Going viral is both a digital and literal gold-mine for those with the ideas to make it happen. The process has launched products, brands, and personalities into overnight successes. For the fashion industry, it provides designers with an opportunity to reach an audience wider than their inner circle, often turning their clothes or accessories into cultural icons.
Launchmetrics, a tech company that works on analysing data for the fashion, luxury and beauty industries, created an algorithm to quantify just what an impact going viral can have. MIV, or media impact value, is their proprietary system that calculates the impact of media placements, engagement and general content circulation in monetary value. Spring/summer 2023 had everything from Cher to 68 pairs of twins, making it one of the most extravagant seasons yet. Here, we have rounded up the top viral moments from the month that are bound to have made millions in MIV.
Coperni makes fashion magic with Bella Hadid and the spray-on dress:
Coperni turned to the theatrical for the finale of their SS23 show. Using technology from London-based company Fabrican, a white spray-on fabric was used to form a dress on Bella Hadid’s semi-naked body. An assistant then took to the dress with scissors creating a wearable garment specific to the supermodels measurements. The technology, which has been around for two decades, became something of a social media phenomenon with Launchmetrics estimating its media impact value at $26.3 million only 48 hours after the show.
Paris Hilton was ‘sliving’ on the Versace catwalk:
In the shows press release Donatella Versace said, “I have always loved a rebel, a woman who is confident, smart, and a little bit of a diva”. She presented this in the form of Y2k prima donna princess and OG influencer Paris Hilton who closed the show in a perfectly fitting pink Swarovski and chain mail dress, accessorized with matching stilletos and veiled tiara. The look couldn’t help but be a nostalgic reference to Paris’s 2000s party attire, just with a Versace twist.
Twintopia at Gucci:
Alessandro Michele’s “Twinsburg” was a moment of awe and wonder for those in the audience and across the globe. It was unveiled that two shows were occuring at once in perfect syncronisation and visual comparison by way of 68 pairs of twins. In a moment that reflected on the duality of individual identity and was inspired by the bond between his mother and her twin sister, the show felt like a cathartic release for Gucci’s creative mastermind.
Sarah Jessica Parker sat front row at the Fendi Baguette Party in New York:
In a scene that elevated Fendi’s baguette bag into a pop-culture sensation, a bewildered Carrie Bradshaw corrects her mugger who asks for her bag, “it’s a baguette”. At the baguette’s 25th birthday party the Sex and the City protagonist and her favourite bag where brought back together in a New York City vision. The celebration of the bag which, as the best do, goes by a single name, was a star-studded production that saw multiple variations of the bag created by Silvia Venturini Fendi, with special renditions from Tiffany and Marc Jacobs.
A surprise appearance from Cher at Balmain:
The icon that is Cher joined Creative Director Olivier Rousteing in the closing of the Balmain Festival in Paris. The singer wore a skin-tight latex catsuit with sky-high platforms, which at the age of 76, she still rocked. It was a fitting way to end an incredible event that saw 100+ looks from haute couture to ready-to-wear. A tweet from the singer after the show indicated her excitement, “show was probably best fashion show “ever”, “stage was calling me”. Does this mean we should expect a Cher resurgence? I hope so.
Kim Kardashian turned designer with Dolce & Gabbana:
Kim Kardashian debuted her collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana, “Ciao Kim” in Milan. In a video posted to Vogue, the mogul said she wanted, “to re-present the archive (from 1987-2007) with this retrospective of the last 25 years of all my favourite looks.” The collection follows the family’s other big D&G event, Kourtney and Travis’s wedding that the designers hosted and that saw guests decked out in full Dolce outfits, a moment that provided millions in MIV for the brand. The show saw classic Kardashian sensuality infused with traditional Italian tailoring and will be available to buy next year.
Post-apocalyptic scenes at Balenciaga:
Balenciaga has nailed the viral runway show. Their haute couture offering saw stars like Kim Kardashian and Dua Lipa walk alongside Selling Sunset’s Christine Quinn in a moment that had the internet in a chokehold. This season was no different as models pounded the muddy trenches of the set, some with baby carriers filled with Balenciaga dolls, others sporting bruised and beaten faces. Kanye West opened the show wearing an exaggerated utilitarian security jacket, leather trousers, hoodie and 2023 baseball cap.
Daniel Lee takes over from Riccardo Tisci at Burberry:
After five years as Chief Creative Officer at Burberry, Riccardo Tisci is being replaced by Daniel Lee, the designer credited with Bottega Veneta’s revival. Two days before the announcement and despite the unconventional timing, everyone from Anna Wintour to Stormzy attended a typical Tisci show that was rumoured to be his last. While the creative officer has worked to modernise the brand his replacement Daniel Lee, who will work alongside new CEO Jonathan Akeroyd, is hoped to align their offering with a different generation of consumers.
Ye does it again! Kanye West’s list of controversy continues:
Three weeks after ending his partnership with fashion giant Gap, Kanye announced a surprise showing of his new brand “YZY” in Paris. The rapper turned designer has become synonymous for his ability to produce jaw-dropping moments. His erratic nature and daringly ruthless commentary on society has him labelled as a genius by some, by others a man on the brink of a breakdown. The designers undeniable ability to entertain makes him hard to resist but this consistent reliance on shock factor has turned sour. Any excitement for the show quickly turned into disbelief when a model wore a t-shirt embossed with the phrase, “white lives matter”. The dust hasn’t quite settled on this one, nor should it.
