The Thai Fashion Revolution You Didn’t See Coming
In an undeniable shift, Thai celebrities are reshaping the global fashion landscape, proving that influence is no longer defined by the West
Thai dominance
It’s raining in Paris. In every photo, the light is perfectly diffused, the streets are wet, and somewhere near the Jardin des Tuileries, a Thai man in a sharp Dior suit is being photographed by a cluster of cameras, all clicking in furious unison.
His name is Nattawin Wattanagitiphat—Apo to those who know. If you didn’t before, you do now.
Because this year, Paris Fashion Week didn’t belong to the usual names. It didn’t even belong to Europe.
It belonged to Asia. And if we’re being more precise—it belonged, undeniably, to Thailand.
The numbers back it up. Launchmetrics, which assigns value to influence, reported that Asian celebrities accounted for a staggering 77% of all celebrity impact during FW25 Men’s Fashion Week in Paris.
The numbers game
The top five most influential celebrities were all Asian. Nattawin alone pulled in US$7.7 million in Media Impact Value (MIV), ranking just below the titans of fashion media—Louis Vuitton, WWD, and Gala.
And right behind him? Fellow Thai actor Phakphum Romsaithong, his longtime creative partner in artfully seductive dramas like KinnPorsche and Man Suang.
Their rise feels cinematic in itself: two actors cast opposite each other in boundary-pushing television, now twin beacons of Southeast Asian representation on fashion’s grandest stage.
There’s a romance to it—two men whose careers are deeply intertwined, now standing as dual symbols of their country’s cultural soft power.
But this isn’t just about two faces in a sea of cameras.
Enter Jeff Satur, another Thai artist and accidental fashion revolutionary. A singer, actor, and new global ambassador for Cartier and Valentino, Jeff is multidimensional.
At the SS25 Haute Couture Week, he claimed US$2.3 million in MIV—outpacing household names from the West with little more than presence, talent, and a well-cut suit.
A new era of influence
Southeast Asia, often overlooked in global fashion narratives, has become not just a region to watch, but one shaping the very architecture of what influence looks like.
In fact, Thailand has climbed to third place in regional performance at fashion week, nudging past older markets on the sheer power of storytelling—online, on screen, on the red carpet.
In a global industry still clinging to the myth of Western centrality, this feels both like a correction and a revolution.
And perhaps the most thrilling part of this all is how subtle it’s been. There were no massive campaigns to announce their arrival. No fanfare. Just stars from the Global South showing up and letting the numbers speak.
The Media Impact Value for Asian celebrities is now 370% higher than their European counterparts.
And it’s not just about the clothes. It’s about who gets to wear them. Who gets to define what beauty and luxury and elegance look like now.
Because for a long time, Asia has been the market fashion loved to sell to—but not to represent. That era is over.
Southeast Asia, and particularly Thailand, didn’t just show up in Paris this year. It conquered.
Photos courtesy Dior and Valentino
