The 2026 Grammy Awards once again confirmed the ceremony as one of the most influential fashion moments of the year, placing luxury brands at the centre of global cultural attention. Vogue’s red carpet coverage and “best moments” galleries highlighted standout looks from Valentino, Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, Mugler, Balenciaga, Chanel and Alexander McQueen, each connected to defining artist appearances that shaped the fashion conversation around the event.
Key moments included Sabrina Carpenter in Valentino, Rosé and Bruno Mars in Saint Laurent, Chappell Roan in Mugler, Tate McRae in Balenciaga, Olivia Dean in Chanel, and Lady Gaga performing in archival Alexander McQueen. Most notably, Bad Bunny made history as the first Latin artist to win Album of the Year for Debí Tirar Más Fotos, while also debuting Schiaparelli’s first custom haute couture menswear look on a major red carpet, marking a significant milestone for the house.
Below is a focused analysis of the top-performing brands across EMV, engagements and reach, and the strategies that drove their results at the 2026 Grammys.
EMV: Measuring the Commercial Impact of Cultural Presence
Earned Media Value (EMV) quantifies the financial value of brand visibility across earned, owned and influencer channels, making it a key metric for luxury brands assessing the return on major cultural investments like the Grammys. At this level, EMV is less about volume and more about where attention is generated, who drives it, and how long the narrative sustains.
1. Valentino – $20.4M EMV
Press: 49% | Celebrity: 36% | Influencer: 15%
Valentino delivered the strongest overall performance by anchoring its Grammys presence across both red carpet and live performance moments.
Sabrina Carpenter’s red-carpet appearance in Valentino was the primary EMV driver. Her owned Instagram post alone generated $6.96M, highlighting the continued dominance of celebrity-owned media at tentpole cultural events.
Press played a critical role in scale and credibility. Vogue published five pieces of content covering both Carpenter’s red-carpet look and Best New Artist nominee Sombre for his on-stage custom performance outfit, reinforcing Valentino’s relevance across fashion and music audiences.
Valentino’s performance demonstrates the effectiveness of multi-moment activation, where red carpet and broadcast exposure work together to maximise EMV and narrative longevity.
2. Saint Laurent – $14.6M EMV
Celebrity: 68% | Press: 30% | Influencer: 2%
Saint Laurent’s EMV was overwhelmingly driven by celebrity-owned content, with minimal reliance on influencer activity.
The brand dressed Rosé and Bruno Mars for the opening performance of the Grammys, securing one of the night’s most visible moments. Bruno Mars’ Instagram post featuring Rosé generated $9.87M in EMV, accounting for the majority of Saint Laurent’s total impact.
Press coverage, including Vogue’s Instagram content highlighting Rosé in Saint Laurent, added secondary amplification but did not materially drive scale compared to celebrity-owned reach.
Saint Laurent’s results underscore the value of high-impact performance moments and selective talent partnerships, where a single, culturally dominant post can outperform broader influencer strategies.
3. Schiaparelli – $14.5M EMV
Press: 88% | Influencer: 12% | Celebrity: 0%
Schiaparelli’s Grammys performance was defined by cultural significance rather than volume.
Bad Bunny wore Schiaparelli’s inaugural haute couture menswear look, marking a major milestone for the house and introducing its couture menswear offering on one of the world’s most visible stages. The moment coincided with Bad Bunny making history as the first Latin artist to win Album of the Year, significantly increasing press relevance and editorial demand.
Vogue generated $5.76M in EMV across nine pieces of content covering the look across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, positioning Schiaparelli at the centre of one of the most discussed fashion moments of the night.
Schiaparelli’s impact shows how design-first milestones, when aligned with cultural history, can drive substantial EMV through press without heavy reliance on celebrity-owned or influencer content.
What EMV Leaders Got Right
- Culturally defining moments outperform volume-based strategies
- Celebrity-owned media delivers scale fastest when tied to performance or history
- Press remains essential for authority, longevity and EMV stabilisation
Engagements: Measuring Cultural Impact Beyond Visibility
While EMV captures scale and media value, engagements reveal depth of impact, showing which luxury brands didn’t just appear at the Grammys, but actively sparked conversation, interaction and cultural response. At this level, high engagement is rarely driven by volume alone. It’s the result of provocative design, culturally relevant talent and strong editorial amplification.
At the 2026 Grammys, Mugler and Balenciaga led engagement performance by activating moments that invited reaction, not just recognition.
1. Mugler – 15.6M Engagements
Press: 86% | Celebrity: 11% | Influencer: 2%
Mugler ranked first for engagements, driven overwhelmingly by press-led conversation, anchored in one of the most talked-about red-carpet moments of the night.
Vogue generated 11M engagements spotlighting Grammy nominee Chappell Roan in a custom Mugler look. The design became a viral talking point, widely described as having “broken the internet,” driven not by shock alone but by editorial framing that positioned the look as a statement of artistic confidence and modern femininity.
Mugler’s performance demonstrates how distinctive creative risk, when supported by tier-one press, can outperform broader visibility strategies in driving meaningful audience response.
