Happy for Mark and Kim. Their wedding photos have taken over my social media feeds lol.
Not counting power of managers/agencies or whoever is pushing them, or the stars’ own decision on choosing which brand to work with, I think international brands are prefer Thai stars who have fan base in multiple markets. Except for a select few, many Thai stars aren’t recognizable outside of Thailand. Many BL actors are though. These days the biggest BL stars are to thailand what K-pop idols are to Korea. They are basically teen idols.
I’m not sure what the value is pushing luxury brands to teenagers who can barely afford to buy them. But if all brand execs thought like me the malls will be empty.
Oh I totally agree with you on this. With the men I understand why they would pick BL stars. You underestimate their fanbase. Like with kpop it’s actually not just teens tuning in. I would say the majority are women (and men) in their 20s and older. Online yes, that’s where the teens are most active (its the easiest way for those with limited funds to contribute/ hype their faves) but their in person events, especially the ones you have to pay for like fan meetings, etc., are mostly attended by young adults around the actors age. Generally they target the same audience as Ch3 in Thailand and abroad.
However, I was talking about female stars. With the male BL actors and mainstream male actors, the BL actor have the advantage of an active and dedicated foreign fans, but that isn’t true of young female actresses. They generally have the same reach overseas as mainstream female actresses, which is why none of them have formalised relationships with luxury brands and been given titles. Like most mainstream female stars they’re just invited as guests to events, post sponsored content, etc.
That’s what I don’t understand. From what I see Thai people spend a lot on luxury goods, so why don’t they have Ambassadors? The men are getting their titles but despite women being more active in fashion circles, they’re mostly still ‘guests’ or ‘Friend of’. If brands were using the same criteria to pick actresses to work with, Mai Davika and Baifern would already be BAs. Kimberley being the first celeb to become an ambassador for a luxury fashion house & makeup brand and the second BA for luxury jewellery (after Chompoo with Chopard) makes so little sense? Seeing Anne at the Ralph Lauren show made me realise how little representation there is in the fashion circuit for female Thai stars.
I used to think it was a generational gap, not that they hadn’t been a part of it at all. I don’t know I thought Aum was a BA and had been to fashion week, etc. . Maybe it’s because she’s the Thai star synonymous with luxury and famous brands in my head. I still can’t believe she’s never been officially recognised…
