PARIS — From Burberry’s “ludicrously capacious” handbag to the colourful berets worn by Lily Collins on “Emily in Paris,” today’s trends are increasingly driven by TV shows, opening a wealthy seam of potential revenues for fashion brands, retailers and entertainment firms alike.

But with writers and actors on strike, the sector is coping with fresh uncertainty, as everyone from e-commerce sites to makeup artists tests ways to monetize the connection between fashion and the small screen, at a time when streaming platforms have plunged the normal Hollywood model into crisis.

“Lockdown was the tipping point,” said luxury consultant Eric Briones, creator of “Luxury and Digital: The Recent Frontiers of Luxury,” describing the moment that clothing labels became cultural content creators. Since then the synergies between fashion and entertainment have continued to grow, whilst the mechanisms for being profitable remain opaque. 

“The journey of the posh consumer is 95 percent driven by digital. Given this digital dominance, the secret’s how you can win the eye war,” said Briones. “How do you tame the algorithm? How do you break the web? With strategic hindsight, luxury has understood that as a way to master the algorithm, it needs an amplifier, and that amplifier is entertainment.”

From Louis Vuitton hiring Pharrell Williams as creative director of menswear to Saint Laurent launching a movie production arm on the Cannes Film Festival, luxury brands are in search of to make inroads into entertainment in modern ways. Conversely, retailers are riding on the recognition of shows to drive product sales.

Thom Bettridge, head of creative and content at e-commerce site Ssense, has dubbed the phenomenon “merchtainment,” pointing to examples equivalent to the Balenciaga-themed episode of “The Simpsons.” Together with his team, he seeks to drive engagement through social media posts that tap into the popular culture conversation.

“Something we regularly discuss is, what are the digital water cooler moments?” he said. “What’s the Ssense angle on the subject du jour? Sometimes the subject du jour has nothing to do with Ssense and we skip it over. But then after we see a gap, we prefer to just attempt to put our stamp on it.”

In response to the “Succession” episode where Tom Wambsgans disparages one other character’s vintage check print Burberry bag, Ssense published a picture of a model carrying an oversize black Kassl Editions shopper with the tag line: “She’s brought a ludicrously capacious bag.” One other time, it pictured a collage of models wearing the kind of monochrome outfits favored by Wednesday Addams under the heading: “It’s Wednesday Every Day.”

“So far as social media storytelling, we’ve really allowed ourselves to depart further and farther from simply discussing product, in order that’s definitely been a newer thing, but I feel it’s also a part of just a bigger convergence that’s happening between fashion and popular culture,” Bettridge said.

“Those two worlds were once very siloed, but now, I feel there’s a really fluid exchange,” he continued, citing the Met Gala for instance. “Things that were once too area of interest about fashion are actually popular, and things that were once possibly considered too lowbrow about popular culture have been adopted and accepted into the lexicon of fashion.”

The streaming revolution has led to a glut of content released at the identical time world wide, and immediately amplified on social media, spawning TikTok trends equivalent to Regencycore, inspired by the Empire waist dresses and corsets of the Netflix series “Bridgerton.”

The info confirms the massive influence of series on inquiries for products.

Global shopping platform Lyst reported a 600 percent jump in searches for Loro Piana baseball caps much like the one worn by Jeremy Strong’s character Kendall Roy in “Succession,” while an episode of “And Just Like That” resulted in a 488 percent rise in searches for JW Anderson’s pigeon-shaped clutch bag toted by Sarah Jessica Parker, aka Carrie Bradshaw.  

“A glance can develop into a meme, which might develop into a form of worldwide talking point in a matter of minutes, and so the potential for a series and its stars to go viral now signifies that the costuming in those shows is placed on this very powerful global stage, and streaming shows have develop into this really huge platform for shaping fashion trends and provoking shoppers,” said Katy Lubin, vp, brand and communications at Lyst.

“We’re seeing brands and retailers rightly responding to this movement, too: brands tapping talent from hit shows to develop into ambassadors, incorporating the vibe of the hit series into their collections or creating licensing agreement merchandise deals, and really just riding the wave of social media hype that surrounds those big moments. It’s forced brands and retailers to be far more reactive and respond quicker and in a more smart method to capture that mood,” she noted.

“The speed at which culture moves online now can feel exhilarating and completely overwhelming at times and for marketers, it’s super high-paced and really high-stakes, and when you can ride that wave and position your brand or your product on the crest of that wave in that moment, then you definately will see huge rewards. Everyone wants the must-see show or the must-write-about moment. However the rewards of that will be quite short-lived and capturing that spotlight within the moment is one thing, but keeping it is far harder,” Lubin warned.

In a neat example of potential synergies, Amazon marked the premiere of “Daisy Jones & the Six” on Amazon Prime Video with a dedicated landing page allowing fans to buy looks inspired by the major characters, along with beauty products from Essie and Clairol; the soundtrack album of the series, and the book by Taylor Jenkins Reid that it was based on.

In parallel, Free People curated a capsule collection inspired by the show, with Riley Keough — who portrays Daisy Jones — appearing within the campaign.

Meanwhile, Lacoste teamed with Netflix for a capsule collection inspired by no fewer than eight shows, starting from “Stranger Things” to “Lupin” and “Bridgerton,” in a move designed to capture fans across various genres. Polo shirts featured the French sportswear label’s signature crocodile in costumes inspired by various characters from the series.

“We expect products could be a powerful medium for storytelling and partnering with Lacoste presents a novel opportunity to mix the worlds of fashion and entertainment,” Josh Simon, vp of consumer products at Netflix, said in an announcement. “This collection is a compelling and artistic way for fans to specific their love for our stories and characters.”

Netflix didn’t reply to requests for an interview with Simon on the way it manages its multitude of name collaborations. Nevertheless, a look at Lacoste’s website revealed that three months after the launch, 90 products from the gathering were available at discounts starting from 30 to 40 percent, suggesting this particular line didn’t fly off shelves.

“For the style shopper, there’s still a way that you just go to those platforms to look at amazing content, not to buy,” said Lubin, adding that Lyst sees itself as a bridge to attach customers with the looks from their favorite shows, whether it’s a precise match or a cheaper alternative.

“Once we all know that you just love the vibe of a specific series, we will keep offering you excellent recommendations inspired by that look, or that complement that aesthetic,” she said.

Bettridge said it was more about community-building than flogging specific products.

“For those who’re a fashion brand that creates compelling content, you give a reason to your audience to interact with you each day, because a luxury purchase, it might probably possibly happen a few times a 12 months for some people,” he explained. “It’s really about being that lightning rod, which now we have evidence ends in increased sales and increased customer engagement.”

Briones argued that despite their high visibility, the business viability of collaborations was up for debate. “Clever product placement stays the strongest weapon of desire. It speaks very powerfully to Gen Z,” he said. “Today, the brand new super influencers are the costume designers.”

He noted that it’s not all the time clear when brands pay for placements, as evidenced by scenarios where products are the brunt of derision. The Burberry bag in “Succession” is one example, while the Tiffany & Co. ring that’s the thing of a Holocaust joke in “You People” is one other living proof. And was Valentino in on that episode of the controversial HBO series “The Idol”?

“We’re seeing an increase in masochistic product placements, where the filmmakers make fun of the product placement,” said Briones, who believes that self-flagellating placements act like a postmodern wink to savvy consumers. “The share of product placements will proceed to grow because Hollywood desperately needs the cash and it’s a hugely effective business tool.”

In some cases, producers are earning revenues from collaborations and spin-off products equivalent to Half Magic, the cosmetics line created by “Euphoria” makeup artist Donni Davy that’s backed by A24, the entertainment company behind the HBO show.

ViacomCBS Consumer Products — the parent company of MTV Entertainment Studios that produces “Emily in Paris” — sought to capitalize on the interest within the show’s fashion by curating a number of shoppable content around Season Two.

But costume designer Marylin Fitoussi insists that her selections for “Emily in Paris” are strictly separate from such business deals.

“I still work the old-fashioned way with only a confidentiality agreement with no money changing hands. It’s not product placement. People identified that in a single episode, Emily wore a Dior helmet and rode a Dior scooter. That was the work of the production design team. I don’t know what happened,” she said.

Likewise, she said she was not aware of Malone Souliers’ footwear collection inspired by the show. “I’m not involved in that side of things, which supplies me complete artistic freedom, and that’s necessary to me,” Fitoussi said. “It’s great to have the opportunity to pair a Stéphane Rolland dress with a handbag I purchased on asos.com.”

In the primary season, only a handful of labels were willing to work with the show despite the indisputable fact that it was the brainchild of “Sex and the City” producer Darren Star and that Patricia Field was consulting on costumes.

“Then there are other brands which have understood that it’s a part of the zeitgeist, and that it’s one other way of communicating with and reaching folks that may not be desirous about their brand otherwise. In luxury stores, there are young women who weren’t customers before and who’ve saved up to purchase Emily’s shoes or Emily’s bag,” Fitoussi said.

In what is likely to be considered one other example of “masochistic” product placement, Stéphane Rolland, the Paris-based couturier who has dressed everyone from Beyoncé to Celine Dion, is the actual designer behind the gathering of fictional character Pierre Cadault, whose style is mocked as being out of touch.

Now that brands clamor to be on the show, Fitoussi likes to make use of it as a springboard for emerging labels. Designers equivalent to Victor Weinsanto and Kevin Germanier have credited “Emily in Paris” with helping to maintain their fledgling businesses afloat, with Weinsanto featuring series star Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, who plays Sylvie Grateau, in considered one of his runway shows.

“It moves me, it makes me pleased. I do know it should enrich the show and above all, I do know they are going to get worldwide recognition for his or her work and it should give them a bit more freedom,” said Fitoussi, who’s been nominated for an Emmy this 12 months within the category of Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a series.

Nonetheless, she noted it was hard for brands to anticipate any financial windfall from the show. “We never know the way it should be edited and there’s a six-month gap between when the series is shot and when it comes out. Once you shoot in summer and the series is broadcast in winter, the stores carry winter clothes, not summer clothes,” she said.

The costume designer is profiting from the suspension of filming — as a result of the continued strikes by the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) unions — to proceed searching for brand spanking new talent.

Briones said the crisis may benefit luxury brands, as actors develop into more depending on side gigs to replenish their revenues. “It’s a chance for luxury houses to supply much more brand content and events,” he said. “I feel we are going to see much more stars at the following fashion weeks, and potentially more celebrities on the runway.”

And it could tilt the balance of power toward other global entertainment powerhouses, equivalent to India and South Korea. “Perhaps product placements won’t be in the following series from the creator of ‘Succession,’ but in the following Korean show. There could simply be a globalization of product placement,” he said.

Irrespective of how long the strike lasts, TV series are set to proceed dictating the worldwide fashion conversation.

“The indisputable fact that this content can resonate in such a strong way across geographies, across time zones, I feel really speaks to the immersive world-building skills of the teams which are making this content, and that’s I feel why the style lands so well and has develop into such a strong force inside these shows,” Lubin said.