We may be in the middle of London Fashion Week, but, for a growing number of women, it’s not the catwalk providing inspiration for what to wear next season, it’s television.
Lockdown may have ended long ago, but some habits have stuck: not least, our fondness for our sofas, from whose soft, cushioned bosom we love to binge-watch whichever shiny new TV show is thrown at us.
The latest to hit our screens is The White Lotus, whose third season premiered on Sunday to record-breaking ratings.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, 4.6 million viewers tuned in during the first 36 hours the show was available – double the same figure for the second season, which went on to average 15.5 million viewers.
While these numbers are hugely significant for broadcasters, they’re becoming increasingly important for fashion brands. In a fragmented culture such as ours, few things have the power to unite.
What better way to drive sales of your brand than by aligning it with a feel-good, water-cooler-worthy cultural moment such as The White Lotus?
The latest brand to employ this tactic is H&M, whose new womenswear collection is inspired by the new season of the show to such a degree that anyone wearing it may be in danger of being taken for a cast member.
So aligned is the Swedish retail giant’s new spring/summer range that it was even designed in collaboration with the show’s costume designer, Alex Bovaird.
Recreate the style: Aimee Lou Wood in The White Lotus
The H&M take on the look available to buy from its collection released yesterday
H&M’s taste of White Lotus: kaftan dress (£64.99
While the first season of The White Lotus was set in Hawaii and the second in the Sicilian resort of Taormina, season three takes place in the exotic environs of Thailand’s Koh Samui.
Those for whom a Thai vacay is strictly off-menu this summer can at least console themselves with dressing the part.
Launched yesterday, the collection is comprised of 25 pieces that capture the vivid colours, dynamic prints and high-octane silhouettes of all the best holiday wardrobes. Colours are cheerful and upbeat – salmon pink, emerald green and gold – while fabrics run the gamut from breezy, lightweight silks to more artisanal cotton crochet.
At this point, you may, with some justification, be fretting that while you might not need the bank balance of a White Lotus guest to enjoy the collection, you may well need the youthful body. In fact, the collection has been thoughtfully designed to cater to most body shapes, ages and tastes – though lovers of minimalism might want to sit this one out.
Granted, the tiny gold crochet hotpants might be a reach for many, but other pieces are friendlier. The well-loved character Tanya (played unforgettably by Jennifer Coolidge) might have been killed off last season, but her spirit and style live on in a roomy peach lotus print kaftan dress with billowing sleeves (£64.99). A soft peach bell-sleeved dress (£54.99), meanwhile, wouldn’t look out of place in a Chloe collection.
Anyone can wear these pieces – as they can an emerald green sarong (£44.99), or a brown and blue print beach cover-up (54.99). Accessories are equally inclusive, and include raffia pool slides (64.99), a dark khaki basket bag (£74.99) and a gold shell pendant necklace (£37.99). Those whose holiday wardrobes involve a large degree of flesh and fantasy haven’t been overlooked.
A black and white bikini (£47.98 for the set), a white broderie anglaise mini dress (£74.99) and a bright orange co-ord set comprised of a cropped top (£37.99) and skirt (£44.99) will be catnip for the body-confident. Boho fans will love the crochet pieces, and everyone will love the well-priced aviator shades (£44.99).
‘We always have this little catchphrase on the show: ‘Nothing’s too much for The White Lotus!’ says Ms Bovaird. ‘The collection incorporates the jungle, the show’s bright iconic colours, and some gold and glitz that signify a stylish and luxurious resort vacation. I love that the collection can be worn all day – something you could just throw on to go to breakfast or the pool, or you could add jewellery and wear it to dinner. There’s something for everyone.’
H&M’s taste of White Lotus: broderie anglaise dress (74.99)
Cool summer: Oversized patterned shirt and matching frill trimmed trousers (both £44.99)
Fashion designers have been taking inspiration from Thailand decades before The White Lotus existed, of course, and with good reason. Nothing says ‘colourful holiday wardrobe’ like Koh Samui, a paradise whose tropical beaches and sparkling blue seas practically birthed the boho look.
While it’s always been a popular destination, those with Koh Samui on their bucket list might want to consider visiting before prices surge. Such is the potency of ‘The White Lotus Effect’ that after season two was filmed in Taormina, the island of Sicily enjoyed a tourist boom, while the hotel in which the show was set, the five-star San Domenico Palace, found itself fully booked for six months.
A similar upsurge was experienced by Maui in Hawaii, in the wake of season one – a phenomenon that’s known as ‘set jetting’.
If fans are willing to travel miles to replicate the show’s lifestyle, it’s a no-brainer they’ll also want to dress like its stars. Eight hours of back-to-back television (the show’s longest season yet) can do that to a person: brainwash them into thinking life will be just that little bit better if they buy a babydoll crochet mini-dress like Aimee Lou Wood’s, the 30-year-old British actress who plays the happy-go-lucky Chelsea in season three.
It might be the most emphatic – and certainly, the most accessible – example of fashion’s love affair with TV, but H&M’s hook-up with The White Lotus isn’t the first of its kind. When Netflix and Shondaland, the TV production company behind Bridgerton, inked a deal in 2017, it included plans to explore branding and merchandising deals.
They were certainly true to their word. In 2021, a partnership with footwear brand Malone Souliers spawned a Bridgerton-themed collection to coincide with the release of the show’s second season. In the same year, a Bridgerton-themed collection of dresses, by the US-based label Hill House Home, sold out in minutes.
But Netflix really pulled out the stops for season three. Partnerships included a range of empire gowns, corsets and Regency inspired jackets by Selkie, a line of robes, pyjamas and slippers by Izzy & Liv (available at US supermarket Target) and everything from satin dressing gowns to teacups, courtesy of a collaboration with Primark.
As a show very much inspired by Sex And The City – HBO’s well-loved Nineties hit that did more to catapult high fashion into the mainstream than any other TV show – it’s no surprise that Netflix’s Emily In Paris has spawned its own collaborations.
H&M’s taste of White Lotus: patterned dress (£54.99)
As well as Malone Souliers getting in on the act again with a shoe collection inspired by the show, the actress Ashley Park, who plays Mindy, has launched A Weekend With Ashley Park, a collaboration with Weekend Max Mara, including a £180 for a denim crop top.
Even TV shows that don’t place fashion at their forefront aren’t immune to brands hoping to boost their profile with some spin-off merch.
Sportswear giant Puma redesigned its classic T7 tracksuit in homage to season two of Squid Game (Netflix), as well as issuing limited edition versions of its Suede and Easy Rider trainers.
The US-based brand Free People, meanwhile, is currently selling a Free People x Yellowstone collection, inspired by the Kevin Costner series of the same name. Designed ‘to capture the rugged allure of ranch life through earthy hues, distressed fabrics and intricate embroidery’, pieces include a brown suede jacket (£548) and low-rise bootcut jeans (£118).
As for whether costume designers are the new fashion designers, the answer is surely ‘no’. While it’s a positive thing that costume designers are finally getting the recognition they deserve, they wouldn’t be able to do their job without recourse to the clothes that fashion designers make.
Rather than being rivals, they’re better thought of as partners. The TV might be a conduit for new trends, but it’s fashion designers who create them in the first place.
X (formerly twitter): @LauraCraik, Instagram: @lauracraik