Celebs at airport is new runway for fashion brands
NEWDELHI: The celebrity airport look is serious business for fast fashion and sports retailers. Brands such as H&M India, Cover Story, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, GAP and Nike are working closely with celebrities and their stylists to turn airports into fashion runways. If a Bollywood star is spotted wearing one of their outfits, pictures of the celebrity are promptly shared on hundreds of fashion blogs and social media platforms for publicity.
“A celebrity wearing particular brand merchandise in their day-to-day life is far more impactful than a paid endorsement as it comes across as more genuine,” said Rajiv Dingra, founder and CEO, WATConsult, a digital and social media agency of Dentsu Aegis Network.
The airport look is a highly organized marketing exercise for brands. While the public relations teams of brands supply merchandise to the stylists, the social media team is responsible for tracking celebrities wearing their outfits and amplifying it on digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The kind of reach stars such as Deepika Padukone (with 25.5 million followers) and Alia Bhatt (with 22.9 million followers) can bring to a brand by sharing their airport outfits on their personal Instagram account is unparalleled and cannot be compared to any paid branded activity online.
Keeping this in view, H&M India works extensively with Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandes, Ishaan Khattar and Kangana Ranaut on creating airport looks.