The popularity of high-end fashion influencers on social media has increased dramatically in the past decade, with Instagram feeds serving as virtual catwalks for lavish lives and exquisite clothing. But beyond the glossy exterior is a world full of obstacles that only the most resourceful and determined influencers can overcome.
Welcome to the world of luxury brands and influencers, where your ability to influence and appeal to your target market is just as important as sales and revenue in determining your level of success.
Our information consumption habits have forever been altered by the way that we consume social media, particularly with regard to fashion. Luxury fashion brands have now discovered that fashion influencers may have a big impact on fashion trends and have a big influence on the buying decisions of their followers. Thus, Influencer Marketing has developed to be an essential marketing strategy for luxury companies.
Luxury influencer marketing: a communication technique that uses key opinion leaders or social influencers to amplify a luxury product or brand
(definition by Luxe.Digital)
This is where beauty queens like former Miss Universe winners like Catriona Gray and Pia Wurtzbach is dipping their toes in.
Understanding Luxury Brands
Luxury brands are built on the tenets of timelessness, quality (both in design, material, and make), exclusivity, and unique brand identity and thus commands premium pricing. Unlike pageants, luxury is an industry where tight gatekeeping is a reality. While pageants are inclusive, luxury is all about the illusion of an exclusive lifestyle.
Luxury brands are usually sold to affluent customers who are prepared to pay a premium price for goods that are seen to be the finest in their category. Luxury brands sell goods or services that are known for their superior quality, rarity, and high cost. These companies frequently employ excellent materials, superb craftsmanship, and cutting-edge design to produce goods that are regarded as the best available. They are frequently linked to exclusivity, status, and prestige.
Luxury goods and services traps wannabe consumers to that prestigious lifestyle that everybody wants but cannot afford to pay for.
Challenges in Breaking into the Luxury Influencer industry
Firstly, establishing credibility within the luxury fashion sphere is no easy feat. In contrast to their counterparts in the mainstream fashion industry who frequently work with more mass market companies, luxury influencers need to project an image of sophistication and exclusivity. It takes a sharp eye for premium workmanship, a profound grasp of haute couture traditions, and an excellent sense of style to develop an authentic personal brand that appeals to wealthy consumers.
Let’s take Heart Evangelista as an example. She exemplifies the definition of luxury with her own sense of style that is consistent no matter who her styling team are. She has epitomized Filipino luxury style not only in her wardrobe but also extends it into her social media feeds. Who couldn’t forget her endorsing a loaf of bread or corned tuna while being decked in millions worth of jewelry? Somehow, she is able to make even the most mundane day to day product look high-end with her personal brand of luxury.
Secondly, navigating the intricacies of brand partnerships and sponsorships can be a minefield for luxury influencers. In contrast to their popular mainstream fashion counterparts, who are constantly approached for collaborations, luxury influencers have to exercise caution in order to preserve their sophisticated reputation. Every collaboration needs to fit in perfectly with their own brand and appeal to the affluent target market.
This is where Pia Wurtzbach would be an example of having a huge following but with the wrong audiences. Her follower profile is mostly mass & value market and FMCG audiences whose a misalignment with those that afford the unfriendly prices of luxury goods. She is good for reach, being a wide opening of the market funnel but that funnel quickly narrows to a bottle-neck in terms of conversion to sales. Her best strategy to correct this is to shave off her middle-to-lower market following and realign it to her targeted luxury audiences.
Thirdly, luxury influencers are always faced with the problem of keeping their feeds relevant, visually appealing, and consistent in the face of ever changing social media algorithms. The rise of rapid-fire content materials and fleeting trends need careful planning and curation in order to create a timeless and visually aesthetic feed.
Catriona Gray’s Instagram page is a visual storytelling masterclass; every post exudes an aura of refinement and accessibility that draws viewers in and keeps them interested in seeing more. Her feed is carefully curated and purposeful that it does not make her look one-dimensional. She has carefully balanced socially relevant content with beauty and fashion with travel and leisure, and of course culture and the arts. The downside though is it may limit her brand partnerships to a handful luxury brands.
Ultimately, luxury influencers face a formidable task in an oversaturated market: the ongoing need to innovate and stay ahead of the curve, and the ethics of the competition. Unfortunately contact stealing, bait and switch tactics, copycatting, and several unethical practices has sprung out and sullied the fashion influencer sphere in the Philippines. We believe in there is room for everyone, there are niche markets within the luxury industry that is largely untapped.
Relentless pursuit of creativity and innovation is necessary to stay relevant in the face of rapidly growing platforms and changing trends. Although there are many obstacles in the way of being a luxury fashion influencer, those with the fortitude, inventiveness, personality and originality to get over them may forge a successful and rewarding career in the glitzy world of luxury brands.
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