Chiara Ferragni Earned Her Wedding Dress Designer More Media Value Than Meghan Markle Did
Photo: Courtesy of Dior
Chiara Ferragni has earned her perch at the top of the influencer food chain, and the proof of her worth is in the numbers. The 31-year-old, who started her blog The Blonde Salad in the fall of 2009, has amassed 14.6 million Instagram followers to date; in addition to her impressive list of lucrative partnerships with both fashion and beauty brands, she's the president and ceo of her own media company TBS Crew, and has launched an eponymous collection of clothing, shoes and accessories.
On Saturday in Sicily, Ferragni got married to her equally social media-savvy husband Fedez (who has 6.6 million Instagram followers), updating her fans in real time as the three-day extravaganza progressed. For the occasion, the bride wore two Dior Couture gowns custom designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri; the first, worn during the ceremony, required 1600 hours of work at the Dior atelier in Paris, while her reception dress was embroidered with motifs inspired by the couple's relationship, including a lion in honor of their son, Leone. Aw!
This was surely an expensive undertaking for Dior, but according to new data from Launchmetrics, the investment paid off astoundingly. The wedding reportedly earned the luxury brand, which recently made headlines for its influencer-heavy push of the rereleased Saddle Bag, a total audience-driven media impact value (MIV) of $5.2 million on account of its digital coverage — specifically via the official hashtag, #TheFerragnez, which garnered an approximated 67 million engagements. Launchmetrics also notes that Dior itself saw engagement of 5.6 million globally, with Ferragni's series of posts about her gowns alone representing $1.6 million in MIV.
Recommended Articles
Photo: Courtesy of Dior
At their festival-themed after-party, the couple gave out commemorative merch mimicking that of the Royal Wedding, which turned out to be quite fitting. Though examining the complete MIV (that'd be a cool $36 million) of #TheFerragnez wedding takes other brands into account — Prada, which designed Ferragni's rehearsal dinner dress, Alberta Ferretti, which outfitted the bridal party and Lancome, which provided her beauty looks throughout the event — Dior reportedly accounted for 15 percent of its total. Meanwhile, when Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a custom Givenchy gown by Clare Waight Keller, buzz around the French house only accounted for 7 percent of the Royal Wedding's total MIV.
Though Ferragni may not be actual royalty, she will likely comfortably sit in the fashion industry throne for years to come as the queen of making money and building buzz for herself and anyone who hires her.
Want the latest fashion industry news first? Sign up for our daily newsletter.
