I understand that fashion and technology seem like two completely different and perhaps even opposing fields. I also know firsthand how intimidating both can be. On the technology side, due to rigid stereotypes of what a successful software engineer is like. On the fashion side, I mean, have you seen The Devil Wears Prada?

So, below are some things that I probably would’ve needed to hear when I was starting out in computer science, struggling to fit in with the “tech bros”, knowing I had an interest in fashion, and wondering if technology could be something I’d be good at.

I hope they help break down the intersection of fashion & technology, as well as demonstrate how, yes, computer science and technology can be a place where you can thrive, too.

YOU ARE MOST DEFINITELY NOT THE *ONLY ONE STRUGGLING

I certainly had a difficult transition into college, and academics were no exception. After receiving a C in the first introductory computer science class I took, I assumed technology was not the place for me. I’d later learn that struggling in college computer science courses is both normal and also Not The End of the World. But, at the time, I was definitely discouraged.

During my junior year, when I got the hang of computer science a bit more and did pick up some better grades (although I still received a couple more Cs), I decided to become a course teaching assistant. The job included grading students’ homework and exams, and hosting office hours.

Quickly, I learned that I was wrong all along, and that, actually, a lot of people were struggling in computer science classes. Many students would come to office hours asking the same questions I once had, worried that they weren’t grasping concepts as quickly or easily as everyone else. Plus, especially for classes graded on a curve, it is, by definition, unlikely for everyone to be getting perfect scores, and for you to be the only person having a hard time.

People, especially in highly competitive environments such as college campuses, don’t really like to talk about their struggles. I saw this as well during my senior year, when recruiting for full-time jobs—people didn’t openly talk about their rejections. Once again, I felt that maybe I was the only one failing interview tests or receiving rejection emails. Spoiler alert: I wasn’t, and both of those things are normal, too.

Also know that—given that there is no strong correlation between GPA and future success, and that technology is a unique space where degree credentials are not always strict requirements—struggling academically is not only normal, but really okay.

REMEMBER WHAT YOU’RE BEING TESTED ON

On that note, it’s also important to be conscious of what, exactly, you’re struggling with.

For instance, some college computer science programs are quite theoretical, requiring various theory and math courses. This is perfect for people interested in the foundational elements of computing, and answering more abstract questions about algorithms.

Other computer science programs are project-oriented, teaching more about how code can be used to build interesting projects and applications. These programs might require more coding courses than theory or math. Other programs fall somewhere in the middle.

So, if you’re having a difficult time with coursework in an area that won’t necessarily intersect with your post-grad pursuits, remember these struggles are not an indicator that you won’t be able to succeed in your career. The Cs I received on exams testing me on abstract proofs and theoretical concepts have not, whatsoever, negatively impacted the data science and analytics I do today for Data, But Make it Fashion. And thank goodness for that.

I’ve previously written about more concrete ways tech can be applied to the fashion industry, including some examples from my own analyses. You can read more below:

TECHNOLOGY IS ACTUALLY EVERYWHERE

The good thing about technology today is that nearly every company you can think of uses it in some capacity, and therefore hires tech talent. And yes, that includes fashion companies. Your job opportunities as someone with a tech and coding skillset are not, in fact, solely limited to tech firms.

Think of any brand that lets you shop online (having a website requires software engineers to build and maintain it), any service that has an app (thus needs iOS and Android engineers), or any retailer that has a customer loyalty program (which requires storing and securing and analyzing data). Brands like Chanel and Dior and Nordstrom and Sephora and Ralph Lauren. And so on.

And the proof is in the LinkedIn job postings, too. Just from a quick search I can see that Nike is hiring a software applications engineer, Ralph Lauren is hiring an applications development analyst, and GAP is hiring a data scientist.

I’ve written about this previously, but that’s why having interests and hobbies outside of technology can actually be A Really Good Thing. In this example specifically, an interest in and knowledge of fashion would actually help you land some of these jobs.
For more on the importance of having interests outside of your field, I recommend reading “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World” by David Epstein.

The work I do on Data, But Make it Fashion—using data and analytics to decode and understand shifts across fashion—would not be possible if I did not possess both technical coding skills as well as an interest in fashion and style. Even though, when I was in college, a passion for fashion certainly didn’t seem like something that would help me in my technology career. I’m glad to have been proven wrong.

IN CONCLUSION…

Of course, the advice and guidance provided in this article is based on my personal experiences only, and there are many different ways to approach technology. But I hope this helps demonstrate how computer science can be a place for you, too, despite any ways that you might struggle, and whatever your separate, non-tech-related interests may be.

It’s not particularly groundbreaking to say that investing in beauty is a smart move for brands. The overall beauty industry is projected to grow by around 6% annually from 2024-2028, and could become a nearly $600 billion market by 2030.

And, for high-fashion and luxury brands specifically, beauty is a good way to expand into a more affordable product offering, and allow brands to reach even more consumers without sacrificing their luxury allure. Like how Louis Vuitton sold lipstick for $160 which, while certainly expensive for lipstick, is a far more accessible way for consumers to engage with the brand than a four-thousand-dollar leather handbag.

I wrote more about this Louis Vuitton lipstick, and what it could probably tell us about the luxury landscape, last September. You can read more below:

Despite any makeup craze, however, when I took a look at online posts and press published over the last six months mentioning makeup versus skincare, I found that the real consumer enthusiasm is actually within the latter. While makeup is still the primary conversation driver—there were over 200% more online articles and press referencing makeup—posts mentioning skincare included more positive language. Around 60% more positive language, on average, to be exact.

But, what does this makeup versus skincare data even mean? And what are we supposed to do with this information, anyway??

WHAT’S GOING ON BEHIND THE NUMBERS

As brands continue to prioritize building a presence in the beauty space, it’s good to know not just what beauty-related topics consumers are talking about, but also how they’re speaking about them. And, as the above data demonstrates, while skincare might not have as large of an audience as makeup, it certainly has a more enthusiastic one.

Naturally, then, skincare seems like a worthwhile investment in which to build consumer trust and excitement; that this is where you could generate more dedicated hype around a product.

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So, last season, where we saw a first glimpse of this new, luxury fashion landscape, was Pretty Exciting. This latest season, however, where we saw the sophomore collections at these brands and thus an additional insight into what their future might hold, was also quite significant. And, could confirm any assumptions of where we thought the industry would be headed in 2026, versus where it actually is.

So, similarly to how I analyzed the big creative director debuts from last Paris Fashion Week, I pulled online press articles and their sentiment surrounding four of this season’s runway collections—Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga, and Loewe. To understand, six months since their debuts, not only how they’re resonating with consumers, but also what they could signal about luxury fashion’s current landscape. Here’s what the data has to say.

CHANEL: IT’S BUZZIER THAN EVER

First, the brand who had the strongest reach this fashion month (or, who saw the largest amount of published online articles and press) was Chanel. Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel has seen around twice as much online coverage this month versus the other brands on average. That’s a lot of buzz.

Of course, this might not seem so surprising. Chanel was also the most talked about show last season and, as I noted then, it’s not particularly groundbreaking that bigger, household-name brands see the strongest reach.

But that’s not to diminish the data, either. Not all big brands see such an impact across mass consumers following their runway collections (as we’ll discuss later in this article). Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel runways, then, are certainly good at getting people—both within the fashion industry and otherwise—excited and talking.

Not to mention that much of the press surrounding Chanel this month wasn’t necessarily about the brand’s latest runway collection, but about how Matthieu’s first Chanel collection had hit the stores and was causing quite the craze. Much of it, actually, is already sold out.

So, there you have it—more data points on how strongly this new era at Chanel is resonating with consumers. And how, ultimately, among a sea of many buzzy creative director debuts, Matthieu’s Chanel is certainly standing out as one that’s working really, really well.

DIOR: MAKING ITS MARK

Next, we have Dior, who has certainly been winning over consumers with every additional collection ever since Jonathan Anderson showed his first, menswear runway for the brand back in June. This season, we saw his second womenswear collection for Dior, and people (objectively) loved it.

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Gucci’s parent company, Kering, has reported declining sales for three consecutive years now. And, while these declines do seem like they’re starting to slow and signal a potential return to growth, the pressure is still on at Gucci. Especially considering it’s Kering’s largest brand by both sales and profits.

So, whether or not Demna—who was credited for transforming Balenciaga into a “cultural phenomenon”—can revitalize Gucci is, quite literally, a billion-dollar question.

Now, one week since his runway debut, it’s interesting to analyze the show’s reception, dissecting not only what we saw on the runway, but also how this new Gucci fits into high-fashion’s greater landscape. And, what it says about what the fashion industry needs versus doesn’t need today. Let’s get into it.

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However, while data analytics is certainly a more objective, numbers-based space than fashion and design, there are actually m…

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This isn’t particularly helped by the fact that many prominent American designers and brands, including Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row and luxury fashion house Tom Ford, have chosen to show their runways at Paris Fashion Week instead.

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However, with over sixty runway shows on the calendar this season, New York Fashion Week is still going strong. And, clearly, there is still a significant impact and cultural weight attached to putting on a New York runway. I mean, remember how Calvin Klein saw a nearly 190% spike in popularity when it returned to the NYFW calendar after six and a half years?

So, season after season, it is certainly frustrating to keep hearing claims that New York Fashion Week is “dead”. Different, sure. But dead?? And, actually, rather than competing with other international fashion houses, New York Fashion Week serves a different purpose altogether. Let’s get into it.

BUT FIRST, A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON

I recently started reading “Empresses of Seventh Avenue” by Nancy MacDonell, which chronicles the rise of the American fashion industry in the 1940s as access to European fashion, and specifically French fashion, was compromised during World War II. Up until then, American designers closely followed and even directly copied the fashion coming out of Parisian houses, which were seen as the gold standard of style. This idea, dating back to Louis XIV, was referred to as “the French legend.”

When speaking of American fashion designers in the late 1920s, MacDonell writes:

“The only thing stopping them from designing their own collections was the continued power of the French legend. What American women needed…were their own couturiers. They needed someone to create their own legend.”

So, the idea that New York—or American designers, for that matter—can’t compete with big, European luxury houses is not a new one. And, it seems the story is still being written today. But it’s important to notice that, especially given how the American fashion industry has evolved and become its own, independent force in the decades since MacDonell’s recounting, New York and Paris Fashion Weeks are celebrating very different things.

Here are three collections from this past New York Fashion Week that demonstrate the event’s importance and influence, and which you should definitely know about.

THE DESIGNERS KEEPING NEW YORK FASHION WEEK VERY MUCH ALIVE

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That’s right, Justin Bieber’s Grammys performance was perhaps as stripped down as it could get. No backup dancers, no backing track. Just him, his guitar…and a pair of boxers.

Following the Grammys, Bieber Fever went into full effect. Site traffic for Justin Bieber’s clothing brand Skylrk—whose logo was displayed all over his boxer shorts—saw their web traffic grow by 300% during the ceremony. Their inventory of boxers and socks completely sold out. And today, one week later, based on my analysis of online posts, their sentiment, and search traffic, boxers are already around 70% more popular overall versus last month.

Clearly, Bieber’s style had quite the impact across fashion and, as such, boxers are back on the rise. But actually, when you take a closer look at the data, something a bit more complex is happening here. So, what’s really going on?

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY

When it comes to using data and analytics to understand fashion trends, it’s sometimes not just about observing an overall trend line, but more about what different forces are coming together to create the trend line in the first place. And, what happens when these forces might be opposing each other. Let me explain.

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Like last summer, when white tank tops were trending (not groundbreaking), and I found that their popularity was actually around 160% higher versus the same time the previous year (pretty groundbreaking). Or, when it seemed those Hervé Léger and Alaïa bandage dresses were having a comeback, and the data showed they’d risen over 600% in popularity in just one month (whoa). Because while it’s great to have assumptions proven right, often the strength of a trend can be more interesting to observe than the very trend itself.

So, imagine my contentment when, last week, I wanted to uncover if romanticism was trending in fashion. There have been many recurring motifs of romance and the Romantic era in both style and popular culture around us, so I was curious if the numbers could back it up. And, thanks to the data, I found not only that romanticism is in style…but actually by quite a lot.

According to Google search data, searches for “romance” worldwide are at a five-year high, and around 27% more popular in 2026 so far versus the last five years on average. And this didn’t necessarily come out of nowhere either, as searches have been steadily and consistently increasing around 8% annually since 2021.

Whenever a fashion fad emerges atop such a strong foundation, it suggests that it is likely not a micro trend; that it could be built to last for some time. So, romanticism is here, and it could actually have an impact across fashion in 2026. But, what does it even look like for romanticism to show up in style? And how did we get here???

EVERYTHING IS…ROMANTIC?

While there are many interpretations of what romance or romanticism in fashion could look like, here are just a few examples of how it’s currently appearing.

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And so far, the clothing we’re seeing on the menswear runways is pretty consistent with what we’ve seen in seasons past. We saw grey suits in around 13% of Zegna’s collection, navy blue suits in 7% of Giorgio Armani’s collection, and even brown and beige suits in 19% of Soshiotsuki’s collection. This season, it looks like it’s business (literally) as usual.

However, amidst the sea of suiting, there was one collection that everyone seemed to not just be eagerly talking about, but praising. And that would be Ralph Lauren.

That’s right, Ralph Lauren, perhaps the most notable American luxury fashion brand that almost always stages its runway shows in the United States, showed at Milan menswear week. Not to mention this was also Ralph Lauren’s first time back on the official men’s calendar in twenty years. Front row guests included Colman Domingo, Tom Hiddleston, and Henry Golding. It was a star-studded night to remember, and that’s not even including what happened on the runway. Of course, there were lots of suits, but there was also so much more.

So, what exactly was it about Ralph Lauren’s latest menswear collection that made it so incredible? And what does it mean for where fashion might be headed in 2026?

THE POWER IN KNOWING WHAT YOU’RE GOOD AT

I’ve previously written about the importance of brands knowing what they’re good at and, rather than innovating for the sake of innovating, sticking to it. Most notably, last year we witnessed the comeback arcs of brands like Burberry, Coach, and Tory Burch, which all had newly embraced their brand’s hallmarks consumers had come to love (plaid scarves, logo shoulder bags, and innovative shoes, respectively). And as simple as “stick to what you’re good at” may sound, it can actually feel counterintuitive in today’s fast-paced, micro-trends-driven fashion landscape.

Take, for example, high-fashion’s revolving door of creative directors, with many brands often swapping out designers with the hope of rejuvenating a brand and staying top-of-mind for consumers. And how along with a new designer usually comes a whole new brand identity. Like when Gucci went from Alessandro Michele’s loud maximalism to Sabato de Sarno’s refined minimalism in just one season; when Versace went from Donatella’s glamour to Dario Vitale’s colorful, ‘80s aesthetic in only a couple of months.

Ralph Lauren himself, however, has been at the helm of his brand since it was founded nearly sixty years ago. That kind of consistency—in both a brand’s creative director and its corresponding brand identity—is incredibly rare in luxury fashion today. Ralph Lauren, for decades, has been known for preppy, well-tailored, sporty, classic Americana style, and that’s exactly what we saw on last week’s runway.

It’s also a testament to how, rather than brands having to change course to keep consumers interested or to weather difficult patches (note how the great creative director reset of 2025 also occurred while the fashion industry was in quite the slump), perhaps one way to deal with fashion’s constant pressure for change is to…ignore it altogether? And, instead, be Really Freaking Consistent. At least at Ralph Lauren, it’s working.

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Today, as new, Spring 2026 ready-to-wear collections are starting to drop and become available to purchase, the buzz surrounding luxury fashion’s ultra-high-prices and many five-figure clothing items feels more prominent than ever.

Take Demna’s first collection for Gucci, for example, which includes a pink chiffon dress selling for $16,000, a blue shearling coat selling for $15,000, and another shearling coat—this time in tiger print—selling for $48,000. Yep, you read that right. Nearly fifty thousand dollars.

At this point, you’re lucky if you find a high-fashion price tag that doesn’t include a comma. And while high prices have always felt somewhat inherent to luxury fashion, what do these steep prices mean for consumers and brands alike? Actually, it’s not all that it seems.

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This was certainly no small announcement. Jonathan would be following in Maria Grazia Chiuri’s footsteps, Dior’s womenswear creative director for nine years, who quadrupled revenues during her tenure. But, Jonathan’s bar was actually set higher than that—he would become the first person after Christian Dior himself to oversee Dior completely, designing around 10 collections every year. Whoa.

However, the fashion industry had faith in Jonathan Anderson. He had, after over a decade at Loewe, transformed the brand from one only a few knew how to pronounce to one of fashion’s household names. He grew Loewe’s annual revenues to around $1 billion. He set the standard for how luxury fashion brands should connect with people on social media (remember that viral Loewe tomato bag?), and generated an endless lineup of buzz-worthy campaigns.

So, excitement for Jonathan taking over Dior was high, and rightly so. Now, six months after his debut, I was curious to analyze his impact at Dior thus far, and what it really looks like to bring a big, beloved, luxury brand into a new era. Here’s what the data says.

THE DEBUT…

Let’s go back to June of 2025, at Paris Menswear Week, where Jonathan Anderson showed his first collection as creative director of Dior. It was certainly the talk of the month.

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But despite the many changes that happened on fashion’s surface, a lot of trends that dominated 2025 were actually not very exciting at all. Instead, much of this year was marked by economic uncertainty, and the simple, bland, monochromatic fashion trends that followed. Like the rise of corporate-core, or the prominence of muted earth tones. I mean, remember the very jeans-and-a-t-shirt Coachella, or how the hottest trend leading up to summer was a basic white tank top?

In addition to current anxieties, or perhaps because of them, another force that heavily influenced fashion trends this year was nostalgia. On a large scale, consumers turned to brands and products that felt quite familiar, or that they perhaps even already owned. Like vintage Coach bags, or Tory Burch ballet flats, or classic check Burberry scarves. Or Hervé-Léger-and-Alaïa bandage dresses, or Alexander McQueen skull scarves. And so on.

And while it’s great to see trends come back around—as most of them do—it’s also interesting to see fashion be out with the old, and in with the…old? Because, with so many consumers excited by what has already happened, where are brands supposed to go next? When will we return to fashion that feels fun and bold and exciting and maybe even optimistic?

Thankfully—and especially after this past fashion month, where many of luxury’s biggest brands showed runway collections under new creative directors—it seems that fashion is headed in a more positive direction. There’s already some increased consumer interest for bolder fashion trends, like leopard print, which rose around 34% in popularity in early November. Or like the loud, logo jewelry of Van Cleef & Arpels, which saw a spike in search traffic last month following a special appearance at the World Series.

Plus, one of the colors that has been dominating culture lately, from sports to entertainment to music to technology—and continues to dominate much thanks to Timothée Chalamet—is orange. That sounds pretty fun to me. And, hopefully, these fun and bolder fashion trend lines continue well into 2026.

“I THINK I’VE SEEN THIS FILM BEFORE, AND I DIDN’T LIKE THE ENDING”

Interestingly, around one year ago, fashion seemed like it was trending in the same direction as it is now. And actually, twenty-twenty-five was meant to be the year fun and bold fashion took over. Sure, maybe some of this has to do with how bolder styles naturally rise in popularity during the holidays, or the general optimism that comes along with celebrating a new year—that this one will be better than the last!!!

But after about a year and a half of fashion’s restrictive “quiet luxury” craze, the winter of 2024 was the first time the fad started to consistently decline in popularity. And, at least in the early months of 2025, it did seem like fashion was meeting its “loud luxury” predictions.

For a deeper dive into the conflicting fashion forces that shaped 2025, you can read more about it below:

But the fun fashion phase of early 2025 unfortunately ended up being exactly that—a phase. And for what was supposed to be fashion’s bold reawakening, style on a large scale in 2025 ended up remaining quite simple and bland and monochromatic. Sigh.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT NOW?

So yes, there is a possibility that, despite signs pointing to otherwise, 2026 could be yet another year of not-so-happy style choices. I mean, what makes this time around any different?

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This archetype, and the assumption that it is the ideal profile required to succeed in computer science, can discourage prospective students who do not fit its requirements from pursuing technology. I certainly didn’t feel like computer science was something I could be good at.
Never mind that, as I’ve previously written, sticking out from “tech bros” can actually be an asset in technology. But let’s continue.

However, such assumptions are not only misleading with regards to who can succeed in computer science, but also about what the job actually entails. Let’s get into it.

TECH WASN’T ALWAYS THIS WAY: A BRIEF HISTORY LESSON

Even though computer science today is heavily male-dominated—around 80% of software engineers identify as male—it wasn’t always this way. Actually, computer programming originated as a female-dominated field.

In the 50s and 60s, women were seen as naturals in computer programming. Female candidates were considered to uniquely possess qualities required to succeed in coding, such as precision and attention to detail. In fact, many of the software engineers behind the Apollo missions that put men on the moon were women.

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But, once it became clear there was value and money in software, it was rebranded as engineering and, over time, shifted to become a male-dominated space.

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However, there were still many fun and exciting moments across fashion …

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Interestingly, there are several ways that brands are attempting to demonstrate they are, in fact, luxurious. And sometimes it’s not about what brands are doing, but rather what they’re not. Let’s talk about it.

I’M A LUXURY BRAND!!!

There are three notable strategies brands use to establish themselves as luxurious in the minds of consumers.

First, and perhaps most obviously, is to differentiate by price. Like how Hermès announced earlier this year it would raise its already-high prices by an additional 7%, resulting in a nearly 40% increase in prices since 2019. Or how, when Louis Vuitton launched its makeup line, it did so with a $160 lipstick. And, seeing as how Hermès’ handbags continue to be a luxury favorite, and how the Vuitton lipstick actually sold out, the strategy seems to work. Highly expensive products are almost seen as inherent to luxury brands.

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But as present as Latin American influence might be in American fashion today, Latin American brands and talent are still underrepresented in the global high-fashion landscape. The majority of fashion’s top creative director positions are held by white, non-Latin American men. And, what the high-fashion world considers to be its most important runways are mostly displayed across Europe and in New York. Plus, independent Latin American brands still face significant roadblocks when scaling across the United States or elsewhere, from supply chain constraints to heightened import costs.

So, there’s quite a lot of potential out there the greater fashion world could be missing out on. Let’s talk about it.

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The lesson goes like this: a professor stands in front of the class at a table holding the ingredients necessary to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A jar of peanut b…

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Interestingly, as creative directors move from one brand to another, so do their favorite celebrity faces and ambassadors. In fact, many celebrities are loyal to creative directors rather than to the brands themselves.

Like how Greta Lee followed Jonathan Anderson from Loewe to Dior, or how Anne Hathaway attended Pierpaolo’s Balenciaga debut after being a strong supporter of his Valentino. Or Harry Styles, who was famously a muse for Alessandro Michele during his time at Gucci, and even wore Gucci to co-chair the 2019 Met Gala. However, when Michele left Gucci and showed his first runway collection for Valentino in 2024, Harry Styles was there, sitting front row. Wearing Valentino.

This, of course, makes sense. If you’re a designer’s muse and closely align with their style and design aesthetic, I would want to follow them, too. But if you zoom out and imagine what broader consumers see, the story looks a bit different. Now that the dust from fashion month is settling, it’s interesting to assess how creative director changes—and the celebrity ambassador shifts that come along with them—are shaping each brand.

THE ROLE OF CELEBRITIES IN HIGH-FASHION

Celebrities are ever present in today’s high-fashion landscape, though it wasn’t always this way. Actually, after becoming the editor-in-chief of Vogue in 1988, Anna Wintour received backlash when she started putting celebrities, rather than models, on the cover. Like Madonna in 1989, Nicole Kidman in 1995, and Halle Berry in 2002. Today, however, seeing celebrities on the cover of Vogue is the norm.

On the brand side, celebrity partnerships also feel somewhat inescapable. Even Maison Margiela, whose founder was famously quite anti-celebrity marketing, named Miley Cyrus a face of its brand earlier this year. This was the first time in Margiela’s nearly-four-decade history that it had announced a celebrity ambassador. The power and necessity of celebrity partnerships, in both engaging consumers and standing out in today’s competitive fashion landscape, is clear.

However, though celebrity partnerships might be common and useful, they’re not as easy to get right as they may seem. Thanks to the rise of social media, today’s fashion consumers are digitally savvy and presented with more content than ever. This means they can tell when a brand partnership doesn’t feel like a good match, which can turn consumers away from a brand. Take Miu Miu’s latest campaign featuring Kylie Jenner, for example, which fans quickly criticized for feeling inauthentic.

Finding a celebrity partnership that makes sense is essential to convincing consumers why they should buy into a brand in the first place. And what they’re getting—or who they can become—when they do so. So, what happens when celebrity ambassadors, like many this year, switch from one brand to another, and when a brand’s image starts to lose some of its consistency?

WHERE DO JACOB ELORDI AND BOTTEGA VENETA FIT INTO THE STORY?

Bottega Veneta’s partnership with Jacob Elordi is quite the ideal celebrity collaboration scenario. Elordi was officially named a Bottega Veneta ambassador in May of 2024, while Matthieu Blazy was the brand’s creative director. However, Elordi had already been spotted carrying Bottega Veneta’s leather handbags—and often several at once—since 2022. So, him becoming a Bottega ambassador made sense in the eyes of consumers. At least from the outside, it looked like Elordi was genuinely a fan of Bottega, and the partnership seemed like a good fit.

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