“Succession” had its season four premiere on Sunday, and while fans of the series were thrilled to have the show back, one scene stood out on the internet — especially with the fashion crowd.
After the season premiere, the show immediately landed in the top trends on TikTok. While the drama of “Succession” and the complicated family dynamic of the Roy family is what typically drives viewers to the show and trending topics on social media, this time a Burberry tote bag was the hot topic of discussion.
In a scene with one of the main characters, Tom Wambsgans, he begins critiquing a Burberry check-print tote bag, namely the Title crossbody bag with a $2,890 price tag. The tote was carried by the character Bridget, who was on a date with the series’ main character Greg, played by Nicholas Braun.
The suggestion was that Bridget chose to bring the tote to impress the ultra-wealthy Roy family, but instead, it had the opposite effect. Tom described the bag as “ludicrously capacious.” “What’s even in there? Huh? Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? I mean, Greg, it’s monstrous. It’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job,” the character completed.
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3DLook, a virtual fitting room company, decided to look into Burberry’s search interest after the episode and found that Google search interest for “Burberry Tote Bag” has increased 310 percent since the episode. Searches for “Burberry handbag” and “Burberry tote bag” are up 180 percent and 25 percent.
In a statement, Whitney Cathcart, cofounder and chief commercial officer of 3DLook, said, “Burberry’s $3,000 tote bag might not meet the standards for ‘Succession’s’ top 0.1 percent, but luckily for the luxury fashion house, they don’t speak for the average consumer. While Tom was busy firing off insults, the rest of us were Googling where we could get our own. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but it does go to show the huge impact that showbiz can have on consumer trends. Tom’s sharp tongue might have just earned Burberry some extra sales. After all, the majority of us do use the subway.”
With Burberry ramping up its accessories while aiming for a 5 billion pound revenue target, it may have appreciated this moment despite Tom’s criticism.
Burberry’s results for the first half ended Oct. 1 saw revenue rise 11 percent to 1.35 billion pounds. At constant exchange, revenue rose 5 percent year-on-year.
Designer brands featured on television shows are nothing new. Fashion has always played an integral part in the world-building of series. In the original ‘80s “Dynasty,” references were made to fashion houses like Gucci, and the characters’ diamonds and fur. In the fashion-centric ‘00s series “Ugly Betty,” which took place at the fictional fashion magazine Mode, the designer references were numerous, from Prada to Vera Wang.