Noell’fashion industry thetechnological innovation plays a leading role. Not only when it comes to giving life to new fabrics or cutting-edge materials, but also on the economic and data analysis front. The first fits into this context Cultural Currency Indexa unique indicator that connects engagement online, cultural impact and purchase intention. An unprecedented report led by Gucci Milan 2025 fashion show.
Unlike the now usual Lyst rankings, therefore, the Cultural Currency Index aims to identify and investigate the tangible and concrete consequences of the online activity of the large luxury fashion houses. This first index also focused on the latter MFWdedicated to the Spring-Summer 2026 collections, from which the Gucci Milano 2025 fashion show emerged as the winner.
What is the Cultural Currency Index
The Cultural Currency Index was presented in Milan by Annexstrategic consultancy firm based on data analysis, co-founded by Miah Sullivanformer Global CMO and fashion industry veteran. Furthermore, the index was developed in collaboration with WeArismaplatform intelligence artificial specialized in creator And social intelligence. The CCI, therefore, seeks an empirical correspondence between the social activity of brands and web traffic and real economic indicators, from stock performance to consumer demand. The question from which Sullivan started is clear: the so-called energy cultural can translate into reality traction commercial?
The Bottega Veneta Spring-Summer 2026 show is among those analyzed by the Cultural Currency Index (Photo: Spotlight Launchmetrics)
Gucci Milan Fashion Show, in first place for cultural impact
The beta version of the Cultural Currency Index, then, took into account twenty maisons protagonists of Milan Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2026. The data used comes from eleven platformsincluding Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Weibo, Douyin, Google, Baidu and Yahoo!Finance. The results obtained were then divided into three different categories: brand involvement, popularity of the brand And purchase intention. Each brand thus obtained a score between 0 and 100. The Gucci Milan fashion show, the first signed by the new Creative Director Demnaleads the index.
The Tiger movie premiere transforms into the Gucci SS26 catwalk at MFW (Photo by Saira MacLeod/WWD via Getty Images)
The digital presentation of the short film The Tigerin fact, has generated an exceptional level of engagement and research activities. In this sense, then, the choice to make some of the items from the Gucci collection immediately available The Family it turned out to be successful. In second place in this unpublished report is instead Fendiwhich, thanks to the targeted activation of notable Asian creators, has set up a cultural strategy capable of translating into measurable purchase intentions. Bottega Venetacharacterized this season bydebut by Louise Trotter, occupies the third step of the podium, solid and stable in all three pillars of research. Prada And The Atticfinally, they occupy the fourth and fifth position respectively.
A moment from the Fendi Spring-Summer 2026 fashion show (Photo: Spotlight Launchmetrics)
A new analysis model
In its debut, the Cultural Currency Index recorded a positive correlation between index scores and outperformance of title equity compared to the market. The report therefore suggests that changes in cultural momentum tend to move in tandem with investor confidence. Although this is the first research of its kind, the intention is to refine the CCI as indicator anticipatoryrather than retrospective.
Furthermore, starting from the next seasons, the Index will also analyze the Paris, New York and Shanghai Fashion Weeks, then including long-term demand indicators and regional weightings to maintain comparability between markets.
It remains to be seen whether the Cultural Currency Index will prove to be a valuable tool for brands and large fashion houses eager to attract new audiences.