Another summer, another string of star-making viral streaming hits, meme stars and breakout talent at high-profile events and on the press circuit.
After a slower start for the streamers, August was packed with Sterling Point and The Shards, both of which feature a roster of new talent ripe for brands to tap. Meanwhile, on stages across Europe and the States this summer, fast-growing stars like Fcukers and Grace Ives were mainstays on festival lineups, capturing the zeitgeist and solidifying their place in summer 2026’s music scene. From movie screens to phone screens, breakout actors and social media stars churned out content, while the summer of sport meant that top athletes previously relegated to sports fanatics entered the collective consciousness.
This new crop of stars is emerging just in time for fashion’s biggest month of the year, as New York’s September shows fast approach and they jet off to London, Milan and Paris for the remainder of fashion month. For brands, tapping these budding talents early is a no-brainer, experts agree. And the (actual) summer to spring/summer fashion season pipeline is the best-aligned moment of the year, allowing brands to jump on talent while it’s hot. Past seasons have seen brands tapping stars from shows like Heated Rivalry, The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Tell Me Lies to sit on their front rows.
“Culture moves in these fast, intense bursts. A show like The White Lotus airs, everyone’s talking about it for two or three weeks, and then the conversation moves on to the next thing,” says Joseph Thornton-Allan, who co-leads WME’s fashion brand partnerships taskforce. “If a brand can plug into that window while it’s hot, it’s not starting a conversation from scratch, it’s riding one that already has everyone’s attention. That’s free momentum you can’t manufacture the same way with a traditional campaign timeline.”
Getting summer talent into front row seats is a way for brands to show they’re culturally tuned in. “With Spring/Summer 2027 being one of the first major moments for brands to engage with these [summer 2026] talents, there’s a natural competitiveness around securing the names that are coming off viral moments, releases, or festival exposure,” says Banes Borden, an endorsements agent at United Talent Agency (UTA). “It’s an opportunity for brands to get in early, start building a relationship, and explore how that talent can authentically fit within the brand while complementing its existing ambassadors.”
Each brand wants to be the one to identify a talent early on, Thornton-Allan says. “Fashion wants to be the one who identified that person first, while the story is still being written — not the fifth brand jumping on something that’s already been fully commodified,” he explains, adding that it’s also a key first step in relationship-building for the longer term. “That presence is what lays the groundwork for something bigger down the line.”
Come September, who should brands be eyeing for their SS27 front rows?
Rising TV stars
Ella Rubin
Sterling Point’s Ella Rubin has cemented herself as one of summer’s buzziest stars, off of her role as Ella in the viral Prime drama set in idyllic Muskoka. No stranger to fashion, Rubin attended Chanel’s annual Tribeca Artists Dinner at The Odeon last year, while this May, in anticipation of her big moment, Louis Vuitton invited the actor to its New York resort show in May. It was Rubin’s first fashion show — expect her to add many more to her belt come fashion month.
Photo: Jason Mendez/Getty Images
