The Undeniable Influence of Celebrity Fashion Marketing  

By Ashley Geller

It is no coincidence that when we see our favorite celebrity wearing a piece, we are immediately interested in it and more inclined to go purchase it or something like it. Celebrity marketing in the fashion world has been around for decades and is a tactic used by brands to create allure and hype around their clothing. Whether the celebrity is being paid to endorse these brands or simply wearing them in their everyday style, it is no secret that celebrity fashion easily captivates our attention. 

Why does celebrity marketing work so well? 

When a celebrity is placed on the screen in front of us, regardless of what they are promoting, we are tempted to look a little longer than we normally would. It could simply be the recognition of a familiar face or the admiration of someone we look up to. In the fashion world this comes into play where brands use celebrities to push products and take pieces we otherwise wouldn't find or seek out and make them seem more personable to us. The celebrity recognition builds confidence and trust in these brands and allows us to create direct associations between the brand and the individual. Take Emma Chamberlain as a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton; her partnership with the brand, starting in 2019, went on to jumpstart her presence in the fashion world, while Louis Vuitton gained further relevancy with the Gen Z audience. This case of celebrity marketing gave both Chamberlain and Louis Vuitton the opportunity to widen their reach of audience and establish themselves as larger players in their respective industries. 

The power of everyday celebrity fashion also goes to push brands from being a startup to becoming a worldwide name. A prime example of this is Danielle Guizio. Her brand went from a couple of online sales to becoming an overnight success due to a particular celebrity being seen wearing her pieces. When Kylie Jenner was seen wearing a Danielle Guizio graphic tee, both sales and brand recognition immediately skyrocketed. This led to Guizio to becoming recognized by other celebrity stylists, and her brand has carried on being successful from that point on. A similar story is the way Wildflower Cases built their brand from making phone cases as a hobby to becoming a 5.9 billion dollar revenue business. Founders Sydney and Devon Lee Carlson spotted Miley Cyrus in a Los Angeles restaurant, and she noticed the phone cases on the Carlsons' phones. After a picture was taken of Cyrus with the phone cases and her encouragement to make them into a brand, Wildflower Cases were created and immediately started to sell. Regardless if it is a lucky celebrity encounter or purposeful product placement, these examples of celebrity fashion marketing have turned these brands and their founders into celebrities themselves. The influence of celebrity has proven to be a powerful resource that even new businesses are able to utilize.