Ruslan Baginskiy worked with Beyoncé for her “Renaissance” tour to create wide-brimmed metallic boatmen worn by her and her dancers; Madonna created cowboy-inspired styles for her “Celebration” tour.
The Ukrainian accessories and headwear designer said working with such high-profile artists “is about being a part of the worldwide creative energy and contemporary culture for me and my brand.”
“The impact is real. We saw the Beyhive after working on ‘Renaissance’ [fandom] we dress in RB pieces for concerts; baker boy hats and boater hats are similar to the hats we designed specifically for Beyoncé. Hats were an indispensable part of the elaborate clothes worn at the shows. People tagged us in so many photos and videos wearing hats and turning the camera upside down on stage that it became a kind of language between us,” said Baginskiy. “Of course, this means visibility, followers and sales; But more than that, it creates a community.”
Baginskiy added that working with such high-profile artists has strengthened not only her brand but also her overall accessories business. “The most complex couture pieces that are part of our couture collections may not be easy to imagine offstage, but they spark interest in the hats and craftsmanship,” he said.
Stillman worked with Swift’s team on a number of looks by Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad, including a pink dress and a purple dress with bejeweled bejeweled clothes.
The designers on Swift’s stage really had their moment to shine. “Most of the designers she used on this tour she had worn many times before and only a handful of designers. “It’s easy for these designers to have their moment and really stand out,” he said.
The numbers also support this.
Murad’s appearance on Swift’s stage resulted in 4.4 billion media impressions, with an estimated media value of $2.9 million — and that doesn’t even include TikTok.
“It’s about building brand awareness. Social media is the new water cooler, and you just have to be a part of what captures the collective attention, and a lot of that is about music right now,” Stillman said.
Olivia Rodrigo and K-pop stars are other examples of conversational and cultural influences, he said.
But while Swift and Beyoncé were making a splash in fashion with their concert tours, luxury brands were really excited to see which K-pop or Asian stars they could sign on as ambassadors. It seemed like not a day would pass without a new face being announced.
Louis Vuitton alone features BTS’ J-Hope, Stray Kids’ Felix, Got7’s Jackson Wang, NewJeans’ Hyein and the Le Sserafim group as brand ambassadors. The scramble for talent is so intense that they’ll even sign relatively untested talent – see boy band Riize joining the group as global ambassadors just three months into their career.
BTS’s Jimin is signed to two LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton brands: Dior and Tiffany & Co. Blackpink’s Jisoo also signed with Dior; Valentino recruited BTS’s Suga, Loewe recruited NCT’s Taeyong, and Celine recruited BTS’s V and Blackpink’s Lisa, just to name a few.
Groups also joined the game. Enhypen joined Prada as a brand ambassador, while Tomorrow x Together signed with Dior Men’s and had its Lollapalooza stage outfits designed by Kim Jones.
Despite movie stars attending the Cannes Film Festival, Blackpink’s Jennie dominated the red carpet, generating a media impact value of $1.9 million for Chanel.
Euny Hong, author of “The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture,” said K-pop fandoms are young and especially loyal. Fans can’t wait to grab items seen on their favorite idols.
The cultural influence of K-pop stars has become a driving force for hard-to-find Gen Z consumers who have given up on social media, especially as this generation grew up watching non-English-language series on Netflix. It also resonates from Chicago to China and everywhere in between.
“This generation doesn’t really care about linguistic or cultural barriers. They do not have the same understanding of ‘foreignness’. That’s the audience they’re after,” Hong said. “All luxury brands, whether American or French, have the same mindset when it comes to the consumer; “They start them off early with lipstick and eventually move on to dresses.”
Capturing this eager consumer in hopes of instilling brand loyalty that will result in larger purchases in the future is not a new phenomenon, Hong noted, but the global appeal of K-pop stars helps build brand loyalty well beyond any one region.
Capitalizing on this trend, luxury brands have staged a series of shows in hopes of capturing the sparkle of K-pop and increased their presence in South Korea during major cultural events like Frieze Seoul.
Louis Vuitton staged a monumental pre-fall show in April by turning Seoul’s Jamsugyo Bridge into a runway, and Gucci staged its cruise show in front of the city’s Gyeongbokgung Palace in the South Korean capital last May.
Hong emphasized that fan loyalty results in goods moving. “If a K-pop star wears a Moncler jacket, it will sell out the next day,” he said.
—Contributed by Lily Templeton
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