Blackpink's Rose stirs up storm of interest in YSL

PHOTO: YSL/INSTAGRAM

SEOUL • It has been a month since South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink's Rose debuted as the face of Yves Saint Laurent's new global campaign, and her star power is already shining bright on the Parisian fashion house, reports South Korean pop culture website, Koreaboo.

According to shopping data from iPrice Group, an online shopping aggregator based in Malaysia, interest in YSL products has skyrocketed in multiple countries, with some countries seeing astounding upticks of more than 1,000 per cent.

The French fashion house revealed its first video with Rose on June 29 and, since then, she has been seen on YSL billboards across the world, from Hong Kong to Australia.

Rose, who has appeared in multiple clips showing off the brand's Fall 2020 collection, seems to be generating much buzz, especially on the interwebs of South-east Asia and Hong Kong.

Data from iPrice Group shows that searches for the brand increased exponentially on e-commerce sites in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, all within two weeks after Rose debuted as ambassador.

Searches across all Yves Saint Laurent products have increased by 13 per cent on average in these countries too.

Rose, who is following in the footsteps of other famed muses including model Cara Delevingne and actress Zoe Kravitz, is not shy about her love for the brand. According to Vogue, she has attended two of its Paris Fashion Week shows and frequently totes its trophy handbags on her travels, most recently, the brand's Solferino bag.

So it is no surprise that the product du jour is the fashion house's bags. On average, her megawatt star power has led to a 343 per cent jump in interest in YSL handbags, with some countries, including Indonesia, seeing a staggering 1,168 per cent increase in interest.

Her bandmates have also experienced similar success as brand ambassadors. Jennie is one for Chanel, while Lisa and Jisoo have been lending their star wattage to Celine and Dior respectively.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 31, 2020, with the headline Blackpink's Rose stirs up storm of interest in YSL. Subscribe