Top 10 Stories of 2023: Entertainment and Fashion Converge Even as the Hollywood Strike Bites

At the Balenciaga fall 2024 show in Los Angeles in early December, under sunny skies, swaying palms and a postcard perfect view of the Hollywood sign, a couture-clad Nicole Kidman sat at the side of Kering luxury titan François-Henri Pinault.

Kidman, a Creative Artists Agency client, was cozied up next to the Hollywood agency’s de facto new owner after his family’s holding company Artemis Group acquired the entertainment powerhouse. And just as the show wrapped, it was revealed that she would be the next ambassador for Kering-owned Balenciaga.

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Kidman walked the runway at the Balenciaga couture show in 2022, appeared in a spring 2023 campaign for the brand, and wore it to the 2007 Oscars, so there was already a relationship before the CAA deal was done. But the image spoke volumes.

This year saw fashion and entertainment converge like never before, as exemplified by the CAA deal (Pinault insists the businesses will stay independent), the rise of celebrity designers to the highest echelons of luxury, the influence of celebrities in driving trends and the bigger spotlight on L.A. as a fashion market, all while the SAG-AFTRA strike shut down Hollywood from July 14 to Nov. 9.

Judging from the data, the Balenciaga show in L.A. paid off, even if the collection was a somewhat narrow interpretation of the city’s style impact, and some observers were still reeling from the brand’s controversial spring 2023 ad campaign’s suggestions of child exploitation.

In the week following, Balenciaga garnered $16.5 million in media impact value from the show — which was also attended by Kim Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, with Cardi B walking the runway — including deleted posts (which is part of the brand’s strategy). Kidman’s own Instagram post was the top placement, worth $303,000 in media impact value, according to Launchmetrics.

The L.A. fall 2024 Balenciaga show generated 15 percent more MIV than the brand’s spring 2024 runway show, which was worth $14.4 million. And when compared to Paris Fashion Week spring 2024 in general, the L.A. show amassed more MIV than 94 percent of the fashion shows on the schedule. Additionally, the L.A. show garnered 189 percent more than Balenciaga’s fall 2023 show during Paris Fashion Week, Launchmetrics told WWD.

Which is to say, the combination of fashion and celebrity almost guarantees attention, particularly in L.A. Of course those numbers were still shy of the year’s most-watched show, when Pharrell Williams marked a new bellwether for celebrity fashion by presenting his first collection as men’s creative director for Louis Vuitton, the world’s valuable luxury brand.

It was a scene so spectacular not even Hollywood could dream it up, using Paris’ Pont Neuf and the City of Lights as its backdrop and welcoming Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Rihanna, Zendaya, Kim Kardashian and many more to the front row. The show netted $42.6 million in media impact value, and garnered more than 1 billion views.

In 2023, Lanvin also went the celebrity designer route, tapping the Grammy-winning rapper Future as its first Lanvin Lab guest collaborator. And Richemont-owned Chloé and Gabriela Hearst teamed with Angelina Jolie on an Atelier Jolie capsule collection, though the rollout is somewhat awkwardly slated for January, after the departure of Hearst from her creative director post and the exit of Chloe CEO Riccardo Bellini.

Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian’s four-year-old Skims received a $4 billion valuation, after raising $270 million in a Series C funding round in July, even as her ex-husband Ye (aka Kanye West) continued to make headlines with his bizarre behavior and antisemitic hate speech, which dramatically impacted the bottom line of his Yeezy partner Adidas and revealed there can be serious pitfalls to working with a celebrity.

In October, Skims launched its first men’s underwear, and soon after unveiled a multiyear deal to be the official underwear partner of the NBA, WNBA and USA Basketball. The brand will open a Los Angeles flagship store in early 2024 and additional retail locations afterward.

In October, Kardashian’s half-sister Kylie Jenner, already almost a billionaire from her cosmetics line, launched her own accessible clothing line called Khy.

And in the beauty world, the most followed woman on Instagram, Selena Gomez, led her Rare Beauty brand to $300 million in sales in just its third year, positioning it for an acquisition.

Even during the strike, stars flocked to fashion weeks to keep up their visibility and their career options in today’s fragmented entertainment industry, when creators and executives are searching for ways to make a profit in a less profitable business. In many cases, endorsement deals and brand building have become more lucrative than acting, and the strike crystallized that. While stars were prevented by strike rules from discussing acting projects, they could discuss endorsements and fashion deals.

“This time allowed us to really be thinking strategically about what other parts of people’s businesses we can evolve, so as to create the true multihyphenate that many people strive to be,” Dan Constable, a senior agent in the endorsements group at United Talent Agency, told WWD in August. He was busier than ever during the strike, working on deals for clients Timothée Chalamet, Greta Lee, Benedict Cumberbatch, Julia Garner and Zaya Wade, among others.

Not even SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher could resist fashion’s call, flying to Italy in July to attend the Dolce & Gabbana show just days before the negotiations broke down and the strike began.

Celebrities from Cher to Zendaya sat front row this year, and plenty walked the runway, too — “White Lotus” star John Gries at Eckhaus Latta, Florence Pugh at Harris Reed, Chloé Sevigny at Proenza Schouler and Angela Bassett at Mugler, to name just a few.

Miu Miu was named the hottest brand of 2023 by Lyst, no doubt in no small part because of its all-star fall 2023 Paris Fashion Week cast, including Wade, “The Crown’s” fourth season Princess Diana Emma Corrin, Ethel Cain, Mia Goth, Amelia Gray Hamlin, Zhao Jinmai and Annabelle Weatherly. The group also featured in the fall campaign that dropped in July, and helped celebrate it at the Miu Miu Summer Club on the Malibu Pier on July 27, even if they had to stay away from interviews because of strike rules.

Brands also continued to turn to celebrities for campaigns, and basked in the glow of celebrity love affairs and personal moments. It was a Gucci campaign helmed by new creative director Sabato De Sarno that made Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny official. The Haider Ackermann for Jean Paul Gaultier guest collection shown during Paris Couture Week in January received increased attention because social media decided it was Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s meet-cute.

On the flip side, celebrities used the stage and screen as platforms for their own personal fashion shows. Beyoncé tapped a who’s who of designers to dress her during her “Renaissance” tour, and in March released the “Renaissance Couture” collection of one-of-a-kind pieces designed in collaboration with Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing. Williams designed Louis Vuitton looks for her too.

Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” was also a designer stagewear bonanza of Christian Louboutin boots, Versace bodysuits and more. Its trends for friendship bracelets and sequins boosted the U.S. economy, and earned her a Golden Globe nomination for her concert film.

“The two tours, playing to sold-out arenas and triggering viral moments on social media, represent “the perfect stage for brands to capture the gaze of millions, generating unparalleled exposure and reinforcing their image in the hearts of both dedicated fans and the broader public,” Launchmetrics said.

Costume designers continued to influence with their work, and brands integrated into film and streaming.

Viewers looked to the “Barbie” movie for all things Barbiecore, from Chanel bags to Birkenstocks, and followed Margot Robbie’s Barbie-inspired looks on the red carpet during her press tour. And Zara’s decision to partner with Mattel on a capsule collection inspired by the looks won the fast-fashion retailer $11 million in MIV, according to Launchmetrics.

They looked to “Succession” for quiet — and not so quiet — luxury inspiration. (Following the famed “ludicrously capacious bag” comment in the HBO show’s season premiere, Google search interest for the Nova check “Burberry Tote Bag” increased 310 percent, according to virtual fitting room company 3DLook.)

Brands were eager to work with costume designers, including Valentino and Lafayette 148 with Apple TV’s “The Morning Show.” Not only did Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli dress the main characters for a fashion gala scene, he also made a cameo on the show. The brand brought things full circle by cohosting a “The Morning Show” Tastemaker event in L.A. on Dec. 7, dressing the show’s stars Greta Lee, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston in real life.

And even during the strike, brands and retailers kept coming to L.A. for star-studded runway shows and store openings (Chanel on Rodeo Drive, Givenchy, Ulla Johnson, Gabriela Hearst), hosting sound baths (Louis Vuitton’s Pacific Chill fragrance launch), animated performances (Hermès) and building life-size gingerbread houses (Mytheresa).

In May, Chanel showed a Hollywood-inspired collection at Paramount Studios amid WGA writers striking outside the famous gates. The brand was a partner in the “Jeanne du Barry” film that premiered on opening night of the Cannes Film Festival and feted Sophia Coppola’s “Priscilla” at the Venice Film Festival, even as the twin strikes made VIPs scarce.

In October, Brunello Cucinelli hosted “Una Serata Italiana” (an Italian evening) at the Chateau Marmont, which brought out Oprah, JLo and Ben Affleck, Ava DuVernay, Demi Moore, Jeremy Allen White, Rick Caruso, Ashley Park, James Marsden, Quinta Brunson, Mandy Moore, Alessandro Ambrosio, January Jones and many more who were all smiles in photos, while the dinner conversation nervously focused on when actors would return to work.

And in November, just days before the strike finally did end, Gucci had its first big Hollywood moment since De Sarno took the helm, sponsoring the LACMA Art + Film Gala.

De Sarno used the opportunity to launch his first Ancora Notte eveningwear and menswear on several of the night’s VIPs and a gaggle of models.

“My first time here with my husband about nine years ago, I hated L.A. because I was looking for a square, a center like a European city,” he said. “But then I really fell in love.”

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