"A result of the overlap of Academy Awards with the New York Fashion calendar, the global fashion tour of Autumn/Winter 2020 fashion collection began in Los Angeles this season despite it being a part of the New York Fashion Week. At one of such events, designer Tom Ford launched his collection with an Oscars-after party like catwalk rather than a fashion show. Ford grabbed massive media attention with his sheer number of stories which proved to be valuable return on his investment."

A result of the overlap of Academy Awards with the New York Fashion calendar, the global fashion tour of Autumn/Winter 2020 fashion collection began in Los Angeles this season despite it being a part of the New York Fashion Week. At one of such events, designer Tom Ford launched his collection with an Oscars-after party like catwalk rather than a fashion show. Ford grabbed massive media attention with his sheer number of stories which proved to be valuable return on his investment.

Prior to Ford, designer M Missoni had held a dance-a-thon presentation at the famous Pink’s Hot Dogs on La Brea Avenue to showcase his Spring 2020 collection. Dozens of beautiful people lounged about in M Missoni’s vivid knitwear at the event. It looked as though they were staged for the Italian brand’s next advertising campaign, and images were immediately released on social media.

Baja East showcases A/W collection at Hollywood inspired hotel

Three days later, New York based brand Baja East showcased its Autumn/Winter collection at the Edition hotel in West Hollywood, which had a ceiling full of disco balls and, for the show, a floor strewn with colorful woven rugs. That was a fitting location for this hipster-ease label, which exudes a stoned-on-the-beach-after-all-night-partying sensibility. The brand’s collection taps into a wider tale of two cities locked in a rivalry to lead America in cultural relevance.

Generating $6.1 million of media value

A few hours after Baja East, the fashion-going crowd moved several miles east to central Hollywood, where Tom Ford revealed his AW2020 collection. This created a wholly different front row where Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos was seated in the place of honor beside Anna Wintour. Super agent and Creative Artists Agency partner and managing director Bryan Lourd chatted with producer Brian Grazer. Guests included Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus, Jon Hamm, Jason Momoa and so many more that it’s easy to see why Ford chose LA over New York. He owned the city and the fashion internet that night.

The event generated $6.1million of media value after the show. This was a 36 per cent increase on $4.5 million Launchmetrics estimated Ford’s show to have generated in September 2019. To hold an event in LA was a daring move by Ford, who has been newly appointed as the chairman of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Many in the industry felt he should remain loyal to New York’s Fashion Week to be more supportive of other designers. However, it’s hard to argue with his results.

Media influence remains strong

Designers who lack Ford’s might, need to learn new ways to generate returns from a fashion show. This is rarely studied by brands that often lack the finances or know-how. Diving deeper into numbers suggests that breaking away from the fashion week pack can be highly beneficial to a brand. According to Launchmetrics, the stories that came out of Ford’s Hollywood runway focused exclusively on Ford, rather than counting him amongst other New York designers. In fact, the analysts calculate that, despite the benefits offered by celebrities and influencers, the influence of media accounts for a stunning $9.7million rather than the $6.1million measured within the fashion context.