Preface - Many celebrities have added 'Influencer' to their carousel of income streams. However, a Gweneth Paltrow, Alexa Chung or Olivia Palermo is at a different level of fame. They either had a prominent platform in the public eye or an old-world connection in the fashion industry to springboard off. The Kardashians had the connections and a massive TV show.
So, I am concentrating on the self-made social media Influencers. They have built a following through years of perseverance and months of earning zero money to hit the necessary metrics to monetise their following. Many try and fail due to the credit card debt they run up. Or simply their main day job takes priority. it might look like a fluffy job, but it is hard graft. Yes, some have the bank of their trust fund, but to get followers to stick - takes a special skill.
Now on to the topic at hand:)
Holland Cooper has trotted out of its paddock their Lydia Millen collection this October. An influencer who has been a controversial figure. With millions of followers and the power to persuade a mass selling of Hermes bags in 2025, this lady has some serious influencer power. (You could argue this started with Canadian Niki Sky, but it has snowballed with Lydia).
Her Savoy Hotel stay (because her heating broke down in 2022) lives rent-free in the heads of her detractors. A somewhat perceived tone deaf post, as the UK was emerging into a major cost-of-living crisis. But this didn't slow down her growing empire and perhaps was a very calculated stroke of marketing genius. From grid girl to Lady of the manor.
Another aspect of her lifestyle brand evolution is her perceived falling out with other influencers, which is well discussed on sites such as Tattle/Life/tales (whatever it is called). Though I sometimes wonder for those bitching, how many of them are still friends with the girls they hung out with when they were young? We all outgrow certain relationships. When your job is to curate a lifestyle and attract brands, loyalties will be challenged. In the world of influence, you are the company you keep.
Anyhooo, no matter the shade thrown her way, Lydia has the moxy and panache to come through in her own elegant countryside style. Brands flock to work with her. Karen Millen, Sinead Keary, Fairfax and Favour, to name a few, have recently put their trust in her taste to launch collections with her. Let's face it, there are fashion graduates who would kill to get the opportunities she has. So the envy will be inevitable. And plenty of other influencers have hitched their horse trailers to her squad.
Back to Holland Cooper. Anyone with a keen eye will see the parallel of many of its designs to high-end luxury brands' staples with an equestrian twist. Don't tell me their Monogram sliders aren't inspired by Hermes Oran's, for a fraction of the cost (and more comfortable;)).
It is a brand that has seen impressive growth in recent years in the mid-tier space. According to their 2024 accounts, they had a turnover of £37m (Profit £6m), which mostly came out of the UK. Clearly, the power of UK influencers and the odd coat spotted on the Princess of Wales didn't hurt. With a huge untapped US and Asian market, there is scope for HC to gallop into world domination if they get their branding strategy on point. And here is where Lydia enters. She has been a brand ambassador for a few years, but this will be her first proper collection. With her own tartan, no less.
Before Lydia, there was Victoria McGrath. She held the head girl job. The brand collaborator in chief. Her collections sold out. However, if you want world domination and you are positioning yourself firmly in the horsey set and those who want to emulate the look, Lydia is the power play.
With 1.03m followers on YouTube (and a more prolific vlogging schedule),1.06m on Insta and 1.06m on TikTok, she just has a bigger reach. Victoria has an impressive 1.02m followers on both Instagram and YouTube, but nearly half the following on TikTok at approximately 834k. Though she has been teasing followers with her own brand. So the break with HC could be purely down to a new challenge and more power to her.
What was a notable departure with Lydia's collection, apart from her own tartan, is the not-so-subtle addition of her crest on the back of a belt buckle. That is a brand alignment which signals a long-term strategy. I could make a pop culture reference to Taylor Swift and Charlie XCX here, woopsee, I just did. Two successful women who have a Venn diagram of similar fans, but Lydia wins the race by a few lengths when it comes to the Cotswold aesthetic. I will now also stop with the equarian analogies:).
What will be fascinating over the next few months is to see if there will be a follow-up collection and if it will be broader in range. Also, if sales overseas are boosted. Lydia has been very clear in her communications that this collection will ship to the US. So time will tell if Lydia romps this home (sorry). Also to note that the price point is not cheap, so it will be a few weeks to see if it sells out. It might be that other categories sell as followers pick more affordable pieces from the brand.
Coming back to the title of this post, are we entering a new era of influencer power on brands?
Influencers used to have their NA-KD, PLT or In the Style colabs. Often, simply picking things off a rail, to put their name against. Ditto with 'edits' of their season picks from various brands, e.g. Very, M&S, Revolve, Abercrombie, etc.
As I have worked in the industry, how it used to work is that influencers would be presented with options. The design team have already worked out the logistics to produce the items to derisk their investment. There might be a change of colour or a slight change to the hemline, but the influencer's role is to pick out items, they feel will resonate with their followers to maximise their commissions and sell enough to be invited back to do another collab. However, In-The-Style, for example, ran out of steam as the return on these collections started to fade. Consumers only need so many oversized blazers:).
Then, we saw a split in the road. Either create your own brand or have more creative input. The safer route for the Influencer was to allow the brand to take on the risk of their design input. Lydia Millen and Karen Millen are the obvious examples. Lydia Tomlinson is another savvy Influencer who has gone down this route with the likes of NorthSkull and NA-KD. Claire Rose with Flattered (and other brands), Victoria with HC and Edge of Ember.
However, the riskier direction of full brand control has been far more problematic. Recently, Molly Mae's - Maebe, may have 'sold out', but we do not know the production volumes. It didn't get great reviews, so let's see. Matilda Djerf was flying high for a while with Djerf Avenue. However, a scandal over her behaviour has seen an internal reshuffle at the top, but the brand is recovering. Rouje Paris by Jeanna Damas has been doing very well, opening stores around France and in New York. However, SLA by Sarah Ashcroft has been closed down, and Xenia Adonts has sold her brand Attire The Studio. There are plenty of other influencer-backed brands that have quietly retreated.
The reality is that Fashion is an extremely expensive business to turn into a profitable venture. Just look at Victoria Beckham. Scaling too quickly, trusting production in faraway lands, and designing 18 months in advance puts huge strains on cash flow. You can throw money at the problem, but you are investing huge sums in production and then marketing to sell clothing. Which may not hit the mark in terms of consumer expectations. It could be that the sales price does not align with the price point followers expected. The quality is terrible, etc.
You also have to dedicate a lot of time to the back office work. Finance can be outsourced, but you have to be properly hands-on. Gym-shark isn't a direct influencer brand, but the founder realised early on that he was its best advertisement. While he was still packing orders, screen printing shirts and being dedicated to understanding production and cost management. You can't be going to endless press trips hoping your 'team' is working hard on your behalf.
So, looping back again to the Influencer colab, the lower risk option for Influencers, but a far bigger risk for the brand. HC and Lydia will be a case study on marketing positioning. If you are clear on your niche, how can you capitalise on your brand alignments to be authentic?
Jade herself is an excellent ambassador for her brand. Her recent behind-the-scenes TikTok of her new facilities should give any budding entrepreneur or fashion enthusiast insight into the scale of what is needed. She is open about packing bags herself at the start, the journey to get to the size of business she has built. Plus, giving a shout-out to the people she employs. I would be remiss not to mention that she is married to the founder of Superdry. Therefore, of course, she has access to great advice, but no founder works alone. Many of us have been behind the scenes, yes, paid, but invisible.
I feel the age of the edit won't disappear, but with the spiralling costs of training to be a designer and the clear classism of the traditional routes, these collabs might be the only way for creatives to become designers.
Not that everything these influencers bring out strikes gold, a sea of false tan can attest to this. But a good Influencer will take on the feedback and learn what it takes to grow a following that translates into convertible consumers.
Therefore, for brands, you are getting access to millions of carefully assembled fans and followers. Women in particular who will jump to buy a part of their idol. Just sticking an Influencer in a modelling campaign isn't enough; there is a whole psychology around an Influencer creating an item to buy.
If anything, Influencers will have to up their game. Be very clear on their brand value and what they stand for. They can't just rely on hauls and selling any old tat. Followers are looking for an outlet to inspire them. To give a bit of escapism. So content creators have to innovate. And brands will have to be highly strategic about leveraging the creative input of content creators.
The jury is still out, but the next few months will be telling.
