Joan Smalls for Balmain, spring/summer 2016
French fashion label Balmain overtook Chanel in social media impressions during Paris Fashion Week with 2.2 million total actions compared to the latter’s 1.63 million.
During Paris Fashion Week, which took place Sept. 29 through Oct. 7, the top four designers to present accounted for 57 percent of total social actions during the runway presentations for spring/summer 2016 collections. The data, surveyed by Shareablee, tracked social media actions across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to gain an understanding of 10 leading luxury brands' ROI during fashion week promotions.
Oui to social media
The top performers on social media during Paris Fashion Week include Balmain, Chanel, Valentino, Dior and Louis Vuitton.
Balmain took social media by storm, even outpacing Chanel, with 2.2 million in total social actions, which includes likes, comments, shares, retweets and favorites on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Chanel was second, with 1.63 million impressions, and Valentino just behind with 1.6 million social actions.
Valentino beat Dior in impressions by only 1,600 social actions, underscoring the popularity and social media prowesses of both houses.
For Balmain, the house had significant assistance from its celebrity friends, including models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid. Ninety-nine percent of Balmain’s social interactions came from Instagram, with images showing Ms. Jenner, Ms. Hadid and others present for the show and wearing pieces from the spring/summer 2016 collection during and after the presentation.
As for Chanel, the storied house led by Karl Lagerfeld was the top designer on Facebook and Twitter. Images from the brand’s #ChanelAirlines runway show earned Chanel the top posts and tweets of any presenting designer across all three social platforms.
#ChanelAirlines for spring/summer 2016
In addition, celebrities with ties to Chanel also helped the brand to secure top posts on each of the platforms. Chanel’s top Facebook post and top tweet trumped social content surrounding Paris Fashion Week while celebrity posts to Instagram, from the likes of Ms. Jenner and her sister Kim Kardashian-West, showed behind-the-scenes and throwbacks.
The remainder of the list, in spots six through 10, included Elie Saab, Alexander McQueen, Lanvin, Balenciaga and Hermès.
Shareablee’s “Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2016 Designer Scorecard” findings are on par with the impressions generated during Milan Fashion Week.
Italian fashion house Gucci’s ongoing revitalization efforts extended to social media during Milan Fashion Week, with the brand capturing more than 2 million total social actions.
During Milan Fashion Week Sept. 23-29, Italian designers including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace presented collections for the upcoming spring/summer 2016 season with each crafting in-depth social components for fans to follow. Social media has transformed what was once exclusive events into public displays of brand happenings, with international fashion weeks leading the way to include global consumers through innovative social campaigns (see story).