Discover unparalleled insights into the ever-evolving worlds of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle with our extensive range of industry reports.

The luxury industry is in a state of slowdown: earnings amongst many leading brands in 2024 showcased a pattern of stagnation or deceleration, with leading conglomerates pointing to a myriad of lingering global macroeconomic and sociopolitical disruptors.  

Amidst the caution, there are glimmers of hope and room for creative ignition. Many businesses have remained buoyant, and even seen growth, in face of adverse market conditions. But what’s the secret in maintaining – and accelerating – desirability with today’s ever captious consumer?  

For our premiere group-wide Whitepaper, the sixteen partners that make up The Independents come together to decipher what luxury must do to reset and reinvigorate for 2025 and beyond, backed by unique consumer data. 

We uncover the new drivers shaping luxury consumers’ behaviours, showcasing people are spending more selectively, placing greater value on enriching objects which demonstrate creative excellence, potential for persistence, and boast a rich history. They are discovering these through informed dialogues between people and brands and carefully study those who create via long-form content. The world of celebrity culture is shifting, prioritising micro influencers who have honed in on their niche expertise, and are multi-hyphenate makers that add to our creative discourse. This means people also expect more from the spaces in which they discover and engage with brands, placing greater value on experiences over and seeking an all-important emotional connection. And there’s more. 

↓ Download our whitepaper here and step into what awaits. 

The luxury industry is in a state of slowdown: earnings amongst many leading brands in 2024 showcased a pattern of stagnation or deceleration, with leading conglomerates pointing to a myriad of lingering global macroeconomic and sociopolitical disruptors.

Luxury's Great Reset

Discover how Lanvin amplified its social media visibility by 1000% in this insightful case study. Lanvin masterfully blends its rich heritage with modern strategies to excel in influencer marketing. Leveraging Lefty's advanced tools, Lanvin forges strategic partnerships and collaborations with influencers, effectively tracking and enhancing its marketing initiatives. With Lefty's comprehensive campaign tracking and benchmarking capabilities, Lanvin monitors KPI success, evaluates influencer impact, and analyzes competitor strategies, resulting in impressive collaboration growth rates within the industry. See how this approach sets a standard for brands seeking to elevate digital strategies, achieve sustained growth, and serve as a model for your own brand.

Building a Strong Influencer Community in the Digital Era

Lanvin’s Mastery of Strategic Campaigns

Lanvin: Mastering Influencer Marketing with Lefty’s Tools

How Lanvin Leverages Lefty for Influencer Marketing Success

Lefty_CaseStudy_Lanvin_compressed.pdf

Discover how Lanvin expanded its social media presence by over 1000%, boosting influencer collaborations by 138% and achieving a 22.9% annual growth rate, leveraging Lefty's tools for effective campaign tracking and insights.

Lanvin: Influencer Marketing Case Study

Fashion Month is thriving on social media, with SS25 Fashion Weeks seeing a 16% year-on-year growth, achieving a record $840 million in Earned Media Value (EMV). This season, the "less is more" approach emerged as a pivotal strategy for brands. While fewer profiles posted fashion week content, those who did saw increased engagement and visibility. This suggests that the content creators who contributed were more influential and relevant, resulting in a greater impact.

As a result, influence and celebrity continue to play a significant role, with the devoted fandoms of stars driving substantial media value around their idols' names. Storytelling emerged as a crucial element, both in the format of shows and in the talents brands partnered with—ranging from athletes who captivated audiences during the Olympics to cultural leaders shaping today's zeitgeist. And there's more to come.

Fashion and Internet Culture are Increasingly Intertwined

The Key Data Trends of SS25 Fashion Weeks

Chinese Social Networks' Interactions with SS25 Fashion Weeks

The Top Brands and Influencers by Visibility on Social Media

The Peripheral Effects of Fandoms and Cultural Protagonists

The Most Successful Brand Activations and Collaborations

How Non-Fashion Brands benefit from fashion week

Discover the Next: Emerging Talent, Trends, Markets

Karla OttoxLefty_SS25 Womenswear Roundup_Final_Online.pdf

Discover the impact of SS25 Fashion Weeks on the global luxury market with their "less is more" strategy. By streamlining fashion shows and forging strategic partnerships, these events revolutionized the industry. Explore how these trends are shaping the future of luxury fashion on and off the runway.

SS25 Fashion Week Roundup: Womenswear

Industry Reports

The jewellery sector has experienced a rapid shift towards digitisation due to the pandemic's impact on in-person shopping, which previously accounted for up to 30% of the market's spending. As a result, brands have had to adjust their digital marketing and sales strategies by increasing their use of influencer marketing and celebrity endorsements to keep sales and brand relevance afloat.

In response, consumers have embraced and encouraged jewellery's digitaisation, with the brands that adapted the quickest seeing a spike in sales. Furthermore, a robust online presence translates to a powerful source of sales revenue. Predictions point out that digital jewelry sales will grow by 18-21% by 2025, making it a highly lucrative expansion opportunity for jewellery brands to enter the digital realm.

In "Jewellery in the Digital Era," Lefty and Karla Otto team up to uncover the top-performing brands in the sector and unpick what's working across the digital ecosystem now; to determine the next.

Lefty_Report_FineJewellery.pdf

Jewellery didn't lose its shine throughout the pandemic and is forecast for further growth as brands lean into modernised marketing strategies for a digital era. In a study of High and Fine categories, discover which brands are leading the way, alongside market insights from Karla Otto x Lefty.

Jewellery in the Digital Era

Women's Fashion Week AW23 was filled with cultural nods, inspiring collections, and generated an EMV of $419M across four cities.

From K-Pop and Thai Drama in Paris, to China’s trendsetting KOLs at Milan Fashion Week, or London becoming a hub for new talent & diversity in fashion, and to New York’s passion for an “It-Girl” – Lefty x Karla Otto unpack the key insights you need to know from this season in Roundup Women's Fashion Week AW23.

Lefty_Report_FW_AW23_Womens_RoundUp_210323_compressed.pdf

Get the inside scoop on AW23 with a comprehensive summary of all the key data and moments across four cities.

Roundup Women's Fashion Week AW23

This season's Haute Couture shows saw a significant increase in Earned Media Value, rivaling Ready To Wear seasons and reflecting the increased consumption of fashion content worldwide.

This influx of visibility has provided an avenue for lesser-known designers, such as Robert Wun, Miss Sohee, and Gaurav Gupta, to venture into the luxury fashion industry and cater to an uber-rich market segment. Offerings from established brands have held their own, too; Jean-Paul Gaultier invited Haider Ackermann as a guest designer, generating $6.19M EMV, while Viktor & Rolf's illusionary gowns brought in $5.67M, and Mugler created waves with its star-studded runway show ($3.40M). Schiaparelli added a touch of enchantment with its faux animal head creations.

Through it all, Lefty x Karla Otto unpicks the meaning of the data, identifying new trends emerging from the fashion world now to determine the next.

HauteCoutureSS23.pdf

This season's Haute Couture shows saw a significant increase in Earned Media Value, rivaling Ready To Wear seasons.

Haute Couture SS23

Menswear Fashion Week is back with a bang, growing an astonishing 41% seasonally, generating a total EMV of $151M.

Whereas Menswear used to be ‘the more lowkey’ sibling to the Women’s shows, the tides are turning, or at least be coming more equal. ‘Equal’ is a keyword to the season.The culture between Men’s and Women’s categories is ever-shifting in line with society’s attitudes around gender at large.

However, it’s not just the shows that generate hype. The world of influence has never been more prevalent. More so than ever, looking at who a brand invites to the show is like taking a deep dive into their business plan.

Through it all, Lefty x Karla Otto unpacks the meaning of the data, identifying new trends emerging from the fashion world now to determine the next.

MenswearRoundUpAW23.pdf

Roundup Men's Fashion Week AW23

The fashion capital didn't fail to thrill, with 81 events, all of which were physical. A return to full force saw the city generate $98M in EMV, up 32% from SS23. 

'Thrill,' it seems, was the phrase du jour; fashion week has become the ultimate content machine, and there were times when the spectacle overshadowed the sartorial. A-list casting and FROWS plucked from the belly of pop culture have translated into mass hysteria both outside the shows and on our screens. 

Through it all, some spectacular clothes; and Milan's more minimal movement translated through to Paris with tailoring amid glimmers of elegance, grandeur, surrealism, and some serious shoulder play. Meanwhile, the lines between men's and women's continue to blur alongside society's shifting views around gender. Co-ed shows have never been more abundant, while dresses, skirts, and romantic detailing no longer remain solely on the women's floor. 

Alas, is this the end of streetwear as we know it? Sneaker sales are reportedly on a downfall, while both Milan and Paris designers made a case for a smarter affair. Amid the hype, is the hypebeast dead?

Lefty & Karla Otto define the key moments, data, and trends you need to know from Paris Menswear.

PFWMenswearAW23.pdf

The fashion capital didn't fail to thrill, with 81 events. A return to full force saw the city generate $98M in EMV, up 32% from SS23.

PFW Menswear AW23

Fashion is often seen as a mirror, reflective of the wider world. Right now, as many markets plunge ever-nearer to a recession, the world’s climate continues its peril, and wars linger across the globe; it seems designers are reading the room. 

Elsewhere, a nod to the need for comfort. Domestic nuances and cozy silhouettes popped up throughout collections. At Zegna, an elegant ode to their signature Oasi Cashmere; at Fendi, cocooning silhouettes and blanket dressing. Elsewhere - literal cushions - from Prada’s pillow invitations to JW Anderson’s cushion-clad models. Home comforts in perilous times. 

Lefty x Karla Otto dive into the key data and trends you need to know from Milan Menswear.

MFWMenswearAW23.pdf

AW23 was an absolute standout season for Milan's Menswear edition, producing the highest visibility in recent years.

MFW Menswear AW23

2022 was a triumphant year for Fashion. With Covid restrictions easing across the globe, the return to the runway was met with a sigh of relief from the industry and a flurry of extravagant events and viral moments from Fashion's best brands and creators. 

After two years of screen time, brands leaned in on the power of performance, carving a sense of emotion and magic in myriad ways. From far-flung destination runways to shows that married performance, art, theatre, and dance, 2022 reinforced Fashion as a multi-sensory experience where story is everything.

Meanwhile, the era of influence continued to explode, with the creator economy growing by 335% over the past five years. Fashion, especially, is an industry where it is omnipresent and all-important. This year saw K-Stars stars take over Kardashians, to dogfluencers and Drag Queens dominating street style.

Karla Otto x Lefty's Year in Review draws from the commentary of our collaborative work, balancing proprietary data with creative insight for a unique and analytical narrative on the year in fashion.

FashionYearinData2022.pdf

A recap of the events and viral moments from Fashion's best brands and creators in 2022.

Fashion: A Year in Data 2022

TikTok is fast becoming the beauty-lovers platform of choice, skyrocketing +200% in EMV YoY throughout 2022, overtaking Instagram.

Our report, Beauty & The Evolution of Influence, uncovers why the platform is resonating and how brands should build community while strategizing their social budgets for 2023 and beyond.  

Beauty&TheEvolutionOfInfluence.pdf

TikTok is fast becoming the beauty-lovers platform of choice, skyrocketing +200% in EMV YoY throughout 2022, overtaking Instagram.

Beauty & The Evolution of Influence

China is a rapidly growing market with immense potential for Western brands. However, there are often several hurdles to entry, including language barriers, a need for locally-based teams, and limited knowledge of Chinese social platforms. Despite these challenges, the Chinese market needs to be bigger and more lucrative for digital marketers to ignore. Over two-thirds of Chinese consumers use their smartphones to make purchases, totaling around $2 trillion each year, and this number is only expected to grow in the coming years (Statista, 2022), (McKinsey Greater China, 2022). Western brands that can overcome these challenges and tap into this market will be well-positioned for long-term success.

6380e25a628294d1dd091296_Lefty_WhitePaper_InfluencerMarketingChina_Full Version.pdf

Want to break into the Chinese market? Here’s everything you need to know about influencer marketing in China, from finding the right influencers to creating successful campaigns.