There are few constants in fashion except, perhaps, change itself. Is it the reason the industry's bi-annual fashion weeks exist and the reason fashion designers, brands and houses spend a fortune trying to stand out from the crowd.
While their respective shows, presentations and PR stunts set the tone for the sartorial season ahead, the Big Four (New York, London, Milan, and Paris) 'Weeks' have to battle for influence more imaginatively than ever.
The fashion industry represents over $2.5 trillion dollars (according to a recent McKinsey report) and, on average, a 10 to 15 minute fashion show can cost anywhere from $200,000 to over $1 million.
So, where is the return on investment? It is social influence? Is it additionally expensive communication strategies? Is it collection-wearing celebrity appearances?
According to data analytics provider Launchmetrics, the answer is more complex.
The company's new 'Data On The Runway' report suggests the key is MIV (or media impact value) - an algorithm which measures the impact of media placements to derive a number for performance outcomes.
Ultimately, the success of Fashion Week events comes down to the strategic approach taken when organizing one’s communication directives.
Last season (Spring/Summer 2019) was chock full of consciously curated celebrations - a 360° campaign to celebrate Ralph Lauren's 50th anniversary, a rebranding at Celine under Hedi Slimane , Gucci’s Milan to Paris city change, et al.
By leveraging the voices that resonate most with their audiences, Launchmetrics' data analysts found that Ralph Lauren's widely publicized anniversary show ranks first amongst the brands, with the highest Media Impact Value generated over the Fashion Weeks at $38 million.
For the campaign Ralph Lauren activated some of the most influential international voices (everyone from Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Robert De Niro to Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Anna Wintour), hosted an extravagant collection presentation and finished with a paparazzi-heavy post-show dinner party.
When looking at the voice split, it is clear that influencers garnered enormous buzz for the brand (taking 46.2% of the pie) followed by Ralph Lauren’s owned media channels (at 29.7%).
Coach ($27 million), Dior ($22.6 million) and Gucci ($19.4 million) followed closely behind and, once again, Chiara Ferragni topped the charts as the top influencer Voice.
Ferragni (also known by her blog's moniker The Blonde Salad) led with $18.3 million in Media Impact Value; to put that into perspective, she nearly reached the same MIV as Versace ($18.7 million) did for their SS19 show — proving the continual power of influencer investments.
Social media actually proved imperative for fashion brands altogether; posts shared by celebrities and influencers represent an impressive 89% of buzz compared to online media's 11%.
SS19's top-performing celebrity was Nicki Minaj, who generated a total of $11.3 million Media Impact Value over the season.
Alison Bringé, CMO at Launchmetrics, said: "Today, fashion weeks are no longer industry events but are a platform to reach the digital savvy consumer, so brands need to think outside the box in order to transform their 15-minute event into something that lives on, beyond what happens on the runway.
“The case studies within the report shed light on how brands can generate buzz through activities such as using influencers to create 360° campaigns, changing their location to talk to new consumers and markets, or even by focusing on their owned media to increase the share of wallet.”
