The JW Anderson cardigan worn by Harry Styles has gone viral on TikTok

Over the past few weeks, quite unexpectedly, the JW Anderson cardigan that Harry Styles wore in February during the soundcheck for his performance at the Today Show has gone viral on TikTok.
The first video was posted on June 15, 2020, by Liv Huffman (@lilbittylivie), a TikToker based in LA with 730,000 followers and in a few days it has reached more than 3 million views and almost 1 million likes. Since it went viral, a real challenge was born: several users crocheted and tried to recreate the cardigan in a DIY version. In just two weeks, the hashtag #HarryStylesCardigan has gained more than 330,000 interactions. Furthermore, according to the data reported by Lyst, since February the cardigan has been among the top 10 most sought after products of the brand, while searches for key terms such as "patchwork", "crochet" and "knit" have increased by 78% between February and March 2020. 

It is an oversize patchwork cardigan, made out of wool, which alternates orange, red, green, yellow and black coloured squares and that was presented among the items of the brand's SS2020 collection. "I liked this idea of something that felt rather authentic and almost homemade like your grandmother could have made it," said Jonathan Anderson, founder of the brand. "At the same time, it feels a little deconstructed and punk. Something quite humble." Considering the success, the designer has also published a tutorial on his Instagram profile with precise instructions to recreate the sweater; a response that at first glance would seem counterproductive, but which actually underlines the importance of TikTok to influencer marketing, a branch of fashion that is in crisis on other platforms. 

Although this is the first time that a brand enjoys such a level of virality, its success confirms the growing interest of the fashion industry towards the app. The increase in the popularity of TikTok (more than 2 billion downloads reached in the quarantine months, of which 41% in the 16-24 range) is, in fact, leading several fashion and beauty brands to become increasingly interested in its marketing possibilities. The first to bet on it was Burberry and Celine, but in recent times also several Italian brands have opened their official accounts: recently, Gucci has launched a challenge directly from his profile, a dance that has already been viewed over 8 million times. This trend has been confirmed by Cece Vu, the head of TikTok's Fashion Content Leadership: “Fashion content plays into the larger themes we see resonating well with the TikTok community, and we continue to see fashion grow in popularity across the platform with creators and brands."