TV: Fashion’s Best Touchpoint
Fashion and beauty trends in television shows have always been influential. Just think of ‘The Rachel’ haircut. Totally iconic. As technology and touchpoint strategy have progressed, television has become a great outlet for brands that want exposure. With the surge of streaming platform shows, TV drama series has enchanted millions of viewers to worlds beyond reach during 2021, projecting fashion and lifestyle trends overnight.
For example, the release of Netflix’s Bridgerton launched the ‘regencycore’ trend, coined by shopping platform Lyst following a massive increase in searches for lacey corsets and other 1800s-inspired garments. The ‘regencycore’ trend has over 11.5 million Tik-Tok videos and counting. The trend has died down since the show was released, but the second season is set to premiere at the end of this month. Without a doubt, ‘regencycore’ will make a return.
It would be unjust not to mention Euphoria. HBO Max’s drama series has a chokehold on probably every viewers’ fashion choices. Brands that have been featured on the show like I AM GIA, Danielle Guizio, and Akna have soared in searches and customers. Following Cassie’s meltdown at Maddy’s birthday, swimsuit company Frankie’s Bikinis completely sold out of their ‘Gemma One Piece’ in 'pink punch.’ There is currently a waiting list of over 500 people for the restock of the suit.
Another great example is HBO Max’s Gossip Girl reboot, which steered in the “dark academia” preppy trend. The edgy-school-girl look caused a surge in search for varsity jackets (+53 percent), plaid vests (+47 percent), and high-collared shirts (+34 percent) following its ‘Part 1 release in July of 2021.
In an effort to capitalize off the success of Part 1, HBO Max partnered with Gen Z resale platform Depop for its Part 2 series launch of Gossip Girl. The network found four existing Depop sellers with aesthetics that matched each of the Gossip Girl characters: Julien, Max, Aki, and Monet. Each seller has a meeting with Eric Daman, the Gossip Girl costume designer, and together they curated a custom Depop shop for each character. This collaboration was nothing but successful. Following the premiere of Part 2, Depop saw a 200 percent spike in searches for “Gossip Girl.”
For new shows, social media accounts have been a great touchpoint for their audiences. Nowadays, viewers are way more likely to look up a character or actor’s Instagram page on their phones while they are watching a show than to do the research after the fact. For And Just Like That, HBOMax created an Instagram that solely focused on the show’s costumes, which has more engagement than the show’s main Instagram.
Brands have noticed television’s impact and have made an effort to be featured. In the past, luxury brands have not done many collections that are very short-term, or with a microtrend. However, this is changing and Balmain is leading the way. For the premiere of Netflix Westerns’ The Harder They Fall, Balmain launched a capsule collection that featured western-inspired fringed jackets and suede skirts are available on Farfetch and the Netflix Shop. According to the Balmain CMO, Txampi Diz, the collection has had a “very positive” response.
While collaborations are beneficial for both the series and brands, networks must make sure that the brand they are helping to promote falls within the brand of their show and character. For example, the second season of Emily in Paris featured a shop created by Viacom CBS that was available on Saks.com and the Netflix Shop. The shop featured brands such as Pierre Hermé macaroons, AZ Factory, Chanel Métiers d’Art brands Maison Michel, Goossens Paris and Barrie, and luxury resort brand My Beachy Side. The show itself has a very luxurious feel, so when picking the brands to partner with, Jose Castro, the SVP of licensing collaborations and specialty retail in the consumer products division of Viacom CBS, said “wanted to make sure that what we did had that same sort of connection… We want to make it so that people can take a piece of what they love home.” In addition, Rimowa and Christian Dior were featured as plot points in the show.
As shows continue to release, brands big and small will and should continue to get their products featured. Not only does having their product in a show create sales, but also a topic for conversation that a simple ad on a magazine or subway would not create.
