Versace wins Met Gala social media race for second year running

By

Robin Driver

Published
May 17, 2019

Italian luxury brand Versace topped the social media rankings at this year’s Met Gala for a second time, according to Launchmetrics’ 2019 Met Gala Social Media Report, a marketing victory led once again by the influencer powerhouse that is the Kardashian-Jenner clan.

 
The report, which uses Launchmetrics’ proprietary Media Impact Value (MIV) algorithm to calculate the value and impact of posts made about this May’s camp-themed event, named Versace as the most talked about brand at the Met Gala, having generated a total MIV of $53.6 million.
 
The fashion house, which created buzz on its social channels before the event with “how it’s made style videos” that explained the construction process of each of the brand’s pieces set to feature on the pink carpet, dressed a total of eight celebrities at the Met Gala, including Lupita Nyongo, Jennifer Lopez and, most importantly, Kylie and Kendall Jenner.

Kylie Jenner just so happens to be responsible for the most valuable single social media post of the night, a sultry Instagram shot which racked up 9.2 million likes and 58,100 comments, generating an MIV of $2.2 million. Two more Instagram posts made by the model and entrepreneur were also ranked as the fourth and fifth most valuable of the event – a stalwart performance that no doubt gave a handy boost to Versace.
 
Interestingly, half-sister Kim Kardashian West, who helped push Versace to the top of Launchmetrics’ ranking last year, made the third most valuable post at this year’s Met Gala via Instagram and featured in the Vogue video which took second place, having received 18.8 million views on YouTube.
 
In her “dripping wet” Thierry Mugler dress, Kardashian West was also found to be the third most talked about celebrity at the Gala overall, with a total MIV of $33.6 million.
 
It was gala host Lady Gaga, however, that created by far the biggest buzz, generating an MIV of $62.9 million with her succession of four Brandon Maxwell looks, revealed one by one as the performer made her entrance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
 
Dressed in Gucci, co-host Harry Styles came in second place with an MIV of $36.8 million, while Katy Perry ($33.1 million) and her Moschino chandelier dress rounded out the top five, along with Serena Williams ($23.4 million) in a striking yellow and pink Atelier Versace gown.

 
Back in the brands ranking, Versace was followed by Gucci, which as well as Harry Styles also dressed Jared Leto, and generated an MIV of $39.1 million.
 
Worn by Priyanka Chopra and Cara Delevingne, Dior slipped into third place with an MIV of $25.5 million, followed by Moschino with an MIV of $23.3 million and Balmain ($17.6 million).
 
Overall the Met Gala generated a total MIV of $612.8 million, more than half of which ($338.6 million) was accounted for by Instagram, once again underlining the platform’s importance for influencers and brands.

The combination of traditional and social media overwhelmingly dictated the conversation around the event, representing $373.2 million of the total MIV generated, 81.21% of which came from social media alone.