‘The fashion world is taking notice’ of TV trends: how Yellowstone, The White Lotus, Emily in Paris and other shows influence what we wear
- Television has never been so stylish or influential. We want to copy it all, from Bridgerton’s opera gloves to THAT dress worn by Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown
- ‘The whole world can be watching the same series,’ says an expert, and it can create trends, talking points and reach a broad audience better than anything else
Between the natty bandanas worn by the taciturn cowboys of Yellowstone and Sienna Miller’s perfect camel Max Mara Manuela coat in Anatomy of a Scandal, not to mention Emily’s chaotic print clashing and Sylvie’s uber-chic slinky ensembles in Emily in Paris, television has never been so stylish, or influential.
“I definitely think TV is more influential in terms of style than ever – but I think this is down to the TV boom, which started to happen before the pandemic,” Bivens told Harper’s Bazaar in 2022.
“There is just so much more to watch on television – we are seeing so many more different types of stories told than we’ve ever seen before. We are moving beyond that generic look of TV, and I think this is resulting in costume designers taking a larger role in driving the trends.”
“We want to dress the new generation,” says Arnaud Vaillant, one half of the brand’s creative direction team.
Some big fashion moments are happening on screen too, and with real-life consequences. Consider the return of Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That – her personal style remains as kooky and daring for a woman in her 50s as it was when she was younger.
Then there was that viral JW Anderson Pigeon bag she was spotted carrying while filming, tapping the zeitgeist and showing how fashion has gone from niche interest to pop-culture centrepiece.
The internet was united in its love for Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya and her quirky kaftans. There was uptight Harper, played by Aubrey Plaza, battling her discomfort with her sudden wealth, and Meghann Fahy’s Daphne, with her blissfully, forcefully, unbothered wardrobe of la dolce vita-ready Pucci swimsuits and Dolce & Gabbana printed sets.
Meanwhile, the unhinged wardrobe choices of Portia, Tanya’s under-pressure assistant played by Haley Lu Richardson, perfectly captures the way a woman unsure of herself would dress.
Perhaps the ultimate win for the current television fashion wave is that people do not want to just talk about the clothes, they want to buy them, too.
It is impossible to talk about the impact of television influencing purchases without mentioning the sometimes dark art of product placement. It is something K-dramas have mastered in recent years as demand for Korean shows swept the globe.
Academic publication The Conversation notes that the first instance of product placement was when Lever Brothers’ Sunlight Soap appeared in the Lumière films in Europe in 1896.
Studies elsewhere have shown that product placements increase both awareness and positive attitudes. It is big business. And it can mean big returns. According to AdNews, spending worldwide on product placement was projected to grow by 14.3 per cent in 2022 to US$26.2 billion.
As Women’s Wear Daily noted, the Dolce & Gabbana pieces beloved by Coolidge’s Tanya earned the brand some US$800,000 in media impact value.
Not all product placement is made equally, though.
As the French financial newspaper Les Echos noted, searches for Chanel rose by 30 per cent after the fashion house appeared in the show. Emily in Paris has no interest in the reality of how a junior marketing executive could afford so much new-season Chanel.
Retailers see the television effect, too.
Holly Tenser, womenswear buying manager at Browns Fashion, says the retailer experiences a lift in sales when brands it stocks are shown on a beloved character – or even one we just cannot stop talking about.
As Tenser’s colleague, Thom Scherdel, menswear buying manager, points out: “We seem to be going through a TV-obsessed era, with all eyes on everything from high gloss, exceptionally written shows, to reality TV that’s given access to a previously unseen world of wealth and dysfunction.
“While characters aren’t necessarily style icons, the brands they wear are showcased to a much broader audience than the brands themselves have been able to reach.”
Tenser notes the Euphoria effect, too, with KNWLS, Blumarine and vintage Jean Paul Gaultier receiving a huge bump from the show.
“Emily in Paris has had a similar effect on our menswear searches, having featured Jacquemus printed shirts and more covetable resort wear brands in the show,” says Scherdel.
“TV has more impact, as the whole world can be watching the same series at the same time, creating huge waves of trends and talking points. It’s no surprise that the fashion world is taking notice, with stylists and even costume designers spotted front row at shows these days,” Scherdel says.
Five viral fashion items from television shows and films
Connell Waldron’s silver chain in Normal People
Wednesday Addams’ Prada Monolith lace-ups
Tanya’s pink Valentino bag in The White Lotus
The gelato-hued Locò bag appeared in several scenes in the second season, and according to Launchmetrics, earned the brand some US$335,000 in media impact value.
Kendall Roy’s Loro Piana baseball hat
Anything Euphoria
