Celebrities, Social Media, and Commercialism, Is It Still About the Fashion? - A Study in Spring 2015 Campaigns

Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen, Lara Stone, Anna Ewers...these are the high fashion top models of the moment we expect to see season after season in ad campaigns for high end brands like Prada, Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Chanel, and the rest of them. But Kim and Kanye, Kendall Jenner, Justin Bieber, and Joan Didion? What about you or me? The castings for the recently released Spring/Summer 2015 fashion ad campaigns seemed more diverse than ever. Although celebrities and cultural icons have been placed in advertisements for years to grab immediate attention and help consumers associate the brand to the lifestyles they aspire to have, I was very surprised by some choices this season.

Analyzing S/S 2015 campaigns that created a lot of buzz, I have divided them into 3 main categories, believing that these choices say a lot about our current culture and the future in fashion marketing.

1. Use of celebrities: Are they a match for high fashion?

Usually when I think about celebrities in ad campaigns I think about commercial advertising, which you see for many high end brands such as Chanel, but for their more commercial sectors, makeup, skincare, perfume,  or even handbags. And then I think about fashion icons in the primary campaigns for the high end brands, representing them and their artistry as a whole. To me this division makes sense, because of who the customers are. The products that are most purchased from high end designer brands from  the masses, that seem the most available, or commercial you could say, are handbags and cosmetics. Where as the products that are often more about art and luxury and making bold fashion statements are the clothing. It's what the brand is about, a certain heir of beauty and exclusivity. Celebrities appeal to the masses.

Kim Kardashion and Kanye West for Balmain: Kimye is notably friends with Balmain's designer Olivier Rousteing and each have been watched for their style choices, but these ads have seen a bit of backlash. Kim and Kanye are everywhere now. It's nothing new anymore, and the ad itself isn't very provoking. The clothing does not look particularly expensive or desirable as shot.

Justin Bieber for Calvin Klein Jeans: Alongside top paid high fashion model Lara Stone, Bieber reenacts the iconic Calvin Klein Jeans ads with Marky Mark and Kate Moss. While Bieber's look and youth is more in sync with a denim line, although designer, he is also a bit of a controversial figure. He is extremely commercial, and I wonder if others find it as offensive that these parody those great iconic original ads, based mainly on the fact that Bieber looks uncomfortable. This being said, I am well aware that with his colossal popularity, including 21.9 million Instagram followers that were exposed to multiple posts of this campaign. But I wonder if teen girl fans are the kind of audience that will really bring any sales or if his presence would alienate any existing customers.

2. Does print advertising mean anything anymore or is the strategy all about social media?

With all the buzz about social media and talk about print media losing its value, it is has been generally accepted that social media is an asset for marketing, to create and maintain a strong brand image and interact with your customers. But with fashion campaigns, that usually comprise of a comprehensive plan and budget, utilizing the top fashion models and photographers to create an artistic and visually strong fashion advertisement that is worth spending the money to line the pages of magazines like Vogue, is it possible that social media marketing has changed how these campaigns are produced? No one is saying print ads will disappear, but from recent choices, it seems like the casting of celebrities, and which ones, may be highly strategic in who can contribute to the social media buzz. With 75 million contributing to daily activity, Instagram seemingly has a lot of pull in comparison to say, 1 million Vogue readers. In this respect, one may argue fashion has become much more accessible.

Kendall Jenner for Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld: Kendall Jenner, known primarily for being on reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, has just broken into the modeling world. She may or may not be in the same ranking in quality as classic models like Sasha Pivavorava with many campaigns under her belt, but with the insane spotlight currently on her, originally from the mass entertainment world, she has accumulated 18.3 m followers, and that kind of reach every time she posts her campaign work and tags the brand, is hard to ignore. This had to be somewhat intentional. Is her modeling experience enough to make her creditable as a fashion figure and in line with high fashion brands, or does the fact that her fame started in "trashy reality TV" interfere with portraying the correct image?

Even you or me could do it? Instagram followers for Marc by Marc Jacobs: Under Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley, Marc by Marc Jacobs took impact of social media even further, by again using their interactive #castmemarc social media campaign with their followers to cast the Spring 2015 print campaign. The results include cultural diversity, colourful hair, #nomakeup and hair flicks shot by David Sims and styled by Katie Grand. It went international, including unique people from Lagos, Russia, Korea, and the US, and it still looks like a fashion campaign with models, but in a much more fun, relatable way. It creates buzz, anticipation, and ends in the excitement for each winner to share on social media.

3. Does the selection fit the brand?
Although personally I tend to be a fan of fashion campaigns with models rather than celebrities, I think what really comes down to it is if the cultural figure, who already has their own non-fashion story associated with them, fits with the brand and the customer, and that the image is still artistic, fashion driven, and captivating.

 Joan Didion for Celine: Seemingly one of the biggest successes among the Spring campaigns. Unlike young celebrities like Justin Bieber, she may not be the most obvious choice to cause such a digital buzz. But as a chic author and journalist respected by many artistic women, the campaign still managed to become "viral" almost instantly. It created great buzz, but she also fits the brand's image perfectly, and emanates that classic, relaxed, cool. And the styling and composition round it out for a stylish, and smart ad that still created immediate excitement and sharing.

Cara Delevigne for Tag Heuer: Choosing a model or celebrity figure with a large reach to a younger audience online could be a critical leap forward, to really update a brand's image. But with all this hype, sometimes we have to wonder if its social media hype for hype's sake, or if it's really the right fit or not. Cara Delevigne, at the top of her modeling game, has fronted many luxury campaigns over the last couple of years, including the biggest names like Chanel, Burberry, and Tome Ford. At this point she is also a celebrity in her own right, known for her quirky, somewhat rebellious ways that kids and teens are relating to. But somehow, with Swiss Luxury watch brand Tag Heur, the pairing seems forced. They may be hoping to reach a younger customer with Delevigne fronting campaigns, showing off tattoos and a fun attitude alongside #DontCrackUnderPressure, screaming for social media buzz to stem from her account. But for the given product, a heritage watch previously marketed for quality, prestige, and performance, is this really the right market anyway, and would this advertisement be off-putting to older, loyal customers?

Are fashion campaigns these days more about the clothes, or the people wearing them and how much reach they have? For me, it's seemingly a time when the commercial is a little too close to high end fashion for my personal taste. Of course people with a lot of mass reach will cause a lot of buzz when fronting fashion campaigns, and social media is not to be ignored, but I think what's important here is to still remember who the customer and what the brand image really are, and if the celebrity or model really fits.