Showing during a fashion week is not only a key milestone for a designer, but a strategic business decision as well.
That’s the conclusion of an independent study conducted by IMG and powered by Launchmetrics to measure the effectiveness of participation in fashion weeks in today’s industry landscape.
Their analysis found that participation in fashion weeks provided a valuable tool to engage new audiences, particularly in light of the rapid fragmentation of traditional media and retail platforms.
To gauge Media Impact Value, Launchmetrics used a proprietary algorithm to measure the impact of placements and mentions across different voices in the fashion, luxury and cosmetics industry.
Among the key takeaways from the study:
• Fashion weeks generate $1.5 billion in MIV each year across 150 countries and 49 languages.
• New York Fashion Week garners $258 million in MIV each year worldwide, with more than half the conversations occurring in markets outside of the U.S.
• Brands that show during fashion week see a gain of up to 180 percent in MIV during fashion week months versus other months of the year.
• For NYFW, $105 million in MIV (of the overall $258 million) are derived from conversations during the two main seasons, February and September, while the remaining $152 million is from coverage surrounding fashion weeks throughout the year.
• Designers who show during one of the core four fashion weeks see exposure into three new markets as a result and some designers may reach up to seven new markets.
• By showing during fashion week, a designer can see up to four times more MIV than when they show on their own outside of organized industry events.
• While designers may decide to show off-calendar in an effort to cut through the noise, the opposite proves true — the global spotlight on fashion during the fashion weeks delivers heightened global media attention and opportunity to be included in landscape, trend or roundup coverage. Designers who show at NYFW see up to 40 percent of their MIV coming from association with NYFW calendar and global conversation.
• Designers who showed on the runway drove on average 40 percent more revenue than those that did not show in a traditional format, according to Moda Operandi, which also participated in the study.
• Seven of the top trunk shows on ModaOperandi.com for spring 2021 featured a runway component.
• When designers show for a second season in a row, they see up to 25 percent more MIV on their previous collection, building on initial value.
• During that second season, the value per placement was 150 percent of the original value, indicating that repeat participation in a fashion week gives designers more valuable content to promote their brand.
The study cited specific examples from brands such as Michael Kors, Jason Wu, Carolina Herrera, Rodarte, Oscar de la Renta, Proenza Schouler and Rebecca Minkoff, all of whom have seen success during fashion weeks.
For example, for the fall 2020 season, Kors generated $10.1 million MIV from NYFW associated content, which accounted by nearly 25 percent of the brand’s total MIV that season. In addition, Kors saw a 59 percent increase in coverage that season from the Media Voice (publications, which include print titles, online properties and social media accounts associated with the media outlet), compared to their off-season shows.
Rodarte generated up to four times more MIV with their on-schedule shows for spring 2019, fall 2020 and spring 2021 compared to the off-schedule fall 2019 show in Los Angeles. The Media Voice alone from spring 2019 generated 2.8 times the value of the brand’s entire fall 2019 L.A. show.
In terms of driving more sales as a result of having a runway show, Rodarte saw an increase of 300 percent in Gross Order Value compared to the previous month as a result of the spring 2021 event.
Brandon Maxwell increased its Gross Order Value by 554 percent in spring 2020 compared to the previous month and continued to show a positive impact from NYFW with a 111 percent increase when looking at an average GOV that year.
As for both MIV and GOV, Carolina Herrera saw positive impact of NYFW in spring 2020 with an increase of 117 percent of MIV and 190 percent increase in GOV during September versus the previous month.
The study concluded that showing during a fashion week is a decision that will not only immediately help one’s business, but will create a long-term impact on the brand. The best brand strategies saw an increase of more than 25 percent of their original show’s value up to 12 months post-event.
The study also found that the designers who showed continuously season after season are able to generate higher-valued content and press stories than those who do one-off showings, with the second season’s placements being valued at 150 percent of the first season. A month after Rebecca Minkoff’s September 2020 show, the company gained $3.3 million in MIV, 76 percent more than the average MIV throughout the year. Also, the number of placements increased. For Minkoff, the number of placements a month after the show was up to 55 percent higher than the average throughout the year, highlighting the importance of a runway show in creating a long-tail impact for the brand.
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