Brief:

• Google-owned YouTube on Thursday launched a hub for fashion and beauty content at YouTube.com/Fashion. The section pulls together videos from creators, livestreams of runway shows, a beauty section and collaborations with fashion brands, per a blog post by Derek Blasberg, director of YouTube Fashion and Beauty.
• Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Dior are among the designers whose latest styles will appear in livestreams for September Fashion Month, which includes runway shows in New York, London and Milan. "Stories of Style" videos show a behind-the-scenes look into the fashion industry with content from Alexander Wang, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Alexa Chung, among others.
• The hub includes videos from creators such as Camila Coelho, Jenn Im, Ingrid Nilsen and Safiya Nygaard. A "Beauty Today" section showcases the latest video posts from fashion influencers.

Insight:

YouTube's launch of a fashion hub follows its creation of other sections dedicated to music and gaming that make it easier for users to sort through the billions of videos on the site while giving marketers targeted sections in which to reach viewers based on their interests. Data support the strong interest in fashion and beauty content, per YouTube's blog post, which states that the number of fashion and beauty channels on the platform grew more than six times between 2014 and 2018 while views numbered in the billions in the past year.

The new section will give fashion brands a bigger opportunity to shine in livestreamed videos, collaborations with influencers and their own branded content. Brands such as Michael Kors and Victoria Beckham have partnered with YouTube to create original content that can engage consumers who may be averse to more traditional kinds of advertising. Fashion marketers can tell a more complete story about their brands while prolonging exposure to their campaigns.

Fashion and style has been a popular genre on YouTube, racking up billions of views for tutorials, haul videos and "lookbooks" that influence consumer tastes. The platform has made celebrities out of makeup artist Michelle Phan, fashion vlogger Bethany Mota, Brazilian actress Flavia Pavanelli and CoverGirl's first "CoverBoy," James Charles.