From Prada to Celine: How High Fashion Infiltrated TikTok
More than just a platform to post 30-second dance routines, TikTok has turned into a pop culture powerhouse—turning unsuspecting teens into paparazzi-attracting celebrities, cultivating trends that clear store shelves, and most recently, providing a space for luxury fashion houses to cultivate a loyal Gen Z following.
As today teens’ fashion curiosity and the profitability of social media stardom grow in tandem, Internet celebrities are dabbling in high fashion more than ever before. TikTok stars have traded in Urban Outfitters and Brandy Melville for Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, with the leading boys of the app moving past their previously clean-cut, preppy personas in favor of shaggy hair, dangly earrings, and black nail polish.
This edgier caricature known as the E-boy captured the interest of Celine's Hedi Slimane, who cited it as a major source of inspiration for Celine Homme's Spring/Summer 2021 collection The Dancing Kid. Pulling from creators like Chase Hudson and Noen Eubanks' essential outfit components like chains and skate shoes, Slimane imagines them through a unique designer lens—providing experimental layering, color, and silhouette choices for TikTok teens to pick up as they grow into their personal style—while tapping Tiagz, the producer behind many of TikTok's viral audios, for the presentation's soundtrack.
Any conversation surrounding TikTok practically requires a mention of their reigning queen, Charli D'amelio, who sits as the platforms most popular creator with over 103 million followers. The Connecticut teen initially gained prominence for her girl-next-door demeanor, so as she rose further in fame, her collaborations with Hollister, Gen Z-geared makeup brand Morphe 2, and Dunkin Donuts only made sense. Her front row appearance at Prada earlier this year, though, was a bit more unexpected.
In February, Prada flew out the then-15-year-old to Europe for Milan Fashion Week, dressing her out of her laid-back style into a sleek gray sweater and high-waisted trousers for the Italian house's Fall/Winter 2020 runway show. Though Prada was not posting original content on TikTok at the time, D'amelio documented the experience to her then-28 million followers, from cycling through different outfit options before the show to dancing with models after.
As next seasons shows were presented in lockdown, TikTok offered a digital space for designers and creators to connect with #TikTokFashionMonth. The event, which spanned from September 10th to October 8th, hosted livestreams of runway shows from designers Saint Laurent, Prada, and Louis Vuitton Men's, supplemental commentary from fashion trailblazers like Wisdom Kaye, and a capsule collection Alice + Olivia designed exclusively for the platform.
While designer recognition among TikTok's audience initially grew through these digital collaborations, brands obtained a sense of loyalty from the everyday user by authentically participating in the trends surrounding them.
Probably one of the most referenced luxury brands on the platform, Gucci has become a descriptor for anything unique and campy. When creator Morgan Presly's audio describing how to "look like a Gucci" model began to trend in August, the house tapped the concept to create the #GucciModelChallenge, which garnered over a thousand posts of fashion fans layering on silk shirts, head scarves, and oversized sunglasses.
JW Anderson, on the other hand, found itself a part of vilarity through a specific piece: the Harry Styles cardigan. Inspired by the brand's multi-colored patchwork knit cardigan worn by the L'OFFICIEL cover star in February for a rehearsal of The Today Show, creator Liv Huffman set out to crochet her own version in June, a project soon picked up by other Styles' fans as a remedy for quarantine boredom. Inspired by the outpouring of creativity, Anderson released a pattern to the piece with a heartfelt message: “I am so impressed and incredibly humbled by this trend and everyone knitting the cardigan. I really wanted to show our appreciation so we are sharing the pattern with everyone. Keep it up!”
