Beyond the runway: Insights from Fashion Week 2025
Fashion Week shows how viral moments, sentiment shifts, and social listening insights can turn trends into business impact — lessons every brand can use.
September 29, 2025
For brands in fashion and beyond, Fashion Week is about much more than current trends — it’s a global marketing case study. Online conversations reveal how celebrity appearances, viral moments, and cultural controversies can instantly boost the visibility of fashion labels.
The same dynamics extend to every industry. A strategic partnership, a bold creative move, or an unexpected news hook can generate engagement overnight — and shift sentiment in ways that matter for business outcomes.
So, let’s unzip the latest social media conversations to see what’s hot, on and off the catwalk
Methodology
We used Talkwalker Social Listening to track how global audiences are discussing Fashion Week across 150+ million sources — including social networks, websites, blogs, news sites, and forums. We measured the volume of mentions and sentiment over time, and used custom filters and theme panels to identify key conversation topics.
You can use Talkwalker to run similar research on your brand or key events in your industry. Chat with our team to find out how.
Mapping the global stage
This Fashion Week season kicked off with New York Fashion Week (NYFW) on September 11, followed by London Fashion Week on September 18.
The conversation has already generated over 4 million mentions over this short timespan.
Mentions of Fashion Week and related terms, September 10 to 22, 10% sample; Talkwalker Social Listening.
Here’s how much buzz different cities are seeing:
New York Fashion Week: 2.6 million mentions
London Fashion Week: 80k mentions
Milan Fashion Week: 127k mentions (as of September 23, before the start of the event)
Mentions of Fashion Week, filtered by the main events: New York (orange), London (red), Milan (green), Paris (blue), September 10 to 22, 10% sample; Talkwalker Social Listening.
What about a wider perspective?
Looking at the past 13 months, NYFW mentions jumped 69.9% year over year — 1.53 million mentions in September 2024 versus 2.6 million in September 2025. Milan and Paris dominated the previous seasons.
Mentions of Fashion Week, filtered by the main events: New York (orange), London (red), Milan (green), Paris (blue), August 2024 to September 2025, 10% sample; Talkwalker Social Listening.
A key driver of spikes in mentions has been global resonance. Over 20 million Fashion Week conversations originated from Asian countries (that’s more than half of the total).
Mentions of Fashion Week at a global level, with darker colors representing the highest share of global conversations, August 2024 to September 2025, 10% sample; Talkwalker Social Listening.
Many spikes were fueled by Asian celebrities:
Jungkook (singer and songwriter from the Kpop band BTS) boosted NYFW mentions with his Calvin Klein show appearance.
Zee Pruk Panich (Thai actor) generated buzz at the COS show.
Combined, mentions tied to these celebrities accounted for 1.79 million mentions—nearly 69% of all conversations since the beginning of Fashion Week.
Zooming in on local markets
An analysis of global conversations shows Fashion Week’s wide impact, but we noticed that international audiences tend to focus more on their favorite celebrities than on the fashion.
To cut through the noise, we zoomed in on Fashion Week mentions from the main host countries: the US, UK, France, and Italy.
Mentions of Fashion Week with conversations originating from the US, UK, France or Italy, filtered by the main events: New York (orange), London (red), Milan (green), Paris (blue); August 2024 to September 2025, 10% sample; Talkwalker Social Listening.
In the last 13 months, Fashion Week reached 13 million mentions in localized conversations. Paris and Milan lead overall, while NYFW saw a 1% year-over-year dip in September.
US audiences dominate conversations across all regional Fashion Weeks, but mentions from each host country get a boost during regional events.
Milan shows the strongest home-country lift, with 9.6% of mentions coming from Italy.
Outside of X (formerly Twitter), conversation channels vary: US audiences favor news, UK audiences are big on blogs, France is active on YouTube, and Italy has a lot of fashion chatter on Reddit.
Mentions of Fashion Week, with conversations originating from the US, UK, France or Italy, split by Fashion Week locations and conversation origin, August 2024 to September 2025; Talkwalker Social Listening.
Mentions of Fashion Week, with conversations originating from the US, UK, France or Italy, split by Fashion Week locations and source type, August 2024 to September 2025; Talkwalker Social Listening.
Sentiment is largely positive across Fashion Weeks. Milan’s sentiment is lowest but still positive. The biggest dips came from:
Paris (Feb 2025): -30% after controversy over USAID funding.
New York (Aug 2025): -25% due to a political dispute.
The net sentiment around mentions of Fashion Week, with conversations originating from the US, UK, France or Italy, split by Fashion Week locations, August 2024 to September 2025, Talkwalker Social Listening.
Viral moments and the brands behind them
So what’s driving all this chatter? Talkwalker’s Conversation Clusters reveal that out of 16 themes, 11 centered on celebrities, while only six mentioned fashion brands — and half of those were the same brand.
Conversation Clusters for Fashion Week, September 10 to 22; Talkwalker Social Listening.
Social listening offers more ways to identify key stories. Custom Themes help us identify the most discussed topics around any theme of our choosing.
Here are some highlights from our theme analysis:
Calvin Klein: The most mentioned brand (604k mentions), largely thanks to Jungkook’s appearance at the New York show.
Prada: Fueled by buzz around The Devil Wears Prada 2 rumors in Milan.
Acne Studios: Earned the highest positive sentiment (80.2%), driven by the brand’s partnership with Johnny Suh from Korean boyband NCT 127.
Off-White: Drew high negative sentiment, tied to controversial Love Island star Olandria Carthen’s appearance at the New York show.
Custom Themes for the most mentioned Fashion Brands at Fashion Week, September 10 to 22, Talkwalker Social Listening.
Custom Theme Panels for the most mentioned Fashion Brands at Fashion Week by sentiment, September 10 to 22; Talkwalker Social Listening.
Logo mentions were led by Calvin Klein, Gucci, and Dior, but the single most engaging logo-related post came from Desigual.
Calvin Klein had the most mentions of their front row. This is reflected by Vanity Fair’s wildly successful front row Instagram video, taking the cake with 26.7k engagements.
Most mentioned designers in Fashion Week conversations, September 10 to 22, 10% sample; Talkwalker Social Listening.
When it comes to designers, Peter Do generated the most buzz despite not appearing at this season’s Fashion Week (yet). This was largely because of Do’s previous partnership with Korean star Jeno.
Glenn Martens came in second, also with some celebrity help — Blackpink’s Lisa wore one of his Maison Margiela designs to a Busan International Film Festival event earlier this month, inspiring wide media coverage.
Demna ranked third, with buzz building around his much-anticipated move from Balenciaga to Gucci, set to debut in Milan.
In regard to specific looks, the opening and closing looks are the usual conversation starters.
Mentions of Opening Look (pink) and Closing Look (purple), September 10 to 22; Talkwalker Social Listening.
The most engaging opening look-related post was about Carolina Herrera at Madrid Fashion Week, with over 15,000 engagements.
What about colors?
Fashion took a dark turn this season. Black was the most mentioned color in Fashion Week-related conversations, with 26k mentions. Red followed with 14k mentions. Green closed the podium with 10k mentions.
What everyone's really talking about: The season's biggest themes
What are the standout themes of Fashion Week so far? And how are they already making the leap from catwalks into everyday conversations?
Blue jeans
Denim was one of the most noticeable trends at NYFW, generating 11k mentions across shows from Calvin Klein, Area, and Tibi.
Of course, jeans are a wardrobe staple. Over the past 13 months, they’ve been mentioned 22.4 million times, with a notable spike of 1.3 million mentions in a single week following Sydney Sweeney’s divisive American Eagle commercial.
That momentum carried into Fashion Week. In the first two weeks of September 2025, jeans and denim racked up 795k mentions, up from 683k over the same period in 2024. Their presence on the runway reflects a broader cultural conversation that’s been steadily trending upward.
Minimalism
Minimalism also had a strong showing at Fashion Week, with 7.6k mentions. COS, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, and Dior all sent pared-back looks down the runway.
It’s not just a fashion story. Over the last 13 months, minimalism has appeared in 4.3 million conversations across industries, often sparking divided reactions.
Mentions of Minimalism over the last 13 months; Talkwalker Social Listening
Minimalism drives very reactive engagement. For example, this minimalist home post with 14.7k engagements splits opinions, as shown in the comments.
Minimalist branding has been especially polarizing. Range Rover, Jaguar, and Cracker Barrel all tested simplified logos over the past year. Jaguar’s November 2024 redesign drove 32k mentions, while Cracker Barrel’s rollout backfired, dragging their net sentiment to -83.1%. The backlash was so strong that the brand reverted to its original logo.
The takeaway: while minimalism is clearly influencing runways and brand strategies alike, it’s not always a safe bet. The trend drives attention — but not always positive sentiment.
AI meets fashion
Across industries, AI has dominated the conversation this year with a total of 744 million mentions. Fashion Week gave brands a stage to showcase how they’re experimenting with the technology to engage audiences.
Ralph Lauren introduced Ask Ralph, a “conversational AI shopping experience” during NYFW, earning 760 mentions.
Honor partnered with wearable tech brand CuteCircuit to spotlight its Magic V5 phone, blending AI with fashion in a playful, buzz-worthy activation.
Glance transformed Midtown’s Bustle Plaza into an “inspiration-led playground” for NYFW. While social mentions were limited, the activation earned PR coverage and drew a stylish crowd eager to try the app.
AI’s footprint at Fashion Week was smaller in volume compared to other themes, but it underscored how deeply the technology is embedding itself in the fashion industry’s future.
Remembering Armani
One absence loomed large over this season’s Fashion Week: Giorgio Armani, who sadly passed away in early September 2025.
His legacy was front and center nonetheless. Milan Fashion Week was dedicated to his memory, and the Pinacoteca di Brera unveiled the exhibition Giorgio Armani. Milano, per amore.
The exhibition has already been mentioned 1,200 times, with an overwhelmingly positive net sentiment of +99%. Armani himself appeared in 1.9k Fashion Week conversations, also highly positive at +88% net sentiment.
Emotions over time for mentions of Giorgio Armani at Milan Fashion Week, 10% sample, September 10 to 25; Talkwalker Social Listening
Emotions around Armani mentions at Milan Fashion Week centered mostly on love, particularly on September 22, when the exhibition opened. A smaller share of negative emotion was also present, linked to coverage of his will being opened, which has raised questions about the future of the brand and its assets.
Trend spotlight: Fine dining as the new fashion statement
One of the standout trends this year has been the growing relationship between fashion and fine dining, with more than 43,000 mentions of food and dining in Fashion Week conversations.
The biggest spike came on September 14, when COS hosted a dinner attended by Zee Pruk, generating 3,800 mentions and continuing the celebrity buzz around the brand.
Other brands also leaned into the dining spotlight. One of the most engaging posts came from Harper’s Bazaar and Bulgari, who held an intimate dinner to celebrate the September 2025 Icons issue. That single post drew more than 10,000 engagements.
Visual analytics reveal just how deeply food was woven into the Fashion Week experience: 3,000 images of restaurants were shared in fashion-related posts. While many showcased extravagance, Elle USA took a more practical approach, spotlighting the best places to grab a bite between shows.
Others highlighted the cultural crossover of cuisine and couture, with luxury houses hosting events in the city’s newest dining venues. For instance, Manolo Blahnik staged a chic gathering at Genesis House, blending gastronomy and glamour.
What marketers can learn from Fashion Week
Online coverage of Fashion Week is an example of how quickly conversations can shift — and how strongly they shape perception. From celebrity-driven buzz to cultural crossovers like fine dining and AI, the events revealed just how many different entry points brands have to spark engagement.
For marketers, the lesson isn’t about fashion, but about agility. The ability to monitor conversations, spot where sentiment is moving, and act on those insights is what turns moments into momentum.
Here are three key takeaways for brands:
Ride cultural waves. Whether it’s a celebrity partnership, a design trend, or a crossover with food, sport, or tech, aligning with culture amplifies visibility.
Track sentiment, not just mentions. High volume isn’t always good news. Understanding emotional response helps brands know when to double down — or pivot fast.
Spot signals early. Social listening surfaces emerging themes before they peak, giving brands the chance to join (or shape) the conversation ahead of competitors.
With Talkwalker Social Listening, you can apply the same lens to your own brand or industry — whether it’s a product launch, cultural event, or viral story — and uncover the signals that drive visibility, engagement, and impact. See it in action today.
