Which fashion brands scored big at the Super Bowl?

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For the last 48 hours, Super Bowl content has dominated social media, after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium on Sunday. Previously, the Super Bowl was a playground for beer or tech brands, rather than fashion or beauty. But this edition was different, thanks in large part to new NFL WAG Taylor Swift and a host of global celebrities and influencers, from halftime performer Usher and attendees Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, to mega-influencers Alix Earle and Olivia Culpo, who are also dating NFL players.

This year, brands responded to the female Super Bowl viewership. Cetaphil’s pre-show ad, featuring a Swiftie daughter and NFL-mad dad bonding over the game, was the first sign. Ads from beauty labels like Nyx and Elf Cosmetics followed, along with a Verizon ad starring Beyoncé.

But some of the biggest winners were not those who shelled out an estimated $7 million for a TV advert; it was the fashion labels dressing some of the event’s key names, on and off the field. We crunched the numbers to break down some of the key moments.

Taylor Swift in Dion Lee and Area

Swift, who began dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce last summer, has boosted NFL viewership since she began attending games, particularly among female viewers. According to the New York Times, when Swift attended a Chiefs game, the TV networks averaged 25 million viewers in late Sunday time slots and 16 million in early Sunday time slots. That’s 9 per cent and 15 per cent more viewers than when she didn’t appear, respectively. The NFL has also boosted its global reach in her wake. In the UK, US-based leading jersey and merch licenser Fanatics has upped its product offering by 80 per cent this year, says Krista Corrigan, fashion and retail analyst at Edited, which she credits in part to the Swifties, as there are more Kelce products in stock so far in January 2024 versus any of the previous six months.

Swift only appeared for less than a minute on the Super Bowl broadcast, but she has since generated upwards of $180 million in media impact value (MIV) for the event, per initial data from Launchmetrics.

Alongside Swift, mega-influencer Alix Earle also brought fresh attention to the NFL over the last six months, after she started dating Miami Dolphins player Braxton Berrios last Spring. The Dolphins didn’t play the Super Bowl, but Earle’s TikTok videos from attending Super Bowl weekend with Berrios have gained over 70 million views.

Swift wore a corset top from Australian designer Dion Lee and jeans from New York label Area, which held its Autumn/Winter runway show earlier that day. This moment prompted a 210 per cent search increase for Area over the last 48 hours, according to Lyst, with a 311 per cent increase in searches for the Area Cutout Embellished Jeans that she wore. The jeans promptly sold out online in both black (worn by Swift) and blue denim following the game.

Dion Lee was quick to share Swift’s corset top on its Instagram page, and it instantly sold out in every size. According to Launchmetrics, Swift garnered $1.5 million in MIV for the Australian brand, and $181,000 MIV for Area.

The pop star, in the middle of her $1 billion Eras tour, has had a similar effect all season: the custom Chiefs jacket she wore, designed by 49ers WAG Kristin Juszczyk, caused such a stir that Juszczyk has now secured an official licence with the NFL.

Travis Kelce in Amiri

Kelce has driven fashion buzz all season, sporting brands from Kidsuper to Collina Strada. For the Super Bowl, he wore a sparkly Amiri bouclé co-ord for the all-important tunnel walk.

It has sparked a 317 per cent increase in searches for Amiri since the game, according to Lyst. Kelce’s team reached out to founder Mike Amiri a month ago, before it was sure the Chiefs would make it to the Super Bowl, Amiri told Vogue: “He was an early supporter of my work, and last year we got to actually hang out, ironically, in Vegas. I’d imagine the biggest brands in the world wait for moments like this to dress someone. For us, it was really organic, which made it extra special.”

The response so far has been “extremely positive”, Amiri shared with Vogue Business over email. “It’s a testament to the megastar that Travis is and the relevance of athletes in today’s fashion landscape,” Amiri says. Kelce has generated $312,000 so far in MIV for the brand, according to Launchmetrics.

Usher in Off-White

Usher also wore a series of sparkly pieces during his halftime show, including a silver glittery Dolce & Gabbana look. But the biggest impact came from his Off-White midnight blue roller cross outfit, which was made of five different pieces and featured 394,000 crystals, according to the brand. Usher’s look was inspired by Off-White’s SS23 Men’s collection. His dancers’ looks, meanwhile, were inspired by the ready-to-wear collections from SS23, FW23 and SS24 seasons, according to Off-White. Searches for the brand spiked 13 per cent post-Super Bowl, according to Lyst.

The Louis Vuitton takeover

Louis Vuitton was a clear winner for 2024, inside and outside of the Allegiant Stadium. Upon arrival, several members of the Chiefs team were spotted with Louis Vuitton totes and luggage, including Kelce who wore a Vuitton briefcase, and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who wheeled a Louis Vuitton monogram hand luggage suitcase with his logo on it.

Louis Vuitton also designed custom sparkly jerseys for Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, with the names of their Wicked characters Elphaba and Glinda on the reverse. The duo appeared at the Super Bowl in the jerseys in line with the film’s first-ever trailer release.

The brand is leading the “sports-luxury crossover” ahead of the Paris Olympics, which parent company LVMH is sponsoring, Corrigan points out. “They’re partnering with people like Travis Kelce but also Olympic athletes and everyday athletes that are just working really hard.” Ahead of these major brand marketing moments, there was a 258 per cent spike in new products on Louis Vuitton’s site in the US in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, Edited says, though it’s too soon to garner post-event sales.

Louis Vuitton also saw an indirect boost from Beyoncé, who recently wore a custom version of the brand’s AW24 Western-inspired men’s collection to the Grammys. The megastar broke the internet mid-Super Bowl by announcing a new country music album. It’s a major win for both the French maison and the Western trend, and we can expect a lot more looks going ahead.

While the Super Bowl has long been a crucial marketing channel for other industries, this year has underlined its potential as a fashion and beauty marketing space. Granted, Swift may be responsible for some of the hype. But as fashion continues to explore new sporting avenues and ambassadors to win over menswear and womenswear consumers, analysts expect brands will continue to invest in not just the Super Bowl, but the NFL more widely. And now the NFL season is done, perhaps we can expect to see some NFL players across the June menswear shows, continuing the influx of sports stars from SS24 last June.

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