The New Face of Fashion: Adult Stars Walking the Runway
What used to be unthinkable is now, dare we say, a trend: adult entertainment stars leaping from adult film sets to the fashion world’s most glamorous runways. Now, big-ticket names including Lana Rhoades, Riley Reid, and Abella Danger are being recruited to fashion weeks in New York, Paris and Milan — not just to attend, but also to represent brands, walk the runway and star in ad campaigns.
This shift isn’t accidental. Brands are finally realizing a hard truth: adult influencers are trendsetters who reach deep into social media. Both stars are followed by millions of fans, eager to find out what they are wearing, and as a result have become irresistibly attractive marketing partners for top luxury labels looking to attract a younger, more open-minded audience.
Adult Stars: It’s What the Fashion World Wants Now
For years, the fashion industry has toyed with sex, but often from a “safe” distance, deploying conventionally pretty models to sell edgy ads. Now, with adult entertainers owning their sexuality online already, fashion houses are seeing that they can stand out by embracing stars whose authenticity is their everyday life.
“People trust us because we don’t fake it,” says Riley Reid, who was at a Louis Vuitton show in the front row this year. “When we say we love a brand, our fans pay attention. They know we’re real.” It’s a marketing goldmine — one that’s challenging who gets to embody “luxury.”
The Social Media Power Play
Porn stars are amongst the savviest social media marketers anywhere. They know how to entertain fans and tell stories and sell experiences. Brands including Savage X Fenty and PrettyLittleThing have quietly begun working with adult creators in partnerships that include limited editions marketed through OnlyFans and other avenues like Instagram and TikTok. Often, such collaborations sell out faster than traditional influence partnerships. Why? Because adult creators build intimacy with their fans, which makes product endorsements seem more personal and more trustworthy.
Breaking the Stigma
Naturally, the move isn’t without backlash. Conservative critics say fashion shouldn’t be associated with adult entertainment, and they have a point, while some run-of-the-mill models are pouting that “outsiders” are encroaching on their domain. But that’s not the way fans and a lot of those designers see it.
“This is the future,” added Marco DeLuca, a Milan-based designer known for his edgy couture. “Fashion is about pushing boundaries. These women (and men) embody what freedom and confidence look like today. That’s fashion at its core.”
What It Means for the Future of Adult Content
The crossover is more than just a bonus for fashion sales — it is upending stereotypes of what adult performers look like. Instead of being seen only through the lens of “porn stars,” they are increasingly multidimensional public figures — beloved for their business acumen, fashion, and influence.
Some insiders speculate this could give way to an entirely new generation of adult stars crossing over into the mainstream, going beyond their appearance as actors or hosts to own brands. As Riley Reid describes it: “We’re not just porn stars now. We’re business leaders, influencers, and now… models.”
