Kylie Jenner's Having Her Cake and Eating It, Too

Kylie Jenner may be a polarizing figure in popular culture, but love her or not, the youngest Kardashian-Jenner sparks conversation — and delivers results.

The data tells the story. Crowned Spring/Summer 2025’s most impactful influencer by influencer marketing platform Lefty and brand agency Karla Otto, Jenner generated $20.3 million in earned media value (EMV) from just three appearances last fashion season. (Based on Instagram impressions and engagement, EMV is calculated as $1 per like.)

At the end of Paris Fashion Week last year, Jenner closed Coperni’s Disneyland show, emerging from Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in a gothic-Cinderella taffeta gown. She shared videos of the moment, plus peaks behind the scenes, in three Instagram posts to her almost 400 million followers, generating 14.4 million in EMV. Her appearance alone drove $17.9 million — or 66 percent — of Coperni’s total media impact value (MIV places value on posts, mentions and interactions), according to data analytics provider Launchmetrics. “We wanted to craft a moment that was not only about fashion but also about a magical experience, and Kylie’s presence brought that to life,” say Coperni’s co-founders, creative director Sébastien Meyer and CEO Arnaud Vaillant. “The level of virality was impressive; the video of her closing the show reached almost 18 million views on [our] Instagram the day after.”

Meyer and Vaillant describe Jenner as “risk-taking, free, authentic and innovative”, explaining that these shared values make her the ideal brand fit. Jenner is a frequent Coperni collaborator. In 2022, she posted Kylie Cosmetics products in a glass, devil-horned Coperni Swipe bag — an endorsement that, as Valliant told British Vogue at the time, “changed everything”. And for the brand’s robot dogs AW23 show, while Jenner wasn’t in attendance, she starred in a campaign released on show day wearing a look from the collection, which garnered hundreds of thousands of likes across her and the brand’s Instagram accounts.

During Paris fashion week, Jenner also attended emerging Parisian label Atlein’s SS25 show (aligned with the launch of Atlein’s collaboration with her fashion brand Khy). Annika Baer, marketing manager at Lefty, notes that Atlein’s show — the first since partnering with Khy — reached $11.6 million in EMV, a “remarkable” 5,079 per cent year-on-year increase in visibility.

Outside of shows and red carpets, Jenner has been busy this year. From expanding Khy — her year-old label that collaborates with emerging designers on accessibly priced drops — to Kylie Cosmetics, Kylie Skin and drinks brand Sprinter, as well as gracing recent covers of British Vogue and Elle, Jenner is omnipresent in the fashion landscape. The thing is, she has been an influencer since her early teens. Rukiat Ashawe, junior strategist at marketing agency The Digital Fairy, says: “Kylie defined what it means to be an influencer long before the creator economy was a thing.”

But why is she so resonant in 2024? And what does her impact mean for brands?

Kylie’s brand impact

MaryLeigh Bliss, chief content officer at Gen Z and millennial research agency YPulse, attributes Jenner’s lasting appeal to her talent for making the unattainably aspirational feel surprisingly relatable. “While Kylie may not have been the star of her family’s reality TV show [Keeping Up with the Kardashians, now The Kardashians], she made herself the star on social media, where she was — at least at the start — more approachable and relatable than the rest of her family.” Acne Studios creative director Jonny Johansson says that “despite being part of the world’s most famous family, [Kylie] has this underdog quality that’s unexpected”, speaking to her endearing candidness, even as her image and lifestyle have become increasingly refined.

The most digitally savvy of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, she’s embraced early social platforms like Vine and Snapchat, setting the blueprint for social media stardom by balancing authenticity with aspiration. In her 2015 to 2016 self-titled ‘King Kylie’ era, defined by bold hair colors and heavy, matte beauty looks, Jenner resonated deeply with her predominantly Gen Z, always-online fan base through her a relatable portrayal of teenage life, and later motherhood, even against the backdrop of celebrity.

Alongside her aspirational fashion week content and campaign shoots, Jenner leans into popular social media formats like #GRWMs, daily vlogs and cooking videos. Or comedic carpool videos with her best friend and influencer Anastasia Karanikolaou (or ‘StassieBaby’), where they try menus at The Cheesecake Factory (garnering 6.2 million views on TikTok) or drive to popular LA fast food chain In-N-Out. “Many Gen Z and millennial fans experienced life stages with her,” says Bliss, describing their strong parasocial bond. Simar Deol, foresight analyst at strategic consultancy The Future Laboratory, adds: “This performed authenticity is precisely what appeals to younger audiences, especially Gen Z.”

“Despite being part of the world’s most famous family, [Kylie] has this underdog quality that’s unexpected.”

Later on, in a departure from her previous ultra-glam campaigns, Jenner embraced a characteristically Scandinavian, stripped-back look to front Swedish label Acne Studios’s AW23 ‘Dirty Denim’ collection. Captured by Dutch photographer Carlijn Jacobs in distressed, ‘muddied’ denim, Jenner shared a behind-the-scenes video on her Instagram, valued at $1.5 million MIV, according to Launchmetrics. The campaign was very successful. Within two weeks, her influence generated $9.4 million in MIV for Acne. Acne Studios CEO Mattias Magnusson noted that “customers still ask for the ‘Kylie bag’ (the multi-pocket style launched via the campaign),” confirming it as a top seller. “Kylie’s global appeal boosted sales across the US, Europe and key Asian markets — a rare cross-market success.” Creative director Johansson adds: “For someone so powerful, she still carries a sense of being underestimated, partnering with someone like her, who embodies both status and spirit, is truly unique.”

Building her empire: From Kylie Cosmetics to Khy

Back in 2019, Jenner sold a 51 per cent stake in Kylie Cosmetics — the makeup brand she launched in 2015, years before Gen Z celebrity brands like Rhode or Rare Beauty emerged — to beauty giant Coty for $600 million. The sale valued Kylie Cosmetics at around $1.2 billion. According to Circana data, its 2024 fragrance topped the US women’s fragrance ranking from January to March (though Coty declined to provide specific sales data).

And then there is Jenner’s latest venture: Khy. Leveraging her influence to spotlight independent designers, the label has so far partnered with five international luxury brands — Namilia, Entire Studios, Natasha Zinko, ioannes and Atlein — on exclusive drops, alongside creating its own capsules. Though Khy hasn’t disclosed sales figures, the brand shares that its collaborations are Khy’s “most financially successful” drops, highlighting the pivotal role of its incubation model.

Acting as a disruptive, influencer-driven take on traditional fashion incubators, Khy merges Jenner’s signature style — sexy, clean-cut, figure hugging — with collaborative designer drops. “The exposure Khy brought to my brand was tremendous,” says London-based designer Natasha Zinko, who collaborated with Khy in April on Drop 005, which consisted of everyday denim and deconstructed tees. The collection sold out at Selfridges, where it debuted in a physical pop-up space. Following the collaboration, Zinko saw a 27 per cent combined increase in business across her Soho flagship and online store, along with “significant Gen Z follower growth”.

In September this year, Berlin based brand ioannes collaborated with Khy on its first print collection. Available in two colorways — black and hot pink — the 10-piece drop combined a bold peony flower graphic with minimal silhouettes. “While traditional incubators often cater to niche audiences, Khy helped us create a collection that felt authentic yet accessible globally,” says creative director Johannes Boehl Cronau. For ioannes, Cronau says Jenner’s influence “didn’t just increase awareness”, but “allowed connection with a broader, more diverse audience”.

Los Angeles-based label Entire Studios drove the highest engagement (10.4 per cent) among Khy’s collaborators, with demand for its first release — a functional outerwear drop consisting of puffer jackets and versatile base layers — so high, it prompted a second. “We were inundated with restock requests,” says co-founder Dylan Richards-Diaz. “Working with someone who truly understands our vision made the collaboration feel natural.” Co-founder Sebastian Hunt says, “Having any A-list celebrity wear your brand is impactful. But Jenner’s choice to not only wear our pieces, but collaborate on a collection and market it herself, is invaluable.”

Interspersed between collaborations, Khy’s own collections range from fleece loungewear (Drop 003: Sweats & Tees) to sleek two-piece sets (Drop 004: Day to Night), lightweight summer milkmaid dresses (Drop 007: Poplin), and holiday-ready micro bikinis with mesh cover-ups (Drop 008: Vacation Shop), balancing a mix of neutral and vibrant color palettes.

Khy’s Instagram is driving the bulk of the brand’s impact, according to Lefty. “It has an impressive engagement rate of 12.84 per cent on a business account with one million followers, far exceeding the 1 to 2 per cent average,” Baer says.

For all her achievements, Jenner remains a divisive figure. For all the positive comments on her recent Coperni Disneyland posts, there were negative opinions, too. This was mirrored following the reveal of Jenner’s British Vogue cover, where thousands of reactions online ranged from admiration to scrutiny. The core criticism is that the mega-influencer has set unrealistic beauty standards. It’s something she’s acknowledged on The Kardashians and in her most recent interview with British Vogue, where she confirmed using lip filler in the 2010s.

Yet, her relevance endures. Rather than Jenner’s success creating a barrier between her and her fans, it’s her openness that has kept millions closely engaged. “Jenner’s openness about her insecurities is what helps audiences find her relatable,” says Deol from The Future Laboratory. Meanwhile, YPulse’s Bliss observes that “being named the youngest self-made billionaire is aspirational. Though she may not be as relatable as she once was, there’s still much for Gen Z to admire.” Entire Studios’ Hunt adds: “She’s not only kept her fan base; she’s also tapped into new audiences — in beauty and now in fashion. She has all the essential factors to resonate with today’s consumer.”