Outside the entrance to Dior’s show on Tuesday afternoon, throngs of fans crowded the Jardin des Tuileries. Blocking the entrance, and on both sides of the security barriers, dozens of turquoise balloons and banners showed up for Chinese singer Xin Liu. Alongside, what seemed like hundreds of fans waited for K-pop star Mingyu, with gifts, Mingyu-shaped phone cases and magazines he’d graced the cover of in tow.
Show guests, trying to enter the venue, had to push through tight, screaming crowds, waving their invites in the air in the hopes of getting through. “This is so undignified,” one editor sighed as he was shoved by a crowd of people. “This makes coming here so unattractive,” another remarked.
Perhaps, it’s not the chicest experience for fashion’s great and good. But the reach these stars offer means brands can’t simply pull the plug.
All of the fans had gathered to catch a glimpse of the stars on their way in and out of the Autumn/Winter 2025 show, which both attended as brand ambassadors. One Mingyu fan said she knew where he was going to be because he’d posted it on social media ahead of time. For shows like Dior’s, which are always held in the same place, it’s easy for fans to set up camp outside ahead of the scheduled slot. Do the fans follow Mingyu wherever he goes, around the world? The one I spoke to said she did.
This fashion month, stans are out in force, attending shows with colour-coded outfits, balloons and signposts for their favourite K-pop, Chinese or Southeast Asian talent. Before Dior, a sea of bright red took hold outside of Tod’s in Milan, as fans waited expectantly for Chinese actor and singer Xiao Zhan. At Fendi, crowds gathered in anticipation of K-pop star Bang Chan’s arrival. It makes for a chaotic show entrance. Back at Dior, when Vogue Business approached fans with blue balloons at the barrier, to speak with more stans, Xiao Zhan arrived at the same time. Fans erupted, and guests were swiftly moved along to the entrance.
It’s not only shows. In Milan, on the morning of the Versace show, fans crowding the house’s atelier said they were waiting for South Korean brand ambassador Hyunjin and his boy band Stray Kids to show up. Shortly after, Donatella and the star appeared on the atelier balcony, met with screams from below. At Friday night’s show, the crowds were even bigger.
Instagram content
Last season, Filipino and Thai celebrities dominated Paris Fashion Week by media impact value (or MIV, the monetary value of posts, article mentions and social media interactions), closely followed by South Korean stars (who, until last season, had long led the charge for most impactful celebs at fashion month). These attendees aren’t new to fashion month; brands have been tapping East Asian and Southeast Asian celebrities for years, ramping up specifically in the early 2020s. The reach of these stars is both local and global — as evidenced by the mix of Milan and Paris-based fans, as well as those who have travelled far and wide to get a glimpse of their favourite performers walking into a fashion show.
Last season at Paris Fashion Week, Filipino celebrities generated $19.7 million in MIV, while South Korean stars generated $19.4 million, per Launchmetrics. (The former posted twice as much.) Thai celebrities led the charge, generating $32.3 million in MIV — over 30 per cent of the global total of celebrity-driven MIV. At last week’s Milan Fashion Week, K-pop star Chan placed top overall, generating $1.4 million in MIV for Fendi. Filipino actor Heart Evangelista was the top celebrity, generating $7.9 million across the week. All of Milan Fashion Week’s top 10 celebrities were from the Asia-Pacific region; half were from South Korea. In the initial rankings, South Korea ranked as the third most impactful region.
Wherever these stars go, their stans follow, to dizzying degrees of fanfare. This year, the crowds seemed bigger than ever. But does the hype translate from star to brand — and from brand awareness to purchases?
A balancing act
In recent years, the crowds have gotten out of control, making for chaotic entry experiences for the editors and buyers running from show to show, as these spectacles turn into events in and of themselves. It’s a “weird fusion of elements” that brands must balance these days, says Damien Yeo, senior consumer and retail analyst at BMI.
“While the stans are hoping to get really close to their idol, they are contributing positively to the institution of fashion week overall,” says Thomaï Serdari, professor of marketing and director of NYU Stern’s luxury and retail MBA. “Today’s crowds are reminiscent of an era when what was happening on the street was equally exciting to what was shown on the catwalk. They bring a palpable excitement about the show, document the celebrity’s outfit, talk about it and want to emulate it. It sounds like a great way to advertise without having to pay for it.” (Granted, attending shows is typically part of a brand ambassador’s contract — so this costs the brand money. But the brands themselves aren’t promoting the show as a fan event.)
These buzzy moments can be good entry touchpoints for casual shoppers, Yeo says, adding that they can indeed be “critical purchase decision” factors for those toying with a luxury splurge. These crowds are, in part, what drives so much attention to these brand events beyond fashion insiders.
Though the sheer size of the crowds take the hype to the extreme, balancing scarcity and supply is these brands’ expertise, flags Yeo. “The large crowd of fans outside the event venue highlights the popularity of these celebrities and, vis-à-vis, the brands they are endorsing,” he says. “The fact that these are closed-door events then highlights the exclusivity of both the event and the brands, reinforcing the scarcity mindset that drives demands of these luxury products in the first place.” It may be chaotic, but ultimately, it’s good marketing.
The long (and young) game
It’s not just about eyeballs, MIV or the amount of people rallying outside of a show — for better or worse.
The strategy of deploying East and Southeast Asian celebrities comes down to representation, Yeo says. “While Hollywood and Western celebrities still occupy a significant chunk of the media diets of consumers in Asian markets, having ‘local faces’ associated with the various high fashion brands evokes a sense of familiarity for consumers,” he says. “There are also elements of consumer nationalism, where these consumers may feel a sense of pride that their domestic stars have ‘made it’ by being a part of these high fashion events.”
It goes beyond local resonance — K-pop is a global phenomenon. Partnering with these stars connects brands to what is culturally relevant. “Its stars are not addressing the Asian market exclusively but have instead a global appeal,” Serdari says. “These celebrities have been able to incentivise Asian Americans as well who have reluctantly started perceiving the Western European heritage brands as more inclusive.”
But engendering goodwill for a brand among fans is one thing. Getting them to purchase product is another.
It is more of a long-term play than the quick-hit views and crazy crowds would suggest, experts contend. “The strategic pivot towards East and Southeast Asian celebrities by luxury brands has undeniably fuelled commercial growth,” says Liang Chen, marketing and communications director of brand consultancy Éclair Asia. In China, new wealth consumers represent 20 per cent of luxury buyers; and this demographic shows greater interest in celebrity content, per Boston Consulting Group’s 2024 China Luxury Insights report.
A brand’s association with a celebrity can indeed make the difference between a purchase or a skip, Luo says. This is particularly true among American and Asian consumers, Serdari flags. “These two cultures are unique in how they empower youth to make decisions about their money,” she says, noting that brands have picked up on the fact that investing in an ambassadorship can move the needle within a specific demographic.
It’s especially effective for more emerging markets like Thailand and the Philippines, Luo says, which are among Southeast Asia’s largest economies — and are experiencing strong growth. “Many consumers in developing Asian markets are entry-level luxury customers,” he notes. By aligning with a homegrown celebrity — embracing the crowds and the buzz, even — a brand can draw in future consumers.
But brands need to be careful it doesn’t become overdone, experts caution. “If the strategy is repeated season in and season out it starts to feel formulaic,” Serdari adds. “However, as long as the crowds are there and they want to emulate the celebrity’s looks, the prospects remain great. The best way for a brand to figure out how to break this mold and find a more authentic partnership is to keep its ear on the ground and truly observe specific demographics, understand their lifestyles and decode their values.”
Cultivating authentic partnerships also means mitigating what Chen calls “cultural dissonance risks”. She recalls the pitfalls of Prada’s 2023 partnership with Thai actor Bright (aka Vachirawit Chivaaree) when fans flooded Twitter with neon-hued fan edits under #PradaIsOurs, which Chen says diluted Prada’s brand identity. To mitigate, she calls for diversified ambassador portfolios and fan education to align community creativity with brand DNA.
“In the age of stan culture, luxury’s challenge lies not in curbing enthusiasm, but in channeling its energy without compromising brand equity,” Chen says.
With reporting by Lucy Maguire.
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