Athletes and British Brands Take the Spotlight at London Fashion Week. Read the highlights of Launchmetrics’ Final Report
This year, London Fashion Week (LFW) celebrated 40 years since its inaugural edition. The event brought together brands across the spectrum, as well as notable names in fashion, entertainment and sports.
Initial Launchmetrics data monitored between February 14 and February 22 placed Burberry, JW Anderson and Simone Rocha as top Media Impact Value™ (MIV®) earners. Now, the software and analytics company specializing in the Fashion, Luxury and Beauty industry has released a final and extended report with in-depth data monitored between February 14 and February 27.
Here are the main takeaways.
Instagram is the Leading Conversation Propeller
Just like it happened at New York Fashion Week, Instagram was the top driver of brand performance for brands at London Fashion Week. The social media platform accounted for 46% of the total Voice Mix at the event. Online channels took second place and were responsible for 31% of the channel split. Meanwhile, TikTok rose as the most effective platform despite only accounting for 8% of the total chart value — the platform generates the highest average MIV® per placement ($6.1k per placement).
In the final tracking period (14 days), London Fashion Week generated $78.1 million in Media Impact Value™.
The Leading Voices
Although the initial tracking period crowned Chinese actor Hu Bing as the top celebrity at London Fashion Week with $655K in MIV® (extended tracking period $656K in MIV®), Nigerian star DJ Cuppy saw a boost, ultimately garnering $705K in MIV® and taking the title of the Top Celebrity Voice at London Fashion Week. DJ Cuppy’s appearance also contributed to bringing Nigeria into the top 10 of the MIV®-generating countries, a first for an African country.
Content creator Eve-Lily, who grossed $426K in MIV® in the initial tracking period, retained the title of Top Influencer. The content creator garnered $692K in MIV® in the final analysis.
The Top Brands
Showcasing the fashion diversity London is recognized for, Burberry, Simone Rocha and JW Anderson emerged as the top brands showcasing new collections in London.
Burberry once again secured the top position, accruing $14.9 million in MIV®. Arsenal player Bukayo Saka was responsible for the top placement at the show, which tallied $422K in MIV® in the final tracking period (initial tracking period $406K in MIV®). Burberry also benefited from utilizing its owned channels to share collaborative posts with stars including Bright Vachirawit and Son Heung-min. Burberry’s post in collaboration with Thai actor Bright, which originally garnered $353K in MIV® in the initial tracking period, ended up generating $407K in MIV® in the final monitoring period.
Meanwhile, Simone Rocha’s show, which initially emerged at the third spot of London Fashion Week, took the second place in the final tallies. The presentation that took place at the Priory Church of St Bartholomew the Great accrued $4.1 million in MIV®.
JW Anderson’s show, on the other hand, landed in third place, grossing $3.9 million in MIV®. The extensive coverage that the brand received from press placed Media as the top voice for the show — media generated 85% of the brand’s total MIV®.
Athletes are Dominating the Fashion Scene
Launchmetrics’ report also notes the rising influence of sportspeople on the front rows. The latest edition of London Fashion Week saw athletes, particularly football players, take the spotlight alongside influencers and celebrities. With England’s thriving football scene, it only seems fitting that names such as Bukayo Saka, David Beckham and Gareth Bale have found a place in fashion spheres, prompting conversations and driving attention to brands.
This season, the top athlete voices were Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Son Heung-min. The three of them boast associations with Burberry — in November, Saka and Son starred in the British brand’s Spring Summer 2024 campaign. The top-earning trio respectively garnered $2.3 million, $1.3 million and $1.1 million in MIV®.
The Brands Sparking Interest
In addition to Media Impact Value™ figures, Launchmetrics analyzed the viewership and downloaded data of Launchmetrics Spotlight (their photo and video content licensing service) to identify the brands sparking the most interest at London Fashion Week. Burberry, JW Anderson, Emilia Wickstead, Erdem and Richard Quinn were the top names generating content downloads.
Meanwhile, brands such as Yuhan Wang, Di Petsa, Conner Ives and Holzweiler experienced a relevant boost in downloads this season, indicating increased interest in their latest collections.
With a vibrant fashion scene that continues to evolve and bring new names and unconventional design proposals to the forefront, London Fashion Week proves to be a relevant space for global fashion. The latest edition showcased the event’s potential to reach new audiences worldwide and leverage the names of diverse public figures including sportspeople. As Launchmetrics reports, Fall Winter 2024 London Fashion Week “revealed a notable shift in attention towards emerging markets like Nigeria, which entered in the top 10 country rank for the first time this season.”
*Author’s Note: This is a final report based on an extended tracking period.
Interested in more fashion content? Check out the hottest celebrity appearances at Paris Fashion Week here.
