In 2016, a luxury brand sent me to a beach in the middle of nowhere to go for a walk with one of their long-term ambassadors. This star was concerned about how social media was changing perceptions of the industry – anxious about celebrities like the Kardashians attending the shows. Was it supposed to be funny? the ambassador wondered. It was my job to explain why macro stars, who on the surface didn’t align with luxury’s values, might be useful in an age when everything that mattered seemed to be happening on Instagram.
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Almost ten years after that conversation, the Kardashians attending any fashion week is completely unremarkable. It doesn’t generate debate or even that much interest. New haircuts are always a point of discussion but beyond that, who cares? The spring/ summer 2026 shows indicated brands understand they need a new plan to drive positioning and discourse that is less about working subversively with unexpected celebrities and more about iconic characters who have a pinch of notoriety.
There was Nicole Kidman at Chanel, minutes after announcing her divorce from Keith Urban. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci dressing up as their The Devil Wears Prada roles to sit front row at Dolce & Gabbana. The pinnacle was – of course – Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, at Balenciaga.
The presence of all these stars tells a story for them and the brand that drives intrigue and waves of reaction across the media, from creators to newspapers. The element that unites them all is that they are characters in the minds of viewers who love to dissect and propose what’s really going on. This idea of engaging with people who live through their own caricature by external commentators and then every so often do something to reclaim their narrative surprises and delights social audiences.
Taking this notion to the extreme was Streep and Tucci playing literal roles, but this reflects the enormous amount of ongoing speculation around The Devil Wears Prada sequel and fuelled the earned media fire. It also proves how effective it could be for entertainment brands to have the actors behind personalities in cult films and TV attend high-profile, aligned events in character.
All of this is to say, it’s interesting to consider how stars like the Kardashians have gone from being a mass media spectacle for luxury to being part of the establishment. This change suggests a cultural shift in terms of what we consider to be interesting and remarkable, and perhaps a new era being driven by all of the just-debuted creative directors who seem to have very different visions to their predecessors.
By Sara McCorquodale, CEO and founder of CORQ.
