From September 6 through September 11, 2024, New York Fashion Week (NYFW) took over the Big Apple, capturing the attention of fashion lovers all over the world. We used our consumer intelligence solution to take a closer look at which brands, people, and environments resonated most with audiences this year.
Looking for our full analysis? Check out our NYFW Social Media Breakdown dashboard.
Sunday was the biggest day of NYFW
From September 1 through September 12, the day after NYFW ended, there were about 241,000 posts related to the event, which generated more than 48.8 million engagement actions. The biggest day for conversation was on Sunday, September 8, when brands including Off-White, Tommy Hilfiger, and Christian Cowan held their shows. As we’ll examine further below, Tommy Hilfiger, in particular, generated a bulk of the conversation and engagement actions.
Discover more retail and fashion insights from our previous blogs about Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala. Plus, dive deeper with our Retail Industry Report.
K-pop stars commanded attention
Tommy Hilfiger was by far the most mentioned brand of NYFW, capturing 60% of all brand mentions and 40% of brand engagement. The brand’s remarkable visibility was largely thanks to some key celebrity endorsements, such as those from model Desire Inglander, actor Phuwin Tang, Olympic Gold Medalist Sunisa Lee, and Lee Know of the K-pop group Stray Kids.
Fashion enthusiasts will remember that Tommy Hilfiger’s partnership with Stray Kids paid off in major exposure at this year’s Met Gala. Its continued success shows just how crucial the partnership has been for exposing the brand to new, international audiences.
Along with collaborating with K-pop stars, Tommy Hilfiger also drew attention for hosting its show in a unique venue (a decommissioned Staten Island Ferry in New York City). The brand combined the show with numerous celebrity appearances and a standout performance by the Wu-Tang Clan, contributing to a dynamic fashion-tainment experience that seamlessly blended entertainment with runway.
Tommy Hilfiger also scored big with its partnership with singer Jisoo of the K-pop group Blackpink. Her Instagram post showing off her Tommy Hilfiger look was the most popular post of NYFW overall, generating about 2.8 million engagement actions with an estimated reach of about 12 million.
Meanwhile, our analysis of brands whose NYFW shows were highly-anticipated found that Michael Kors generated the most engagement, estimated reach, and mentions. This was due in part to the runway debut of the brand’s global ambassador, South Korean singer Dahyun of the K-pop group Twice. Additionally, leading up to the show, the conversation was dominated by black-and-white images shared by the brand on social (accounting for 65% of total reach) showcasing Italian vistas and celebrating 35 years of collaboration with artisans and craftspeople in Italy.
Street style triumphed over runway
We used scene detection in our visual analysis feature to analyze key environments in NYFW, including hotels and other travel environments, runway shows, and, of course, the streets. Street style emerged as the most prominent environment, comprising 70% of the images analyzed and generating the highest engagement at over 80%. This shows that while fashion shows are central to NYFW, audiences are most eager to see what their favorite celebrities and influencers are sporting in the real world just outside of the events.
The most engaging street style post was posted by actress and model Eva Marcille, who wore a look by luxury brand Bradley Mischka. Her post, in which she thanked the brand for gifting her the outfit and an invite to the show, generated more than 39,000 engagement actions and had an estimated reach of more than 800,000.
By comparison, the second most engaging street style post generated about 26,000 engagement actions with an estimated reach of about 56,000. The post, featuring two shots of model Barbara Palvin, came from @21metgala, an X account dedicated to celebrity news.
NYFW takeaways
As this year’s NYFW shows, strategic partnerships with key influencers and celebrities are vital for any brand aspiring to be top of mind for consumers. K-pop stars and popular fashion models drive engagement and visibility with eye-catching content, taking precedence over the runway shows themselves.
Dig deeper into the numbers with our NYFW Social Media Breakdown dashboard to learn more about what gets audiences buzzing. Ready to uncover insights specific to your industry, audience, and brand? Check out how Meltwater for retail and consumer goods empowers organizations like yours.
