Topline
Sofia Richie Grainge—dubbed the internet’s new “IT girl” by Cosmopolitan, Elle and Insider, among others—was announced Tuesday as the face of David Yurman’s new line of sculpted cable jewelry and the brand’s newest global ambassador, making her the latest influencer to jump into the world of legacy luxury fashion amid an industry-wide marketing shakeup.
Key Facts
Richie Grainge is a model and the daughter of musician Lionel Richie who was catapulted to top-tier influencer status earlier this year by her ultra-luxurious French wedding to music executive Elliot Grainge, son of Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge.
Richie Grainge—who wore three custom Chanel gowns at her April nuptials—has turned her sophisticated “quiet luxury” style full of designer pieces, slicked-back hair-dos and understated looks into a personal brand that has landed her marketing campaigns with Yurman, Tommy Hilfiger, Michael Kors, Adidas and hair care brand K18.
The Yurman-Richie Grainge partnership is just the latest example of a legacy luxury industry that has turned increasingly toward social media—the influencer industry reached $16.4 billion last year and 75% of brands now have a dedicated budget for influencer marketing, according to the Harvard Business Review.
The power of influencer marketing has bled into the luxury industry as content creators “inspire their followers to dream and buy big,” according to the company LTK, which helps influencers monetize partnerships, and companies—including Prada, Eos, Rothy’s, Coty and others—have turned to influencer agencies like LTK and Collectively Inc. to connect them with high-follower-count partners.
Brands have also turned to so-called micro influencers to generate sales— accounts with between 1,000 and 100,000 followers, but which often provide “authentic endorsements” and are trusted by their followers to only recommend products they use or believe in.
A study by the Harvard Business Review analyzed nearly 6,000 luxury influencer marketing posts that costs brands between $200 and $100,000 each, and found that while the partnerships are a delicate balance—an influencer’s follower count, the closeness of their community, the fit of the brand and other factors all needed to be considered—they do lead to increased sales for luxury companies.
Luxury Fashion Brands That Have Capitalized On Influencer Marketing
Dior—In one of the best examples of influencer marketing to date, the “67 Shades of Dior” campaign took home the Best Beauty Campaign title at the 2020 Influencer Marketing Awards. The company hired dozens of diverse influencers to promote its Forever Foundation product line—each one with a skin tone that matched one of the 67 offered by Dior—and the influencers made one post per day over 67 days. Dior has also partnered with big-name social media stars Brittany Xavier, who has more than 7 million followers on TikTok and Instagram, Kio Cyr, with 10 million followers, and Chiara Ferragni, who has 35.8 million followers across the two platforms.
Brittany Xavier during Paris Fashion Week on September 24, 2019, in Paris.
YSL Beauty—The cosmetics arm of Yves Saint Laurent, which is owned by the L’Oréal Group, has partnered with big-name stars like Richie Grainge, Alix Earle, Madeline Ford and Vinnie Hacker (who has 22 million followers on TikTok, Instagram and Twitch), but also uses partnerships with micro-influencers to advertise its products. So far this summer, micro-influencer partnerships have promoted products like the Lash Clash mascara, Rouge Volupté Shine Lipstick and Bare Look skin tints.
Alix Earle attends the 2023 ESPYs Awards at the Dolby Theater on July 12, 2023, in Hollywood.
Tiffany & Co.—The famous jewelry brand turned to influencers like Amelie Zilber (9 million followers) and Blake Gray (14 million) to spread the word about the spring opening of its Madison Avenue flagship store called The Landmark. Zilber’s video showed her trying on a $195,000 necklace, saying she wanted to “get married” in the new building and pointing out where in the store followers can find pieces she’s been seen wearing. Gray’s video took followers to the location’s grand opening and called it the “prettiest store I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Amelie Zilber attends as Tiffany & Co. celebrates the reopening of its NYC flagship store, The … [+]
Gucci—The Italian fashion house fell into the influencer sphere seemingly by accident. After a fashion show that layered mismatched clothing inspired TikToker Morgan Presley (5.7 million followers) to make fun of the brand by creating her own interesting looks in 2020, the #GucciModelChallenge took off and videos with the tag have been viewed more than 200 million times. Gucci leaned into it and started highlighting the most stylish creators, and even cast several of them in an ad campaign. Since then, they’ve partnered with influencers outside of the fashion sphere—like trainspotter Francis Bourgeois (5 million)—to spread the Gucci name far and wide.
Francis Bourgeois is seen at the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2023/24 on January … [+]
Chanel—Lily Rose Depp—the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis who has curated a “cool girl” Instagram aesthetic with 9 million followers—has partnered with Chanel since she was just 16 years old. Depp kicked off what has become a seemingly core piece of Chanel’s marketing strategy, and the brand has since worked with stars like Whitney Peak and frequently sends free products to influencers with all-size followings who then “unbox” the items and share them with their followers. In a post following her wedding, Richie Grainge took to Instagram to thank her “Chanel family” for making her wedding “so special.”
Lily-Rose Depp and Karl Lagerfeld walk the runway during the Chanel Spring Summer 2017 show as part … [+]
Further Reading
A Christian Dior Biopic Is In The Works: What You May Not Know About The Iconic Brand (Forbes)
Luxury Fashion Sales Buoyed By Asia As U.S. Spending Slows (Forbes)
Gucci CEO Departs As Brand Lags Behind: Here’s How The Top Luxury Fashion Brands Are Doing (Forbes)
Hermès Reports Soaring Sales Of Birkins As Stand-Out Brand Amid Declining Luxury Market (Forbes)
