Cathy Horyn said it best in her recap: This past Fashion Week was a “whirlwind of social-media moments.” Everything — from the Tommy Hilfiger Insta-pit (and Insta-friendly set), to the holy spectacle of Yeezy season three, to the hoard of “Insta-famous” models (Gigi, Kendall, Karlie) who dominated the runways — seemed aimed at garnering likes. Even the clothes themselves often appeared to be designed just for slo-mo videos, like this one from Naeem Kahn:
And it worked. According to data from the company itself, this was the most Instagrammed Fall/Winter Fashion Week* ever: 20.4 million people had 97 million interactions related to NYFW, which is up from last February’s stats, when 17 million people had 84 million interactions.
Check out the most popular posts to see if you can’t spot a theme emerging.
Kendall Jenner’s butt in Marc Jacobs jeans (1.1 million likes):
Kim Kardashian and the whole clan (1.1 million likes):
Kylie Jenner’s #TBT (920,000 likes):
Gigi Hadid’s gram of a power trifecta backstage at Rihanna’s show (792,000 likes):
And Rihanna’s gram from the runway (716,000 likes):
It seems like the key to social-media success during Fashion Week is to be a Kardashian-Jenner, or at least a celebrity. If you can’t be famous, try to be a brand or designer aligned with a famous person — those who did topped Instagram’s list of the most-talked-about shows. Rihanna’s presentation for Puma was the most popular, followed by the likes of Diane Von Furstenberg’s Insta-Model Shrine (No. 3), Kanye’s Yeezy Season Three (No. 5), and Tommy Hilfiger’s Insta-VIP (No. 7).
Insiders like to complain that fashion should be about the clothes, not the celebrities, but all the slow-mo videos in the world won’t make a dress more exciting to the masses than a smiling Kardashian will. The important players in the fashion world are beginning to understand that in order to keep this whole NYFW thing afloat, social-media relevancy — in the form of human faces and human spectacle — is key. Who knows if it’s the right direction, but right now it seems like fashion has the mind-set of a sorority on a Saturday night: “Do it for the gram.”
* A previous version stated that this was the most Instagrammed Fashion Week ever.
