Why Paris Fashion Week Was A Game Changer - Or Was It?

The value of talent marketing has never been so visible as during Paris Fashion Week. 

Fashion houses revealed their Spring-Summer 2023 collections with all eyes not only on the product, but on the talent in the room. The impact and explosive social media coverage for the likes of Bella Hadid gracing the runway at Loewe, Stella McCartney, and Coperni's spray-on dress finale is evidence of the power of talent. In addition, celebrities such as Kristen Stewart at Chanel and Cher's runway cameo for Balmain with creative director Olivier Rousteing have pushed the boundaries of brand partnerships to add to the roster on the runway. 

Nothing new about that. However, behind the scenes in Paris this week, the fashion houses took a strategic turn that is an industry game changer: collaborating with artists, musicians and media-savvy business figures who all have successful careers - and substantial social media profiles - outside the fashion business. 

Their goal is to engage the increasingly important gen z consumer. Established brands want to be in the gen z space and are engaging in talent marketing at an increasing rate. This is where we come in, with our respective backgrounds as global head of partnerships for a global brand strategy firm and as head of talent at a leading model agency. You could say we're savvy fashion insiders who make magic moments happen by connecting brands with incredible talent. 

Fashion influencers filled the catwalk front rows a few years ago and danced the night away at the invite-only after-parties. As we saw this past week in Paris, and to some extent in New York, London and Milan, that space once filled by traditional fashion influencers is replaced with interesting creatives whose talent lends a shine to the brand, channel communities and ambassadorship. The link is that they all have relevancy in fashion, whether musicians, artists or writers and bring an enormous following on social media as a measure of cultural relevance in today's ROI terms. 

The key to this paradigm shift is data and metrics. Unlike traditional advertising, talent marketing is measurable. Measurement tools mean you can measure an IG story or TikTok post with a tracked link versus editorial print pages. 

Brands can track how many times it was opened before a product was purchased—providing measurable transparency of the investment in talent long-term. In addition, consumers stay on Instagram four times longer than in print advertising, and social media partnerships are far from being saturated. 

Talent employ Parallel to strategies. We love lassoing them together with like-minded brands. Such as when our client, the singer Bree Runway (@breerunway 279K followers), met Naomi Campbell this past week at the Off-White show. Bree, an ambassador for Coach, has a new song called That Girl, and we placed her at the Off-White show and arranged her performance at the Dazed party. Bree had a great moment when she connected with Naomi Campbell backstage at the Off-White show that was caught on video and went viral on Dazed and other platforms. This is exactly why we like to say that Parallel Consulting unlocks the power of partnerships.

Talent marketing is also about harnessing other channels, other brands' editorial and brand channels. Since our placement of Bree in strategic moments during Paris Fashion Week, everyone has been listening to her new song and discussing collaborations.

Brands see the importance of reaching a younger consumer - specifically gen z. The turning point was Virgil Abloh's arrival. He was different. A trained architect who DJ'd on the side, he was friends with celebrities, including Kanye West and others. Intriguingly, we're seeing more and more celebrities, talent and models sharing the spotlight in the front rows wearing the brand's most recent looks ahead of them being available online or in the shops. 

It's about trust. Brands are willing to play the long game, privately acknowledging that their significant investment won't pay for itself for a decade or more. You have to be in it to win, and luxury brands are realistic. They see talent marketing as a brand builder and a way to establish consumer trust. Recalling recent studies about the influence of gen z, the first generation of digital natives is valuable. A recent Nielsen survey found that 92% of consumers trust the word of mouth or recommendations from friends and family above all other forms of advertising. In turn, brand advocates posting engaging online content hugely influence these trusted recommendations. Meanwhile, a poll published by HubSpot indicated that 71% of people are more likely to purchase when referred to by social media. 

This Paris Fashion Week was the first proper fashion week back after Covid. Commentators noted that it was as if Covid never happened. Has the industry changed forever? Did the last couple of years change the fashion world, its values, how it operates? Some say it’s back to where it was before, plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Perhaps but one thing’s for sure - global luxury fashion brands have woken up to the value of talent marketing and its long-term investment appeal.