It-Kids is a new series in which Vogue Business spotlights the up-and-coming global talent brands need to know, in partnership with Launchmetrics.
After each fashion month, Vogue Business puts together a round-up of the talent and creators that generated the biggest impact across the season. In recent years, the bulk of this impact has come from stars outside of the countries home to the ‘big four’ fashion weeks (the US, the UK, France and Italy). Last season, in the global top 10 influencer ranking, half of the talents were K-pop stars. The rest were Thai and Filipino.
Luxury houses are quick to jump on up-and-coming talent in close proximity, like the United States. But when it comes to global talent, it can take a little longer for brands to clock on. It-Kids is a new, bi-monthly series where we will spotlight the global talent blowing up right now. Split by country, each edition will highlight some of the regions’ fastest-rising stars.
Over the last two years, Thailand has emerged as a behemoth for budding talent. Some call it the ‘Thai Wave’, or the ‘T-Wave’. But whatever you want to call it, the country’s entertainment industry is booming. Back in 2021, PWC expected Thailand’s entertainment industry to hit THB 601 billion ($18.3 billion) in 2025. In 2024, it surpassed this number, reaching THB 690 billion ($21 billion).
Instead of looking to the region’s biggest stars, like Blackpink’s Lisa and actor Bright Vachirawit, brands ought to be looking to the up-and-comers — of which there’s no shortage, as the Thai film and television industry continues to grow at rapid pace. In fact, many Thai stars get their start at television production company and talent agency GMMTV. The popular boys’ love television genre — series that focus on romantic relationships between male characters — is a key driver, expected to surpass a total market value of THB 4.9 billion ($149 million), up 17 per cent year-on-year.
“In the last two years, this Thai movement has just continued to grow. [But] the most senior people at these brands, they don’t know all of these celebrities or influencers,” says Launchmetrics CMO Alison Bringé. The data helps to valorise the importance of engaging with these rapidly rising stars, she adds.
In this series, we will be identifying examples of the fastest-growing ambassadors (based on social media content), and rounding up ROI (return on investment) data from brand collaborations (for those who have already inked partnerships), to give brands a sense of who they should be partnering with from the next gen. ROI is established using Launchmetrics’s ‘Voice Echo’ tool, which measures ambassador content (direct impact), brand channels (owned media) and external amplification (indirect impact). The latter includes both verified publisher coverage and fan base posts. Growth is measured based on Q1 2025 versus Q1 2024.
So without further ado, here’s a list of some of the fastest-growing Thai names, based on their social media followings, content and reach, per Launchmetrics’s growth and Voice Echo analysis.
Lingling Kwong
Lingling Kwong is a Thai Chinese actor and model. She’s an actor under Thailand’s television network Channel 3, on which she starred in the drama Makkali Tee Rak. Kwong also has a clothing brand, AlwaysWonder. She made her Paris Fashion Week debut at the Dior Autumn/Winter 2025 show in March. Later this year, she’ll star in forthcoming Thai action series Only You.
Growth: 26,162.7 per cent
Instagram followers: 2.3 million
Known for: Makkali Tee Rak; The Secret of Us
Luxury brand affiliations: Dior (show attendance and campaign)
Brand MIV: Dior — $47.2 million (direct impact: 52 per cent; indirect impact: 44 per cent; owned content: 4 per cent)
Bonnie
Twenty-one-year-old Bonnie Pussarasorn Bosuwan is a Thai actor who made her debut in 2024 in GMMTV’s High School Frenemy. To date, she’s partnered with skincare and beauty brands including Cetaphil, Maybelline, Nivea and Pond’s.
Instagram content
Growth: 12,232.1 per cent
Instagram followers: 389,000
Known for: Us
Luxury brand affiliations: N/A
Brand MIV: N/A
Tipnaree Weerawatnodom
Tipnaree Weerawatnodom started out in 2013 as a host on a GMMTV show, and has since shifted into acting roles in Thai dramas. Many brands have tapped her for Instagram posts (though it’s not clear whether the posts are sponsored or the goods are simply gifted), but she’s yet to lock in a major brand contract or ambassadorship.
Instagram content
Growth: 2,465.9 per cent
Instagram followers: 2.5 million
Known for: Friend Zone; Who Are You; Pluto
Luxury brand affiliations: Laneige; Chanel (event attendance); Prada (event attendance)
Brand MIV: Laneige — $1.4 million (direct: 14 per cent; indirect: 84 per cent; owned: 2 per cent)
Sapol ‘Great’ Assawamunkong
Sapol ‘Great’ Assawamunkong is a Thai actor, model and singer. He got his start by posting videos of himself DJ’ing on Youtube, and is now best known for his current television show, Wandee Goodday, which he also sings the theme song for.
Instagram content
Growth: 1,750.4 per cent
Instagram followers: 990,000
Known for: Rak Wan Ban Wun; Song Naree; Manner of Death; Wandee Goodday
Luxury brand affiliations: Valentino (Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands opening attendance); Montblanc (event attendance)
Brand MIV: N/A
Emi Thasorn Klinnium
Emi Thasorn Klinnium is a Thai actor and singer. She started out as an extra on a television series before turning to acting full time. Her first major lead role was in 2022 in School Tales The Series, but she has gained the most recognition starring alongside Bonnie in Us. In May, Klinnium won Rising Female of the Year at the Kazz Awards 2025, hosted by Thai fashion magazine Kazz.
Instagram content
Growth: 688.2 per cent
Instagram followers: 637,000
Known for: Beauty Newbie; Perfect 10 Liners; Us
Luxury brand affiliations: Valentino (Bangkok store opening)
Brand MIV: N/A
Book Kasidet
Book Kasidet is a Thai actor, model and singer. Previously a member of the T-pop boy group Cute Chef, he’s been acting under GMMTV since 2021. He also has a fashion brand, Pluto Yesterday. To date, Kasidet has partnered primarily with skincare brands including Nivea and Pond’s.
Growth: 601.5 per cent
Instagram followers: 2 million
Known for: Only Boo; Perfect 10 Liners; Melody of Secrets
Luxury brand affiliations: Gucci (event attendance)
Brand MIV: N/A
Pansa Vosbein
Pansa Vosbein — who goes by the nickname ‘Milk’ — is a model and actor. She attended the Saint Laurent AW25 show in Paris in March, featured in Vogue Thailand’s May 2025 issue and was on the April 2025 cover of Harper’s Bazaar Singapore. Vosbein has also partnered with brands from Ralph Lauren (specifically, Ralph’s Café) to Gentle Monster. Soon, she’ll star in forthcoming Thai series Whale Store xoxo and Girl Rules.
Instagram content
Growth: 532.8 per cent
Instagram followers: 2 million
Known for: Bad Buddy; 23.5
Luxury brand affiliations: Saint Laurent; Valentino (Bangkok store opening); Loewe (Bangkok store opening)
Brand MIV: Saint Laurent — $9.7 million (direct: 58 per cent; indirect: 42 per cent; owned: 0 per cent)
Archen Aydin
Archen Aydin is a Thai actor and model who signed with GMMTV in 2021. This month, he also performed live at GMMTV’s Love Out Loud Fan Fest 2025. Back in 2024, Aydin attended the Saint Laurent SS24 and AW24 shows at Paris Fashion Week. He has a lead role in the forthcoming mystery series Dare You to Death.
Growth: 336.2 per cent
Instagram followers: 3.7 million
Known for: 2Moons2; My Starlight; The Heart Killers
Luxury brand affiliations: Saint Laurent (Paris Fashion Week attendance)
Brand MIV: N/A
Nattawat Jirochtikul
Nattawat Jirochtikul, nicknamed ‘Fourth’, is an actor and singer. In 2023, he released his first single alongside his acting work in a succession of Thai series. He’s also starring in new series Ticket to Heaven, as well as a horror film titled Kijsada Paradise. He attended Tommy Hilfiger’s SS25 show in New York last September, and was named an ambassador for the brand. Fourth also has his own clothing brand, Nu Mo Ne.
Growth: 253.3 per cent
Instagram followers: 4.1 million
Known for: My School President; F4 Thailand: Boys Over Flowers; Moonlight Chicken; My Love Mix-Up!
Luxury brand affiliations: Tommy Hilfiger
Brand MIV: Tommy Hilfiger — $23.2 million (direct: 42 per cent; indirect: 51 per cent; owned: 7 per cent)
Bible Wichapas Sumettikul
Unlike many of actor Bible Wichapas Sumettikul’s contemporaries (who work under GMMTV), he works under artist management and content provider Be On Cloud. After getting his start in 2022, the actor has gained recognition for his roles in a string of Thai dramas. In March, Bible attended the AW25 Tod’s show in Milan, as well as the Amiri show in Paris earlier this year during Paris Men’s.
Growth: 212.8 per cent
Instagram followers: 2.7 million
Known for: KinnPorsche; 4Minutes
Luxury brand affiliations: Tod’s (Milan Fashion Week attendance); Amiri (Paris Fashion Week attendance)
Brand MIV: N/A
Rebecca Patricia Armstrong
The most fashion-affiliated on this list, Rebecca Patricia Armstrong is a Thai British actor and singer. After starting her career in 2020, Armstrong rose to fame in 2022 in her first lead role in girls’ love show Gap. Luxury has caught on to her rise; she has partnerships with brands including L’Oréal and Chanel (she’s an ambassador). Her appearance at Cannes Film Festival last month for L’Oréal generated $11.1 million in EMV, representing 44.1 per cent of the brand’s total — the highest of any influencer at the festival.
Growth: 204.1 per cent
Instagram followers: 4.3 million
Known for: Gap; The Series; The Loyal Pin; Uranus 2324
Luxury brand affiliations: Chanel; Tod’s; Bvlgari; L’Oréal
Brand MIV: Chanel — $84.7 million (direct: 40 per cent; indirect: 58 per cent; owned: 2 per cent)
Tod’s — $7.9 million (direct: 33 per cent; indirect: 59 per cent; owned: 8 per cent)
Bvlgari — $5.7 million (direct: 59 per cent; indirect: 41 per cent; owned: 0 per cent)
A note on our methodology
While influencer marketing once stopped at deliverables — how many posts or stories the talent would share — media impact value (MIV) now goes far beyond those static posts. “These ambassadors are gateways to PR coverage [and brands] need to 360-degree measure the direct and the indirect impact,” says Launchmetrics CMO Bringé. “Additionally, there’s that layer of their own social media channels and how these campaigns are being engaged with by their own community.”
On average, when looking at celebrity-driven campaigns, 77 per cent of MIV came from the indirect category, Bringé says. “It’s insane because there are still some very unsavvy brands that are just thinking about the deliverables and ‘how many posts can I get from you?’” she says. “They need to be thinking about how they can create virality instead.”
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