Chiara Ferragni's Wedding Dress Is More Influential than Meghan Markle's

Chiara Ferragni's wedding was highly anticipated for more reasons than one. Take your pick: her consistently covetable fashion looks, her Instagram-famous romance with her now-husband Fedez, their adorable son Leone making an appearance, the beyond-chic guest list, the list goes on. And that anticipation, according to media experts, paid off—literally.

Like all of us, Launchmetrics (per Fashionista) followed #TheFerragnez wedding weekend and calculated the impact Ferragni, Fedez, their followers, their guests, and the brands involved in their wedding planning and production (from Alitalia to Dior and Prada) had on social media. Between Ferragni's 14.6 million followers, Fedez's 6.6 million and all those who posted from or about the event, Launchmetrics tallied a total audience-driven media impact of—wait for it—$36 million and 67 million interactions from Instagram posts, comments, and stories and reported online press.

Related article: Everything You Need To Know About Chiara Ferragni's Magical Wedding

The pay-off for all involved was well worth the time spent, particularly for Dior. According to Launchmetrics, the 1,600+ hours in production of the bride's two gowns designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri resulted in three spectacular wedding looks (her second dress converted into a mini dress for the after-party) and a digital and social value of approximately $5.2 million dollars.

The event was the influencer version of the royal wedding. Merch was distributed, planes were branded with the couple's moniker, #TheFerragnez, and we wouldn't be surprised if a commemorative book was in the works, or if Ferragni's looks end up in a museum exhibition. But it appears that Ferragni's gown outperformed the actual royal wedding as well. Dior, according to Launchmetrics data, earned a whopping 15 percent of the total media impact of Chiara and Fedez's wedding.

Related article: The Original Influencer Chiara Ferragni On Her Approach To Social Media Success

Compare that to May 19 and the days following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials at Windsor Castle, when interactions and engagement surrounding Meghan's Givenchy wedding gown and it's new creative director, Clare Waight Keller, accounted for only seven percent of the overall event buzz.

Ferragni and Fedez's ascension to the social media throne makes sense in comparison to Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex. Harry and Meghan in their roles as royals are not allowed to have their own social media accounts. In fact, Meghan relinquished her private account and her fashion and lifestyle blog, The Tig, in the time leading up to her engagement. The media mayhem surrounding the royal wedding was not initiated by the couple, and they did not promote the event outside of releasing specific information to the public through Kensington Palace. It's a stark contrast from Ferragni and Fedez's live-coverage of their wedding weekend on both their Instagram handles, as well as global media exclusives secured detailing the gowns, design process, and decor—like this one shared exclusively with BAZAAR.com.

Related article: This is How Chiara Ferragni Styles The Versace SS18 Tribute Collection

While the Instagram rabbit hole surrounding any wedding is usually attributed to the bride's epic dress for the aisle, Launchmetrics contributes most of the buzz around #The Ferragnez and Dior to the ballgown Ferragni wore to her reception, embroidered with motifs meaningful to her and Fedez, as well as lyrics from “Favorisca I Sentimenti,” the song Fedez wrote for his proposal in Verona, Italy. Additionally, the wedding's engagement and buzz garnered Prada, who designed Ferragni's rehearsal dress, a value worth approximately $1.8 million—not too shabby.

This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR US.