Sports stars are flocking to fashion shows. How big is the opportunity for brands?

“The way sports stars are publicised 1762841837 — between Netflix shows and their own social media — they have become heroes of pop culture,” says Pascal Monfort, founder and president of trends marketing consultancy REC. “Also, the new generation of designers are keen to have their sports star friends at their shows. Think of Dior’s Kim Jones with Russell Westbrook [the NBA star has been attending Jones’s shows for years].”

There was a “huge uptick” in sports stars on the front row for SS24, says Mao. Athletes were on the guest lists of 44 fashion houses this season, including Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior, Valentino, Rick Owens, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons and Ziggy Chen, Lefty analysis shows. They represented 7.8 per cent of talent (up from 0.03 per cent last season), versus influencers (20.5 per cent), musicians (17.7 per cent), press (16.5 per cent) and actors (10.5 per cent). Hamilton was the highest ranking sports star in terms of EMV, generating $1.7 million after attending Pharrell Williams’s debut at Louis Vuitton and the Rick Owens show.

The benefits for brands

Tapping influential athletes can help brands to broaden their reach and differentiate from their peers, rather than competing for the same music and film stars. The anonymous Instagrammer behind fashion meme account Couturfu notes that there’s fierce competition among brands to secure celebrities in the entertainment sphere. As a result, pop culture’s frontier has “shifted, embracing uncharted territories such as sports and lifestyle”.

“As a brand today, you want to hit all types of talent,” says Carl Marshall, senior PR director, fashion and head of talent services at global PR and strategy firm Karla Otto, which coordinated shows for Luisaviaroma, Valentino, Zegna, Givenchy and Ami this seasons. “K-pop leads the way and will get you traffic and will really support your socials. Western actors, while sometimes their numbers aren’t really that high, will get editorial pages on GQ.com, Vogue.com, street style, etc. So, it’s finding that balance between engagement, reach, popularity and general ROI.”