Since the rise of fashion blogs in the 2010s, more and more influencers were taking the first rows of fashion shows. And with the explosion of TikTok in recent years, we can see the same tendency. Brands team up with the creators and organise various collaborations with them.
The era of TikTok starts began in 2019 when it started to penetrate into the fashion industry. Noen Eubanks was announced as the face of Celine. And then Charli D’Amelio (who has a huge army of 124 million followers, and counting) sat front row at Prada. Style experts were devastated - the partnership had no sense, as Charli is not even a fashion blogger, but just a dancing girl. However, D’Amelio’s presence has actually connected the Italian legacy house with the new audience of teens, allowing Prada to brought up loyalty to the brand from a young age.
Delving into the numbers, this year #nyfw has over 443.3 million views, while #fashionweek has 3.1 billion! Obviously, the audience does exist. TikTok users want interaction and crave being involved in the exclusive world of fashion, motivating luxury brands to collaborate with the app’s favourites to get their designs showcased through the short engaging videos.
Undoubtedly, in the future, we’ll see even more TikTokers attending fashion events. But until then, advanced brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, and Saint Laurent live-streamed their shows on TikTok with over 3 million views.
This universal TikTok-obsession is not limited to runway observers. Editors, fashion students, and models (such as, Kristy Ponomar, who has opened the S/S22 Prada show) record behind-the-scene videos, sharing their experience and work during the fashion week.
Meanwhile, model agencies took this chance to find fresh faces. For example, IMG Models (one of the biggest agencies in the world) has already signed Wisdom Kaye and Kennedy Jardine.
“TikTok has been a great place for us in discovering the next generation of IMG stars,” says Jeni Rose, the senior vice president at IMG. “Unlike other social media platforms, a lot of the content remains unfiltered or unedited. That, coupled with a predominantly video-based format, allows us to quickly get a glimpse of someone’s personality, how they interact with others, and what their interests and values are within seconds.”
So what does all of this mean for fashion? Accessibility is the keyword here: live streams, presence effect, and first-row experience no matter how far you’re. Any brands with a limited reach will simply lag behind.
Despite the public condemnation and experts dissatisfaction, TikTok influencers will certainly become significant industry players, bringing elite fashion to Genis all over the world.
Who are your favourite Tiktokers?