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Who lit up social media this fashion season? Autumn/Winter 2024 was all about K-pop stars, models and backstage content when it came to driving buzz online — a pivot from last season’s focus on mainstays like the Kardashians.
AW24 generated $528 million in earned media value (EMV) this season, up 26 per cent on AW23 but down roughly 30 per cent on SS24, according to influencer marketing platform Lefty and brand agency Karla Otto. Lefty analyses impressions and engagement on Instagram feed posts about every on-schedule show from influencers with over 10,000 followers. EMV is calculated as $1 per like. (Typically, the Spring/Summer season drives more EMV, partly because there’s some time between the menswear, couture and womenswear weeks, so online audiences have less fatigue.)
After a real celebrity focus last season for SS24, including a Kardashian influx, AW24 was in some respects quieter, says PR guru Lucien Pagès, whose agency worked on shows across all four main cities. But K-pop stars shone this season as brands continue to see the value in engaging their young fanbases.
“It wasn’t necessarily about casting supermodels this season. It wasn’t all about Gigi [Hadid] or Kendall [Jenner]. At many shows it was more about the clothes and the proposal of the designers,” says Pagès. “There’s been seasons where the celebrities were the scene themselves. This time I don’t think it overshadowed the work.”
As usual, Paris Fashion Week drove the most buzz for AW24, reaching a total of $315 million in EMV, up 35 per cent on AW23 but down 18 per cent on SS24. Dior retained the top spot this season, with $46 million in EMV, largely thanks to Blackpink’s Jisoo, a global ambassador for the brand, who lit up on social. Jisoo posted three times about the Miss Dior-themed show, generating $11.8 million EMV for the house, 26 per cent of the brand’s total. Kim Mingyu (@min9yu_k) of K-pop group Seventeen drove a further 20 per cent of Dior’s total EMV ($9 million).
Louis Vuitton ranked second, with $37 million in EMV. Last season, the brand relied on ambassador Zendaya, but in her absence, actress Millie Bobby Brown was its top engagement driver, representing over $7 million in EMV, 19 per cent of the brand’s total. Loewe rose up the rankings this season, from seventh place last season to fourth place, representing $27.6 million EMV, driven by K-pop stars Seungmin of Stray Kids ($4.7 million EMV) and Giselle of Aespa ($4.5 million EMV).
Backstage is brought to the fore
Engagement doesn’t only ride on inviting the right talent to your show; it’s also about how you harness it. This was demonstrated by Loewe, which orchestrated video content like front row interviews and behind-the-scenes coverage that’s more ad hoc, says Pagès.
“This has permeated everything that we’re looking at in terms of media impact,” says Anna Ross, global head of creative insight and trend at Karla Otto. “The runway is one of the biggest investments in the calendar year, and now it’s a media churning machine. But it feels like people are strategising how they can get the best impact out of it and cut through the noise.”
While there were fewer supermodels walking this season, Mugler and Marine Serre encouraged models to interact with the audience and show their personalities. Rising stars this season included Alex Consani and Colin Jones (aka @col_thedoll), who walked Casablanca, Mugler, Balenciaga and more. “They have big personalities — playing to the cameras, generating a lot of visibility. And I think this is all part of how TikTok has really shifted the needle on communications,” Ross says. Mugler created a series of post-show videos. One, in which Consani shows off her “model face” backstage, garnered 1.1 million views on TikTok.
Milan’s EMV reached $149 million this season, up 18 per cent on AW23 but down 44 per cent on SS24, perhaps partly due to the absence of Boss, which placed fourth last season, driving $15.5 million EMV. This season, Versace topped the ranking with its star-studded co-ed show, focused on the “strong woman and the shy genius man”, starring Gigi Hadid and rising star (and son of Solange Knowles) Julez J Smith Jr.
However, the bulk of Versace’s EMV was driven off the runway by Korean rapper Hyunjin of K-pop group Stray Kids, who generated $4 million EMV from just one post. He has considerably less followers than some of the other K-pop talents, but Hyunjin’s engagement rate is over 37 per cent, the highest of all talents across the fashion weeks, meaning he drives more likes and comments in relation to his following size.
New York reached $43 million EMV for AW24, up 8 per cent on AW23 but down 54 per cent from a high of $94 million last season. This is partly due to major brands like Marc Jacobs and Ralph Lauren either showing off schedule or not showing at all. However, megabrand Tommy Hilfiger returned to NYFW, topping the EMV rankings with $14 million. Brazilian model and Influencer Jade Picon led the charge, driving $1.3 million EMV from three posts about the show. Thai actor Metawin Opas-iamkajorn, who also attended Prada last season, drove $1.2 million EMV in two posts of the show. Michael Kors was second in the ranking, with $4.4 million, led by Thai actor and singer-songwriter Suppasit Jongcheveevat.
London, as per previous seasons, was the smallest city in terms of EMV, generating $21 million. This is up around 3 per cent on AW23 and down around 3 per cent on last season. Burberry once again hit the top spot, driving over half of the total EMV for London, representing over $10 million. Most of the EMV was driven by Thai actor Vachirawit Chivaaree (@bbrightvc), who generated $1.9 million, and UK rapper Central Cee, who drove $1.6 million EMV, attending the show with his TikToker girlfriend Madeline Argy.
Last season, Thai actors, notably Opas-iamkajorn, Mile Phakphum Romsaithong (@milephakphum) and Nattawin Wattanagitiphat (@nattawin) soared to the top of the rankings, driving a large proportion of the EMV at top-ranking brands Dior and Prada. Yet very few Thai actors appeared in Paris this season. “We saw Thai actors in Milan and New York, but K-pop was all over Paris again,” says Ross.
And while last season brought an influx of actors out to shows amid the SAG-AFTRA strike, fewer A-list actors made this season’s rankings — due in part to the shows falling alongside a busy awards season. For AW24, six of the top 30 influencers in the global ranking were actors. This season, 16 of the top 30 were K-pop stars, five were actors (including two Thai actors) and five were models. The remaining four were influencers or non-K-pop musicians.
K-pop keeps growing
K-pop stars generated a staggering $123 million EMV this season, representing 23 per cent of total EMV for AW24 across the four cities, up 167 per cent on SS24 and up 102 per cent from AW23. As the industry notes, the rise of babygirl men influencing womenswear, male K-pop stars in particular, drove considerable engagement among women’s consumers this season.
Across the K-pop talent pool, there were long-standing names like Blackpink’s Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé, who drove the bulk of EMV at Dior, Chanel and Saint Laurent, plus band members Doyoung and Jaehyun from major group NCT, who led the EMV at Dolce Gabbana and Prada, respectively.
Other brands are bringing in newer faces. At Acne Studios, new group Illit sat together front row (the band hasn’t even released any music yet), while Felix (@yong.lixx) of Stray Kids walked Louis Vuitton, driving $4.4 million in EMV and his bandmate Seungmin made his Paris Fashion Week debut, driving $4.7 million in EMV at Loewe.
“Inviting K-pop talent has moved from emerging strategy to a new standard when it comes to casting,” says Ross. “The front row changes each season, but K-pop has consistently been at the top and continues to grow.” K-pop stars are the celebrities that resonate most with a younger audience, Pagès adds. “When there are thousands of young people in front of a show, it’s mostly because there is a K-pop star there,” he says. “Every designer now has them.”
While K-pop is on top for now, brands should be mindful of new talents, too. Looking ahead, gamers are ones to watch, as brands increasingly think about targeting Gen Alpha. This season saw a Sims influencer at Miu Miu, while YouTube gamer @valkyrae and gaming influencer @pokimanelol were spotted at Gucci.
Athletes fell off this season, likely because it’s in season for many major sports, including premier league football and the NBA. However, Karla Otto noted a lot of dancers attending and working on shows, across the four cities — another field to watch. Dance is becoming increasingly aligned with fashion, based on the hype around movement and movement direction and shows becoming a performance, Ross adds. This follows Nike’s event during couture last summer, for which it enlisted famed choreographer Parris Goebel.
Looking ahead to SS25, Pagès is expecting more athletes on the front row, starting with the menswear season in June, which he feels will mirror SS24 in terms of athlete attendance once the sports seasons are over and as the Olympics hit Paris. “Athletes are being requested more and more,” he says. “They are less well known from the fashion audience, but athletes have such a strong following. And for the brands, they represent good values, like challenging yourself and working as a team. They bring a lot of value when connecting with the new generation.”
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