The Meghan Markle effect: how celebrities can lift a fashion brand from zero to hero
- Brands such as Triangl, Saks Potts and Riot Hill have all found international fans thanks to celebrities wearing their clothes
- Here are five brands riding the celebrity endorsement wave
Hong Kong-based brand Malabar Baby owes a lot to the Duchess of Sussex.
On Meghan’s first public appearance with her son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor on July 10 – they were spotted at the King Power Royal Charity Polo Day in England – the Duchess of Sussex wrapped her two-month old in the brand’s Erawan Cotton Dohar, a traditional Indian summer blanket made of three layers of soft cotton.
News and social media platforms went gaga over the US$42 organic cotton wrap.
For the brand that was founded in 2016, it’s marketing gold. But founder Anjali Harjani-Hardasani told Vogue India, on Friday, that she had no idea the dohar had been bought by a member of the royal family.
“I was in Italy when I found out and I feel truly honoured. It’s great that Meghan Markle is advocating feel-good Indian fabrics,” she told the magazine. “What baby Archie is swaddled in is a receiving blanket – it’s extremely lightweight and snug, is made out of cotton voile and can be easily packed into a bag.”
A message on the Malabar Baby site reads: “Thank you for visiting! We are experiencing heavy traffic today.” Maybe it should include a thank-you note to Meghan. On the Lane Crawford site where the brand is sold, only one item remains.
Social media plays a vital role for brands in the fashion industry, helping them reach consumers around the globe. But brands can get even more exposure when celebrities wear their clothes and post photos to Instagram, helping labels to skyrocket in popularity.
We all know how vital social media is to brand marketing, especially for those in the super-visual fashion industry where Instagram is the platform of choice. When celebrities and influencers post images for a brand from the red carpet, it’s marketing magic.
Here are five other brands that have ridden the wave of media exposure.
1. Triangl
2. Saks Potts
The candy-coloured jackets by this Copenhagen-based womenswear brand by Barbara Potts and Cathrine Saks are often worn by fashion insiders in Paris and Milan during fashion week. But the brand, established in 2013, owes its early success to model Kendall Jenner, who wore a green Saks Potts Foxy coat while riding a bike around New York City last year.
More exposure came when a lime-coloured version was worn on the red carpet by singer Cardi B, while Selena Gomez boosted the brand’s profile when she wore a metallic neon green top and pants in the music video for Taki Taki.
3. Bevza
We love it when celebrities bypass big labels for smaller unknown ones when attending red-carpet events. In December last year, Suspiria star Dakota Johnson did just that when she rocked up to the Marrakech International Film Festival not in Gucci or Dior but in a slinky number from Ukrainian brand, Bevza (the designer is Svitlana Bevza). Now the brand has a cult following and was a hit at fashion weeks.
4. Riot Hill
This street label by young designer Jordan Fresher (born in Perth, Australia and now based in Los Angeles) is all about reflecting his rebellious spirit. Check out his satirical taglines such as “Under 18 Requires You to Grow the F**k Up Immediately,” that caught the attention of singer The Weeknd who donned a few Riot Hill looks at Coachella music festival.
5. MaisonCléo
Handmade pieces by French mother-daughter team Marie and Cléo Dewet have become a must have for fashion followers – but snapping up a piece is not easy. The Indie label drops up to 25 new designs every Wednesday at 6.30pm (GMT+2) on Instagram, but they usually sell out within an hour.
Much of their success is down to celebrity exposure on Instagram with their signature puff-sleeved blouses worn by stars such as Emily Ratajkowski, who has shared pix of the shirts with her 23.5 million Instagram followers.
