Celebrity and designer names drive London Fashion Week’s social media

It’s a well-known phenomenon that packing the frow of a catwalk show with A-list celebrities is a surefire way to gain mainstream media coverage in a celebrity-obsessed world. Digging down into the social media coverage of London Fashion Week (18th – 23rd February 2011), it quickly becomes clear that attendees are as big a draw for the public as they are for the journalists (and that the media knows its audience).

The key themes emerging from the peaks in the chart above (determined according to content containing “London Fashion Week” or “LFW” , with or without the “#”) are not only key British designers and houses (Burberry, Paul Smith), but also Samantha Cameron (kicking off proceedings at Somerset House in an “ambassadorial role”), Mat Smith, Paloma Faith, et al.

The omnipresent Kate Middleton, meanwhile, was making fashion headlines after Vivienne Westwood advised her to “catch up a bit” before wearing any of her designs.

Ouch.

The week ended on a sour note, however, as John Galliano showed what happens when fashion and celebrity collide. The London-bred designer was suspended by his employers at Christian Dior, having been arrested for allegedly making anti-Semitic remarks towards a couple at a Paris cafe. Despite LFW’s best efforts, the whiff of genuine scandal overshadowed British fashion’s week in social media.

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