How Viral Challenges Influenced Fashion Marketing Over the Years: From Donatella Versace’s Ice Bucket Video to My Calvins Campaign and the TikTok Era

In 2014, a casually dressed Donatella Versace sat in a backyard, surrounded by plants and two topless men, to get her long blond tresses drowned in freezing water. The Italian designer was among the first in the fashion industry to partake in the Ice Bucket Challenge, a viral sensation that raised more than $115 million for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research. Versace’s video garnered more than 6 million views on YouTube. Diane von Furstenberg, Donna Karan and the staff of Burberry also faced the icy dump to support the cause. Intentionally or not, they welcomed the beginning of a new era in fashion marketing. The Ice Bucket Challenge was part of the rise of viral challenges online. One year before, social media was dominated by videos of celebrities and spectators recreating the “Harlem Shake” chaotic dance and Psy’s “Gangnam Style” choreography. Since then, fashion brands and designers sought to capitalize on online trends to boost their own popularity.  According to Jonah A. Berger, author of “Contagious: Why Things Catch On,” viral challenges are an extension of an old marketing tactic: word of mouth. “These challenges have made it easier for companies and organizations to see the power of word of mouth, it’s made

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