Fashion’s New Alt Stars | Grazia India

Is luxury fashion looking in new direction of celebrities for representation and relatability?

The luxury fashion house on everyone’s lips seems to be Loewe of late. According to the Lyst Index, a quarterly ranking of fashion’s hottest brands and products, Loewe was number one in the second quarter of 2023 and continues to enjoy its position at the top at number three in the last quarter of 2023, trumped only by Prada and Miu Miu. Shining bright as one of the sponsors at the 2024 Met Gala, what really drew our attention was the motley crew of guests that the brand invited to the event. Undoubtedly the most coveted invite in the fashion world, the Met Gala is known for having only the creme-de-la-creme in attendance every year, with even A-listers dying to be a fashion house’s muse to score an invite. While the erstwhile luxury houses got along the usual attendees, Loewe had us all sit up and take notice as stars like Ambika Mod, Ayo Edebiri, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist made their way onto the Met steps head-to-toe in Loewe. 

It’s not to say that these actors have more than earned their invites; it’s the fact that, at an event where brands love to show off their highest-billed ambassadors, Loewe took a chance on what the masses would call the unexpected A-team. Yes, each of these stars has had a big year, and they are connected to Loewe, but it is essential to observe that this crew is different from the brand ambassadors we are used to seeing. Jonathon Anderson, Loewe’s creative director, has expressed his admiration for Netflix’s drama series One Day, which has propelled Mod to fame. Naturally, he invited Mod to the Met Gala in custom Loewe.

Meanwhile, Ayo Edebiri has captured Hollywood’s heart with her award-winning role as Sydney Adamu in FX’s The Bear. Transitioning from chef whites to wearing The Row and Prada, Edebiri’s style evolution is notable. Anderson, who also designed costumes for Challengers, brought his expertise to a movie charged with palpable sexual tension among its leads, O’Connor and Faist. However, what invariably ties them all together is not the cumulative star power but the fact that they are so relatable. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that the clean, polished image of a brand ambassador is meant to be desirable to the general public, but what happens when you bet your money on the stars that seem, dare we say, achievable?  

ALL ABOUT AUTHENTICITY
For Edebiri, it’s the fact that the Irish community has bestowed on her the title of an honorary Irishwoman, thanks to a running gag for the last year, and her realness for not playing a manic-pixie lead in The Bear. As for O’Connor, the man has publicly declared that he doesn’t know what a TikTok is and has time and again expressed his love for the movie Ratatouille, which has every person on the internet branding him a ‘babygurl’ and the latest internet boyfriend. The current trend points to luxury brands increasingly banking on the star power of unconventional actors who exude relatability and authenticity, a stark contrast to the polished celebrities we’re accustomed to. Eager to market themselves as more accessible, brands are aligning with the approachable and genuine vibe that these alt-celebs embody. 

This phenomenon isn’t, however, restricted to Loewe but was also in prominence at the Met with Balenciaga. Known to champion Kim Kardashian as their ambassador of choice, the brand found an unlikely match in Michael Shannon when he turned up to the Met kitted out in Balenciaga, carrying the infamous Balenciaga Chips Bag. Needless to say, it was quite the photo op and served as perfect meme fodder. Regardless of the publicity, though, it is the fact that the EMV (electronic media value) generated by these stars was enough to place Loewe among the top brands of the night, and Balenciaga stood out for its choice of guests. 

HARD RELATE

On the home turf, designers like Urvashi Kaur have been championing the cause of the alt stars with their labels. A prime example of it was when Kaur showcased the ‘Voices of Collective Impact’ during the last season of Lakmé Fashion Week X FDCI as she celebrated 15 years of her journey. Walking alongside models were multiple showstoppers, which included the likes of Ratna Pathak Shah, Tillotama Shome, Glorious Luna, and more – a complete mixed bag and far removed from the Bollywood babes that usually close the show for designers at fashion week. 

“At the core of our brand philosophy lies a deep appreciation for the individuals who wear our label. They have been my muses and biggest supporters. Our decision to feature individuals from various walks of life on the runway at LFW was a natural extension of this ethos. 

It’s quite evident that an increasing number of design and luxury labels are turning to the star power of relatable brand ambassadors. In today’s competitive nature of the industry , brands recognise the value of not only enhancing visibility but also tend to create a stronger connection with consumers,” shares Kaur. 

Karan Torani’s eponymous label, Torani, has also gone against the grain on multiple occasions to create campaigns for his collections with unlikely social media influencers. One such instance was when the designer had sexual health advocate Seema Anand model a campaign for his collection ‘Mithyaa’ that depicted the seven sins. Needless to say, the campaign was lauded for the involvement of a creator who fits the bill instead of inserting a known A-lister into the mix. 

THE NEW GEN ‘IT’ GIRLS 

Luxury brands and brand ambassadors aside, has anyone checked out the FROW at the fashion weeks of late? For the longest time, luxury brands have controlled who makes it to the front row of their shows, which are typically reserved for friends of the brand and the celebrities who represent them. But a particular crop of individuals are getting their seat at the table, thanks to their passion for high fashion and worshipping at the altar of the fashion gods. Former adult entertainer Mia Khalifa has cemented her status as a true-blue fashion girlie, and her Instagram is proof of it. From 

Off-White to Ann Demeulemeester, Khalifa has shown off her versatility and out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to fashion. Yet another fashion rebel who has become a muse to the likes of Laquan Smith and, once upon a time, even Ye, is Julia Fox. A self-confessed hustler who used to work as a dominatrix in New York before moving on to acting and being a fashion baddie, Fox’s high fashion gamut has branded her as one of fashion’s ‘IT’ girls. 

In the Indian context, if there is a poster child for self-expression and making her fashion game a conversation starter, it’s Uorfi Javed. She has made her way into the fashion zeitgeist with her ingenious outfits and her never-let-anyone-tell-you-who-you-are attitude. “I have only one agenda and it’s to have all eyes on me,” says Javed when quizzed about her choice of outfits. “Every time I go out, I want everyone to look at me. Every day is like the Met Gala for me. When I first started out with my shtick, the kind of outfits that I wore were not as polished as they used to be as compared to the clothes that I step out in now. Back then I just wanted fame and money, and to achieve that, I designed outfits that would catch everyone’s attention. I love what I do and I love the attention it gets me and I want to keep at it,” she says. 

When Javed started out, she undoubtedly received a lot of flak for being an attention-seeker, but she couldn’t be clearer about it. The unabashedness of it all is what attracted designers like Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and Amit Aggarwal to dress her because they align with her on the sensibility that fashion is meant to be a spectacle. “There are a lot of designers who still don’t want to loan me clothes. I am not a Bollywood star, but fame isn’t just limited to that anymore. I am currently working on my own reality TV show because of the kind of stunts that I have pulled. If that isn’t an indicator of what being yourself can get you, then I don’t know what is,” she says. Javed one hundred per cent considers herself an alt celebrity, and it’s this honesty that is so refreshing that it is attracting the masses to invest in individuals who are akin to them. To expect the unexpected is to stay ahead of the curve, and by the looks of it, the insane virality and relatability factor of these stars really does seem to be catching on.