Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2026 took place between February 23 and March 2, welcoming a season of change and adjustment for the Italian fashion ecosystem. Hosting anticipated creative director debuts for Gucci and Fendi, the eight-day schedule was packed with activity across channels.
Per data company Launchmetrics, Milan Fashion Week ultimately generated $638.7 million in Media Media Impact Value, the company’s proprietary machine learning algorithm that assigns monetary value to media activity to measure impact in marketing performance. Echoing dynamics from previous seasons, celebrities from the Asia Pacific region emerged as top voices, with nearly all the names in the rankings hailing from Thailand.
The power of Thai Entertainment
Launchmetrics’ latest report, published on March 17, reflects the rapid growth the Thai entertainment industry has sustained over the last couple of years. This season alone, Thai celebrities dominated the overall top voice landscape, taking four out of five places in the list. Thailand was also the top MIV-generating country, responsible for 53% of the total regional performance and outranking the host country, Italy.
“For the first time ever, a country outside Italy drove more influence than the local scene at MFW,” stated Launchmetrics in its report.
Thai beauty pageant personality turned actor, Faye Peraya, led the top voices, authoring $22.2 million in MIV, through her appearance at the Ferragamo FW26 show. According to the report, the actor’s MFW-related content “generated around 13 times more MIV than all of the content produced by Italian celebrities,” showcasing the power of online communities and mobilized fandom.
Asian Names Are the Top Voices at MFW
Actor Tipnaree Weerawatnodom (Namtan), who made her Prada front row debut this season, drove $16.7 million in MIV. The star has been a regular presence and MIV-driving force at Fashion Weeks across the world. Last year, for example, the star topped the Celebrity Voice ranking at New York Fashion Week, pulling $2.1 million in MIV from her attendance at the COS SS26 show.
Filipina actor and OG style influencer Heart Evangelista ranked third, extending her reign in Media Impact Value-related rankings, where she is a fixture season after season, thanks to her reputation as a brand favorite and front row regular. In the most recent Milan Fashion Week edition, the star doubled down on cinematic-style content and teaser videos and ended up generating $13.2 million MIV.
Milan Fashion Week newcomers Pond (Naravit Lertrakosum) and Keng (Harit Buayoi) rounded out the list, garnering $11.6 and $10.2 million, respectively. Pond, one of the top names from the GMMTV roster, stood out as one of the new faces on the Prada front row, while Keng Harit, star of the internationally acclaimed Khemjira The Series, made appearances at the Moschino and Ferrari FW26 shows.
Traditional Italian Brands Reign the Milan Scene
Among the top-ranked brands, Prada, Gucci and Fendi (in that order), dominated conversations. Prada benefited from its limited model cast, which sparked 44% of the brand’s Media Impact Value. Overall, the show generated $117.9 million.
In addition to Namtan and Pond, South Korean stars Karina and Wooyoung stood out in the front row, generating $9 and $3 million, each. Karina, who has served as Prada’s brand ambassador since 2024, was responsible for the top placement related to the show: an Instagram post worth $1.7 million in MIV.
Demna’s debut show for Gucci ranked second, tallying $91.9 million in MIV, 33% of which was related to the creative director. The top celebrity voice at the event was Thai actor Gulf Kanawut, who generated $7 million through 11 placements, including Gucci’s top placement, an Instagram post that pictured him departing for Milan.
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut at Fendi netted $52.6 million, while Ferragamo earned $39.7 million and Moschino $31.6 million.
Although it didn’t make it to the Top 5, another standout brand was Tod’s, which garnered $30.7 million, partly fueled by its celebrity front row attendees, including Thai actor Rebecca Patricia Armstrong (Becky), who was responsible for $6.3 million, via 4 placements, including the top brand placement.
For a deeper dive into the Launchmetrics’ algorithm and data, see the full report here.
