While editors were preoccupied with designer debuts this season, for audiences at home, big-name celebrities continue to drive the bulk of social engagement from the Spring/Summer 2026 shows.
This season demonstrated that brands of all sizes are tapping talent trends, prioritising the ever-growing influence of Thai actors, of-the-moment TV stars like The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Christopher Briney, and long-term brand ambassadors from Hollywood and K-pop, to drive global reach and high engagement.
SS26 generated $881.2 million in total earned media value (EMV), up 15 per cent from AW25 and a 5.6 per cent increase from SS25, according to influencer marketing platform Lefty and brand agency Karla Otto. (Lefty analyses the impressions and engagement generated by Instagram posts referencing every on-schedule show from influencers with over 10,000 followers. EMV is calculated as $1 per like.)
Paris was, as usual, the most powerful fashion week by EMV, generating $500.3 million. Interestingly, EMV growth was flat on SS25, meaning the big season of debuts didn’t quite outpace the previous September season. EMV was up 14 per cent versus AW24, which makes sense, as many big labels like Chanel took a season off in anticipation of their new creative directors.
“It raises an interesting question: does the end consumer really know or care who the designer actually is, as long as the product and the collection are good?” says Andrew Lister, executive VP at Purple PR. “From more of an outsider perspective, I don’t think they’re as hooked on that as maybe we are in the industry. They just want to see the new collection and the celebrities wearing them, which they’re likely more tuned into than who’s newly arrived at a house.”
Dior was the top-performing show of the season, maintaining the lead it’s held since Vogue Business began reporting on Lefty data in 2021. Previously, the bulk of Dior’s EMV was driven by brand ambassador Blackpink’s Jisoo. Although Jisoo was in attendance, generating $10.3 million in EMV (11 per cent of the total), this time around, the house generated $90.5 million in EMV for Jonathan Anderson’s womenswear debut, with almost half of its total driven by two Thai actors. Thai actress Kornnaphat Sethratanapong (@orm.kornnaphat) was this season’s top influencer, generating $23.4 million in EMV for Dior and 25 per cent of its total, with an extensive 26 posts featuring the show. She was followed by fellow Thai actress Sirilak Kwong (@linglingkwong), who drove $21.5 million in EMV, 23 per cent of Dior’s show total.
Milan generated a total of $244.7 million in EMV. Prada topped the ranking in Milan, with $45.8 million in EMV, led as usual by brand ambassadors and K-pop group Enhypen, who drove 39 per cent of the brand’s EMV ($18.3 million). Prada signed Enhypen in June 2023. The Milanese label is usually the city’s flagship show, but saw stiff competition from debuts this season. Demna’s Gucci film screening of his first collection, ‘La Famiglia’, reached the second-highest EMV in Milan ($31.6 million). It’s perhaps unsurprising, considering the teaser the brand released on social media the morning of the premiere, sparking much online chatter. The event itself attracted A-list attendees, including Demi Moore, Serena Williams, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elliot Page. The brand’s top influencer was K-pop star Jin of BTS, driving $97 million in EMV.
New York generated $100 million in EMV this season, up 68 per cent on AW25, but down 24 per cent on last September. Meanwhile, London had a strong season in terms of EMV, generating $36 million, up 49 per cent on last season and up an impressive 79 per cent on the year prior. This was driven, in part, by London Fashion Week’s (LFW) expanded international guest programme, which invited several fashion creators to cover the week. There were 33 per cent more influencers across the shows, Lefty found, and the average engagement rate of influencers posting about LFW was up 24 per cent on SS25. One of the guest programme creators, New York-based trend forecaster and style creator Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn), was the top influencer at Simone Rocha, driving 8 per cent of total EMV ($766,848), and at Chopova Lowena, where she drove 13 per cent ($456,043).
Thai actors continue to rise
Thai actors first emerged as front row stars in the SS24 season, when Nattawin ‘Apo’ Wattanagitiphat, Metawin Opas-iamkajorn and Mile Phakphum Romsaithong drove impressive EMV for Dior and Prada. This season, Thai actors dominated the influencer rankings across the big four cities. In fact, across the top 10 influencers in New York, London, Milan and Paris, six were Thai actors, up from four the previous season.
“This season was the first that we’ve seen Thai drama stars generate more EMV than K-pop stars,” says Anna Ross, global head of insight and trend at Karla Otto. “One trend we witnessed was the volume of posts these stars share across their platforms — between the two of them [Lingling Kwong and Orm Kornnaphat], they shared 50 posts about Dior. To put this into perspective, a K-pop star generally shares between two and five per season. So there’s definitely a numbers game happening to gain more visibility.”
Thai stars also led brand-specific rankings: actor Sarocha Chankimha was Valentino’s top influencer, with $3.6 million in EMV, while Pansa Vosbein led Loewe, at $3.4 million. Even in London, which doesn’t fly in as much international talent as other cities, three of the top 10 influencers were Thai actors. Mew Suppasit drove $2.3 million in EMV by attending the H&M show, Yoko Apasra Lertprasert generated $958,000 also for H&M, and Vachirawit Chivaaree racked up $716,000 for Burberry.
High street players made a splash
With big talent budgets and mass appeal, high street players are increasingly rising up the rankings as they invest in runway shows and fashion week happenings. London’s EMV increase this season was partly thanks to H&M. According to Lefty data, H&M&180:The London Issue, which took place on the first day of London Fashion Week, was the second most impactful show in terms of social media buzz, behind Burberry. The large-scale outdoor show and party drove $8.5 million in EMV, with an all-star runway cast, including Romeo Beckham and Lola Young, alongside supermodels like Alex Consani and Amelia Gray, who don’t typically walk in London.
“I thought H&M was particularly clever, as they thought about the world-building aspects of the show and their localisation strategy: for instance, the London Underground-branded takeovers and working with London-based talent for the casting and entertainment,” says Ross. “It made H&M feel very relevant and connected to local audiences — even though they’re a Swedish brand.”
It was Thai actor Yoko that drove the highest EMV for the label, followed by influencer Gabbriette ($827,619) and Eva Longoria’s stylist, Maeve Reilly, who drove $791,486 in EMV. Micro-influencers like Reilly drove almost as much EMV as mega-influencers for the brand, as consumers seek more relatable talents.
Another brand in the H&M Group stable, Cos, was fourth in the New York ranking for SS26, driving $7.2 million in EMV. “In the lens of the consumer, these types of moments make fashion week feel far more accessible — especially as the product is often a see-now, buy-now format,” Ross says. “It’s exciting to see a beautifully curated Cos runway in the media and be able to shop that product right away. For brands, it makes them feel part of the luxury narrative.”
TV stars of the moment
Brands are learning to react quickly to pop culture trends when planning their front rows. Both Cos and Calvin Klein invited Briney, one of the stars of The Summer I Turned Pretty, to their New York shows. New York Fashion Week (NYFW) coincided with the release of the third season, and the show’s much-anticipated finale on 17 September. Briney proved to be a powerful draw: from just one post about Klein, he ranked as the eighth most impactful influencer in New York. The actor’s average engagement rate was 22.7 per cent, compared with an average of 6.9 per cent among NYFW’s top 50 influencers.
“I think people are kind of tired of seeing the same celebrities at every fashion week,” says Eni Subair, senior fashion features editor at The Face. “When audiences are really locked into a subculture or TV, it makes sense to tap into that. When you see someone from a world outside fashion suddenly appear at a runway show, it’s like, ‘Oh my God — they get it.’ It bridges pop culture and fashion in a way that feels fresh.”
“Entertainment projects go viral every week. But if a brand is studying their audience, they’ll notice when a project or talent aligns with their world and their customer, and be able to see where the audience is expanding the conversation into something that has a life of its own,” agrees Zoe Patoff, SVP of global creative and digital strategy at Karla Otto. “Showing up in projects with talent that authentically fit into the world of the brand and have a fan base of aligned audience members allows the framing of the brand to be authentic and aspirational,” she adds, noting the success of Coach casting The Summer I Turned Pretty lead Lola Tung as brand ambassador.
Meanwhile, Love Island stars Yasmin Pettet and Iris Kendall were both visible at LFW and NYFW, respectively, with Kendall ranking as the seventh top-performing creator, generating $1 million in EMV for Luar. Briney’s co-star Rain Spencer also made an appearance at Burberry, driving an EMV of $164,000.
“People are now looking at a cross-section of relevant personalities rather than being one vibe,” adds Purple’s Lister. “Before, it was always Hollywood actresses or musicians, depending on the brand. Now, the focus is on pulling talent from a range of cultural spheres — tapping into different cultural sets and tribes rather than just one type of figure that fits all.”
Behind-the-scenes names
As we’ve seen in recent seasons, audiences are interested in the people operating behind the scenes of fashion. Increasingly, makeup artists, stylists and photographers are driving higher engagement than many regular talents.
At LFW, for instance, Mac Cosmetics creative director and makeup artist Dominic Skinner ranked as the third most influential creator, generating nearly $900,000 in EMV from just two behind-the-scenes posts at Richard Quinn. Photographer Hollie Molloy also made the top 10, ranking ninth with $506,000 in EMV from two posts captured backstage at Burberry.
“Behind the scenes is the new front row,” says Ross. “Process videos, a la Loewe; atelier ‘dumps’ as seen at Chanel; and model diaries, driven by figures like Alex Consani, are hyper popular and bring a level of previously unseen access to a very exclusive moment,” says Ross. “Brands have become increasingly aware that the backstage is under the lens, and are working directly with talent or investing in content production to capture the moment — for example, Burberry doing a backstage takeover with Jennifer Saunders, or Dior working with documentalist Loïc Prigent to bring an elevated feel to BTS moments.”
“It doesn’t have to just be like, ‘Hey guys, this is the runway and clothes.’ Anyone can open Instagram and see that,” adds The Face’s Subair. “It’s more about personalising it and bringing people who are on the outside looking in into that world. Even if you’re not a real fashion head, there’s still something in it for you — whether you’re interested in hair, makeup, or just want to see the fun bits of fashion week without diving into the real meat of it.”
Commentators, too, became a focal point this season. “We also saw the rise of ‘voices of fashion’ — commentators who are strong, opinionated and vocal, even if they don’t attend the shows,” says PR guru Lucien Pagès. “That makes it harder to communicate the concept — when they’re not present, don’t attend previews and often don’t even receive press materials. Yet, they still comment on collections without any direct context.”
Pagès notes that this marks a new evolution in how fashion communicates. “Before, we only focused on established press. Then, we began placing influencers strategically to capture the collections, knowing that they would be widely seen on Instagram. And now, we have the commentators,” he says. “It’s part of the democracy of social media, and in many ways that’s a good thing. But it also means we have to think about both the inside and the outside.”
“For me, the celebrities on the front row aren’t really the main concern anymore — at least not in terms of journalism or communication,” Pagès says. “Of course, people inside are still photographing or filming them, and that content goes out into the world. But the real conversation is happening beyond the room.”
To receive the Vogue Business newsletter, sign up here.
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
Who won fashion month AW25 on social media?
