The front row is no longer a place to watch the show. It is part of the show. That is the argument behind Vogue's latest feature, which photographed 35 runway presentations across the four major fashion weeks to document who occupies the best seats and how brands arrange them.
Vogue traces the front row's evolution from a small gathering of clients into a crowded space of photographers, buyers and press. Supermodels brought celebrities into the mix, and the internet then added bloggers and influencers. The magazine's view is that the current front row is distinctive because every one of those groups is now present at once, in growing numbers.
A seat with a price tag
Vogue describes the front row as something brands monitor closely for return on investment. Its own rough math is hedged as reductive: hosting a celebrity can cost a brand nothing or hundreds of thousands of dollars, or it may be folded into a larger contract. Divide the cost of a show across its seats and each one is worth tens of thousands of dollars. A client who pays for an invite, the magazine adds, could be spending into six figures.
Designers see the room as a second stage. Simone Bellotti, creative director of Jil Sander, told Vogue: "So the show becomes a second event happening on the opposite side of the runway." Veronica Leoni, creative director of Calvin Klein, described a dialogue between the runway and the room. Youssef Marquis, a public relations expert who previously led communications at Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, compared the shift to the elaborate sets of earlier eras, with brands now asking how to do something nobody has done before.
Celebrity, youth and the shared moment
Vogue says star power is the front row's chief draw. It points to Gucci's room, where Bianca Jagger, Jannik Sinner, Donatella Versace and Cardi B sat together, and to Dior's, which included Jennifer Lawrence, Mia Goth, Jisoo, Rosalía and Anya Taylor-Joy. For a young label, one major name can change everything, and Vogue credits the Rihanna effect with widening awareness of Matières Fécales.
The hunt for rising talent continues. Last year brands raced for the Heated Rivalry cast. This season the casts of Sterling Point, Off Campus and The Shards were spread across houses including Gucci, Balenciaga and Miu Miu, while Dior landed Obsession breakout Inde Navarrette. Vogue also notes the continued fascination with children of celebrities and industry figures.
Reactions are content too. Vogue cites Jacob Elordi watching Kendall Jenner walk Bottega Veneta, and says some celebrities walked in shows while models took seats. At Diesel, dancers kissing in the audience turned spectators into performers.
Influence, measured in views
Creators and commentators now sit alongside the traditional press, and they publish fast. Madé Lapuerta, who runs the account Data, But Make It Fashion, told Vogue she stays seated after a show, edits footage on her phone and posts to Instagram within minutes.
The numbers suggest why brands care. Vogue reports that a 20-second TikTok clip of Chanel guests lip-syncing to Adéla's "Nicole Kidman" has more than 6 million views, compared with 4.5 million for the house's full runway stream on YouTube. Tory Burch, it says, sends creators including Tefi Pessoa and Kennedy Eurich out as correspondents to interview guests. Stylists, increasingly public figures themselves, are regulars, as are wealthy patrons, with Amy Griffin and Jen Rubio spotted at several houses.
The takeaway: for brands, the seating chart is now a strategic document, and the audience is as carefully cast as the collection.
Reporting sources: Vogue, “The New Front Row: Who’s Who at New York, London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Week”.