: Karla Otto’s Insights division, influencer marketing platform Lefty, and digital-first creative agency CTZAR. They analysed many thousands of influencer posts that tagged a participating brand’s Instagram account in-post during womenswear Fashion Month AW26. They also analysed Weibo Hot-Topic engagements and views, and CPMs (cost per million) of $72.49.
Their report also said actors drove $257M in EMV this season, up 18% SoS “as the fusion of fashion and entertainment propels forward” and “brands tapped into the mini-series craze prevalent in APAC circles to boost their online impact”.
Stars from recent streaming sensations, such as Heated Rivalry, Love Story and Tell Me Lies, were prominent in front rows.
Overall, Thai drama talent overtook K-Pop for the first time in terms of impact, generating 47% of the total EMV, compared to South Korea’s 41%.
Karla Otto and Lefty’s Insights teams first identified the growing influence of Thai drama stars in 2022, when early signs of fan loyalty began to rival that of K-pop idols. And this season it solidified with South Korea’s SoV was down 22% SoS, while Thailand’s was up 85%, “making it the region driving the most visibility for fashion month”.
Interestingly, they also said a “new wave of ‘Fashion Intellectuals’ is on the rise, generating $768K in EMV. As audiences increasingly crave nuance, and with ‘intellect’ now the moment’s hottest social currency, this new breed of commentator made up 10% of social and cultural discourse within the AW26 ecosystem”.
That’s a trend Karla Otto first identified in SS23 “as online audiences battle brain rot and the onslaught of marketing content crowding their algorithms”. It added that “these voices don’t just share opinions on collections but add depth and context”.
As for the labels that really made an impact, Dior remained #1 in terms of EMV on Instagram, generating $88M EMV and growing 4% YoY. That’s perhaps no surprise given the impact of Jonathan Anderson’s PFW women’s RTW debut at the label.
“Deciding not to fix what isn’t broken”, Thai Drama co-stars Orm Kornnaphat and Lingling Kwong appeared for the fourth time at Dior – now as newly announced brand ambassadors – “taking their fans along from airport to runway and garnering a combined $36.6M EMV for the brand. This, combined with set production optimised for drone video capture and striking visuals that resonate on socials – and harnessing the authority of long-form through pre-show interviews between designer Jonathon Anderson and Bella Freud of Fashion Neurosis”.
Demna’s Gucci also resonated and sparked $54.6M in EMV across Instagram, growing 127% YoY. The report said this was “boosted by APAC talent as well as authentic brand stories from the likes of Georgina Rodríguez, who sparked $4.6M EMV”.
We’re also told “Gucci stood out for its casting strategy. Tapping into micro talent helped to drive brand engagement, such as casting stars of the online underground Fakemink, who garnered a 26% average engagement rate that towered above even the biggest K-Pop stars”.
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