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Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, a knight and Carla Bruni walk into a bar… err… make that my Instagram newsfeed and TikTok For You Page.
Last weekend, Chalamet became the walking teaser for two of the season’s most anticipated debuts. He wore Sarah Burton’s Givenchy to the Oscars ceremony and changed into a suit by Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford for the afterparty. It was, one could say, the most obvious and effective conversation starter and intention-setting strategy without the turn-off of overpromotion. The message was subtle, but clear: we’re here, we’ll be dressing the people you find interesting, they will look very good.
Virality, meaning being the centre of the conversation, or at least ‘winning the day’, has become such a crucial part of fashion month that it is now an expectation. Think of Daniel Roseberry’s homepage-commanding couture or Simon Porte Jacquemus’s Insta-catnip shows — taking over the internet, even if just for a moment, is now part of the brief.
Neither Burton nor Ackermann, Givenchy nor Tom Ford (the label), have been ones to bend the proverbial knee and clout chase online. But the truth of the matter is that, these days, everyone consumes everything through the internet, at least at first. And it’s because first impressions matter that we saw both labels lean in and deliver a Chalamet-sized amuse bouche ahead of their respective shows this past week.
They weren’t alone. This season, unexpected establishment brands seem to have learnt the value of embracing the internet, while rethinking what it looks like to go viral online as a fashion label. This puts into focus just how critical it is today for brands participating in the fashion week circuit to join in on the conversation online. No matter how good, the show in itself does not seem to be enough to cut through the noise anymore.
A knight in shining armour
London Fashion Week closed with a surprise appearance: on the last show of the week, front row and next to actor Nicholas Hoult sat a Burberry scarf and armour-clad knight. When was the last time you saw a Burberry show go viral? Exactly.
Daniel Lee’s time at the label as chief creative officer has received a mixed reception and is currently undergoing a transition led by new CEO Joshua Schulman, who joined the brand last July. This most recent show has been speculated as Lee’s swan song — add this to the list of unconfirmed rumours plaguing the industry and feeding its ongoing gossip obsession. It has also been received as Lee’s best effort yet, with a collection grounded in Britishisms from the tapestry fabrics and its venue (Tate Britain), to the celebrities cast to walk the show: Jason Isaacs (currently starring in The White Lotus), Richard E Grant and Lesley Manville.
This starry casting was internet catnip, and it would have most likely taken over our feeds, but celebrities on the runway are no longer a novelty. This felt like a new idea a decade and change ago when Prada had Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody and Gary Oldman walk its Autumn/Winter men’s show in 2012 — clips of that show are all over TikTok, a feat considering neither the app nor its content format existed back then. Since, Paris Hilton and Dua Lipa have walked Versace shows, Kim Kardashian and Nicole Kidman have graced the Balenciaga couture runway, and J Balvin, Ozuna and Becky G have taken the catwalk at Willy Chavarria, to name a few.
Instead, the casting stunt was overshadowed by the now famous Burberry knight. He posed for photos with celebrities and editors alike, was interviewed with tiny microphones and asked questions for scene reports by various publications as if he were a pop star with a chart-topping hit. The knight was a welcome win for Burberry, not only because it put its fashion show front and centre, but because it showed that old dogs can, indeed, learn new tricks.
Negotiating between embracing the internet and not alienating a customer base by skewing too young or too ‘pop’ is one of today’s cruxes for establishment brands. The knight proved that Burberry can be playful and fun in ways that ‘make sense’ and are ‘brand right’.
Old dogs, new tricks
Take the curious case of Dries Van Noten. While not necessarily ‘establishment’ in the traditional sense, the label is known for its singular brand of communications, attributed to its founder. The Dries Van Noten brand is subtle and elegant in its presence, its marketing is not overt; and while popular among fashion folk and the street style set, it is not the kind of brand to go viral or make itself unabashedly seen. So colour me surprised when, after its SS25 show in September of last year — the first, post-Van Noten’s farewell as design lead — it launched a TikTok account. Yes, you read that right. Dries is on TikTok.
When the account first launched, I took to Instagram to do some sleuthing. Some of its biggest supporters seemed put off by the idea. That seemed to be the case only until the content stream began. A singular TikTok from backstage at last year’s show has 2.9 million views to date, it consists of models saying “flower” in their native tongues. Another, from the menswear presentation in January, has 2.4 million views, and shows the artist Richard Haines quickly illustrating the collection. The takeaway is that you can fashion a presence on these platforms that feels appropriate and aligned to the brand story. Virality, in fact, does not need to be the enemy.
Just see the anti-viral, viral success of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen at The Row. The designers first commandeered the internet last year when they banned phones from their resort 2025 runway — the proverbial closing of the gates, avoiding all ‘content’, oxymoronically, broke the internet. They have been doing this since; though this week, they upped the ante. Not only was photography barred at the show, but there was also no assigned seating. Some of the few images from the show that took over the social media conversation featured power broker editors standing or sitting on the floor. The clothes were effectively nowhere to be seen — or talked about.
The internet is your friend, sometimes
Indeed, embracing the internet can be a double-edged sword. The brand may take the spotlight, but the collections seldom do. The perfect balance to strike is perhaps featuring a breakout product, otherwise people remember the show but none of what they saw in it.
At Tod’s in Milan, newish creative director Matteo Tamburini built a collection around the craft and artisanal savoir-faire that sits at the heart of the label. As guests entered the venue, they were welcomed by Bruni on a pedestal, standing as a statue and holding a giant needle while wearing a recycled leather frock. It was equal parts perplexing and enthralling, but the coup worked.
Tod’s is not the kind of label that puts together Instagrammable runway shows. Yet the image of Bruni will be one of the most memorable of the season, and it certainly was one of the most talked-about moments coming out of Milan Fashion Week. Tamburini is finding his stride at the label, while, commendably so, finding new ways to bring attention to it. Time will tell whether the stunt worked to promote the collection, which this season was “stronger, warmer, more nuanced”, according to Vogue Runway’s Tiziana Cardini.
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s latest show for Christian Dior featured a swing, a hovering pterodactyl, a few comets and smoke machines, plus some iceberg-like sculptures. Talk about a show. At that scale, zooming into the fashion — what we’re all there for — becomes a challenge, though Chiuri was smart to spotlight the return of the famous J’Adore Dior tee from John Galliano’s tenure. It remains an internet mood board darling, and, pterodactyl aside, it quickly became the breakout story of Chiuri’s latest effort.
Stella McCartney fashioned her AW25 venue this past week as “Stella Corp”. The idea, McCartney said, was to go from the “laptop to the lap dance”. It was all very Kidman in Babygirl when she decided to go to a rave in a pussybow blouse and a pencil skirt. The breakout moment from the proceedings? The mimes that entertained guests as they took their seats and the pole dancers that closed the show. Earlier this year, McCartney announced the repurchase of the minority stake held by LVMH in her label. This show, and its statement-making collection with modern power tailoring and funky eveningwear, read like a potent — and effective — statement on her regaining control and independence.
The common thread this fashion month, debuts remaining top of mind aside, are the stunts. Celebrity casting at DSquared2, Burberry, Off-White, Chloé, Simone Rocha and more show that brands are still eager to attempt to break the internet the old-school way, but most promising are the unexpected surprises. Burberry’s knight, McCartney’s officecore staging, or Bruni as a moving sculpture are more charming and impactful long term than the same It-girl walking two or three shows. These designers have our attention, the challenge that remains is bringing back the clothes to the centre of the conversation.
Glenn Martens covered his show venue for Diesel in graffiti, but most buzzy were the closing pairs of jeans, skinny legged and ultra-low rise, showing more than a glimpse of bum. Who will be able to crack this code next? (Do pardon the pun, it was right there!) It’s fun to see ‘serious’ brands lean in and be a little ‘unserious’, but most importantly will be to find a way for the evolution of these double-tap-bait strategies to keep fashion as its focus.
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