While the Duchess of Sussex enjoys the “Meghan Markle effect” with her fashion choices, one American icon, Kylie Jenner, out-influences her when it comes to setting trends.
According to a Page Six report, the Duchess’ effect on fashion does not come close to the 21-year-old mother of one’s influential choices. Lyst’s 2018 Year in Fashion Report, discovered that the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star is the most influential celebrity in the style market.
The Lyst report read, “Kylie has driven more than two million searches this year, from Adidas tracksuits and Dior sunglasses to Victoria’s Secret underwear and Alexander Wang minidresses. A pink minidress that she wore to her birthday party saw searches for ‘pink dresses’ increase 107% in the following 48 hours.”
Not only did Markle not come in first but she also did not hit second on most influential style mavens. That honor went to Jenner’s older sister, Kim Kardashian West, 38. Through her fashion choices, Kardashian West managed to get trends such as bike shorts, neon swimwear, and ’90s thongs to reignite after she shared pictures of herself in those types of outfits on Instagram. In fact, Kardashian inspired a 16 percent increase in Fendi searches after posting an image of herself in a heavily logo’d Fendi outfit. This year the mother of three took home the first-ever CFDA Influencer Award.
Markle did manage to snag the third spot on the list, though. Her beautiful wedding gown from her May royal wedding led to a massive spike in searches for Givenchy and Stella McCartney after she chose those designers for high profile moments. According to the report, “On average, if Meghan wears a designer, that brand will see a +200% increase in search demand over the following week.”
Coming in behind Markle was rapper Cardi B, and then legendary singer Beyonce. Markle’s good friend, tennis star Serena Williams clocked in at the No. 6 most powerful fashion influencer, in part, due to her controversial sporting outfits during the US Open. One choice she made even ended in getting the icon catsuit style of tennis outfit Williams wore banned even though it served a purpose as a compression garment that she needed after her trying year.
Chiara Ferrangi, Blake Lively, Rihanna (who was 2017’s most influential fashion icon), and Ariana Grande finished out the top 10.
As for what medium is the most powerful for influencing the industry, the report said it’s the popular social media platform Instagram.
