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Vicky Beercock

Creative Brand Communications and Marketing Leader | Driving Cultural Relevance & Meaningful Impact | Collaborations

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Fashion’s Soft Power Play at Paris Men’s Week

Why silence spoke louder than spectacle this season - and what it means for brand marketers in fashion

Paris Men’s Week 2025 didn’t go big - it went deep. In a cultural moment that’s oversaturated with noise, distraction and short-form hype, the most influential players chose quiet confidence over bombastic theatrics.

Loewe leaned into abstraction and sensual restraint. Dior revisited its archives with clean precision. Wales Bonner offered up a soulful, pan-African aesthetic that resonated far beyond the front row. No gimmicks. No viral stunts. Just brand codes, cultural depth, and creative clarity.

In short: this was fashion’s soft power era in action - and it wasn’t just beautiful to look at. It was strategic.

Because fashion isn’t just about garments anymore - it’s about signalling. And in today’s attention economy, subtlety can speak louder than spectacle. Brands that understand this are rewriting the playbook: less flex, more finesse. Less volume, more value.

📈 Culture moves fast. Fashion brands need to move smarter.

In 2025, fashion weeks are no longer industry-only enclaves. They are live, public, and platform-native events. One viral moment can globalise a collection before it’s even walked. One brand misstep can unravel years of equity.

💡 81% of Gen Z and millennials globally say they “prefer brands that have a strong point of view” — Wunderman Thompson, 2024
💡 Only 16% trust fashion influencers to be truly authentic — Statista, 2024
💡 Fashion-related content on TikTok drives 5x higher engagement than on Instagram, on average — Dash Hudson, 2025

Soft power wins in this context. Not by shouting, but by sticking to a story, owning a mood, and creating meaning.

🧭 What smart fashion brands are doing right now:

1. Building multi-platform runway ecosystems
It’s not about the show. It’s about everything around the show - pre-show film drops, lookbook leaks on Discord, behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram Close Friends, Substack dispatches from stylists. Think like a media company, not just a fashion house.

2. Prioritising creative direction over content volume
Not every asset needs to go viral. What matters more: that each touchpoint feels intentional and emotionally on-brand.

3. Choosing collaboration over co-signing
Partnerships this season weren’t transactional. They were cultural. Wales Bonner isn’t a “fashion collab” - she’s an ecosystem of influence, spanning music, academia, diaspora and design. The audience knows the difference.

4. Playing the long game with cultural equity
You might not be front row at Paris, but you can still be part of the cultural conversation - if your point of view is clear, and your presence is earned.

🔑 Key Takeaways for Fashion Brand Marketers:

  • Narrative is the new campaign: Clear, consistent storytelling beats trend-chasing every time.

  • Fashion weeks are full-funnel: Leverage pre-show teasers, real-time social, and post-show content to sustain attention and drive brand desire.

  • Don’t rent relevance - build it: Work with talent and collaborators who align with your long-term positioning, not just your seasonal product.

  • Create content with rhythm: Know when to drop your moments - pre-show exclusives, live commentary, delayed drops - timing is everything.

  • Design for depth, not just demand: Subtle codes and creative restraint often build more loyalty than hype drops and maximalist stunts.

Want to stay relevant without shouting? Take a cue from Paris. In 2025, understatement is a power move - and soft power is the strategy that sticks.

Wednesday 06.25.25
Posted by Vicky Beercock
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