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Sabrina Carpenter has had quite the year. Her viral hit ‘Espresso’ reached number one in the US and the UK in April (exceeding a billion streams on Spotify); she supported Taylor Swift on the US leg of The Eras Tour; performed at Coachella for the first time; secured six VMA nominations and even launched her own Erewhon smoothie. And following the June release of ‘Espresso’ follow-up ‘Please Please Please’ (with a video starring actor-boyfriend Barry Keoghan) she became the third female artist to achieve the number one and two spots on the UK singles chart.
But Carpenter is — arguably — just getting started. Her much-anticipated Short n’ Sweet album drops on 23 August, followed by a world tour in September. TikTok search for the “Short n’ Sweet tour” has racked up 8.9 million posts so far, as fans eagerly await her live performances. And as the star continues to engage with luxury, for fashion brands, this could be a key time to tap in.
The rise and rise
It was Carpenter’s 2022 album Emails I Can’t Send, featuring hits ‘Feather’ and ‘Nonsense’, that propelled her into the mainstream. Over the past four years, Carpenter’s Instagram following has near-doubled from 19 million to 37 million, according to influencer intelligence platform Lefty. On TikTok, she has 19 million followers and her videos have garnered 275 million likes.
Some brands are already harnessing her influence. Carpenter starred in a Skims campaign in April, generating $5.5 million in media impact value (MIV) in the first 48 hours from both Carpenter’s own posts and reaction posts online, according to Launchmetrics. (MIV measures the economic value of posts, article mentions and social media interactions for brands and individuals.) “Skims, a leader when it comes to leveraging top cultural moments, recognised [her impact] by signing Sabrina on board, underscoring her rapid rise in popularity,” says Alison Bringé, CMO of Launchmetrics.
In May, Carpenter starred in Marc Jacobs’s ‘The Sack Bag’ campaign, alongside models Gabbriette, Irina Shayk and Anok Yai, as well as star of the summer Charli XCX. Carpenter received 13 per cent more likes on average than any of the other figures in the campaign, according to data analytics account @databutmakeitfashion.
Carpenter holds particular resonance with Gen Z consumers thanks to her tongue-in-cheek humour. From her lyrically playful and provocative outros, to debut single ‘Nonsense’ (customised to each location she is performing in), to catchy one-liners in ‘Espresso’ and ‘Please Please Please’, Carpenter’s music has helped her create a compelling persona for audiences to align with. Her famous line in ‘Espresso’ “I’m working late, cause I’m a singer” captured TikTok fans in the spring, with over 107 million posts using the sound bite. Sixty-seven per cent of her TikTok audience is 18 to 24 years old, with 57 per cent on Instagram, per Lefty.
“Sabrina’s ‘Nonsense’ outros feel very authentic to her cheeky aesthetic — it’s a very smart way of keeping that constant hype with your audience and keeping people engaged over a long period of time,” says @databutmakeitfashion founder Madé Lapuerta.
Red carpet resonance
She’s boosting brand awareness on the red carpet, too. At her second Met Gala appearance in May, Carpenter wore an Oscar de la Renta gown with a black bodice and an orchid-inspired voluminous, satin skirt. Her three posts concerning the dress on Instagram generated $6.65 million in earned media value, or EMV (the amount of advertising spend required to achieve the same number of impressions), per Lefty.
A month later, she made her men’s fashion week debut, attending the Louis Vuitton men’s show and generating £1 million in MIV for the brand with a single Instagram post. The same month, she attended Loewe’s spring 2025 men’s show, wearing a turquoise dress from the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2024 runway, garnering $2 million in MIV and accounting for 11 per cent of total brand coverage, according to Launchmetrics. Carpenter was the second most-mentioned star after Loewe’s global ambassador, Chinese actor Wang Yibo, per @databutmakeitfashion.
Carpenter also featured at Vogue World at the end of July, walking the runway in custom Jacquemus. The moment drove $9.6 million in MIV, per Launchmetrics, and Carpenter didn’t even post it on her own socials. An Instagram reel of the moment on Vogue Business’s Instagram hit over a million views.
What does this mean for fashion brands?
Carpenter has a distinct aesthetic, featuring bold colours and prints, short hemlines and platform shoes, paired with her signature beauty look of blonde bangs and bright blush. Whether it’s Brat green, Taylor Swift sequins or Renaissance-coded Western-wear, having a distinctive aesthetic is a key driver for fashion-engaged stars. “[Sabrina] is incredibly consistent with her image and that comes through in her outfits, her concerts, her cover art and her Instagram,” says @databutmakeitfashion’s Lapuerta. “It is very easy to get behind her because you know exactly what you’re getting behind.”
Independent Ukrainian label Frolov has been working with Carpenter since 2023 when the singer requested a custom version of the brand’s signature heart-cutout top for her performance at the Greek Theatre in LA. Since, designer Ivan Frolov has outfitted Carpenter in several custom versions of the piece, including for The Eras Tour and the star’s first Coachella performance in April. According to Lefty, the heart-cutout dresses alone generated $22.8 million in EMV across 11 of Carpenter’s Instagram posts, $7.96 million of which was generated from the Coachella performance.
Frolov says their philosophies are aligned. “We found a huge impact on brand [awareness], especially within the US market. Sabrina did a lot for us as a brand to become more famous in the United States,” he says. “What’s very important to us is that we have a new, younger audience who became our clients and that the new generation is exploring a Ukrainian brand,” he adds.
Carpenter wore a mini dress from jewellery and fashion house Defaïence’s Anqā line in the video for ‘Please Please Please’, which sent her fans into a frenzy. Defaïence founder and creative director Nicola Bacchilega says: “Sabrina wearing such a strong and recognisable piece from our collection in such an iconic music video of hers (it’s not only the song that went viral, but the fashion in the video, too) certainly made the Anqā dress one of the most sought-after pieces from this collection. It is so great to see such a big artist wanting to collaborate with smaller brands and help them grow.”
As we anticipate her new album, tour and accompanying slew of viral, tongue-in-cheek social content, Carpenter is likely to rise to new heights with Gen Z audiences. “Gen Z, more than any generation before, finds connection through shared common experiences, making their relationship to artists deeply personal. They seek out celebrities who have the ability to create a momentum reflective of today’s conversations,” Bringé adds. “Social media plays a crucial role for Gen Z, and so artists who become big and are generating the most buzz do so by going viral online through relatable content.”
Beyond brand deals, Carpenter is cleverly investing in her own brand and products to capitalise on her popularity. In 2022, she launched her own fragrance line in collaboration with perfume curator Scent Beauty. It’s currently stocked by retailers including Walmart, Amazon and Superdrug at $49 for 75ml; she launched her third fragrance, Cherry Baby, in July.
“With sold-out venues across the US and Europe, Sabrina Carpenter’s impact is undeniable,” Bringé says. “Brands that align with her unique style and dedicated fan base should definitely pay attention, as her influence is set to grow even further, especially with her upcoming tour.”
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Correction: This article was updated to correct the EMV from Sabrina's Oscar de la Renta dress to $6.65 million. A previous version of the article said $4.6million.
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