How Taylor Swift made this influencer-led apparel brand go viral—and what’s next

When Taylor Swift was spotted sporting a lavender skort from activewear brand Popflex in a recent video posted to YouTube Shorts, it was the culmination of eight years of work for Cassey Ho, social media fitness influencer and founder of Popflex. The skort, called the “pirouette skort” for its ballerina-like nature, had been copied by counterfeiters so many times in its short existence that Ho was awarded a patent for it this past January as a strategy to keep the dupes at bay. She compared her fight for copyright protection for the product to Swift’s battle for artists’ creative rights. “That [patent] moment felt cool to me, but I can’t tell you how much more full circle it felt when Taylor Swift, my favorite artist in the entire world, is wearing the skort I’ve been fighting for,” Ho said. “It reminds me of how she has dealt with her re-records.” Ho immediately posted about Swift’s videos, which included multiple Popflex products, to her blog and the brand’s Instagram account. “Can’t move, can’t think, absolutely dead,” she wrote. “My idol, my inspiration Taylor Swfit you made my wildest dream come true tonight.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cassey Ho (@blogilates) The $60 pirouette skort sold out in the lavender color within 15 minutes; by the next evening, all 13 colorways of the product had also sold out. April 20, the day following Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album release, was Popflex’s second-best day of sales ever, the company said. The brand’s Instagram account has attracted 31,000 new followers in the last 10 days. Also read: How brands reacted to ‘Tortured Poets Department’ release The influx of demand prompted Ho to open up pre-orders for the first time in Popflex history, with items taking about 13 weeks to produce. The lavender preorder list is now at 10,000 and counting. Ho noted that counterfeiters on Amazon and Shein have taken notice of the skort’s viral popularity, despite her patent. “Dupers are taking advantage of this moment hardcore,” she said. “We need to make sure the Swifties are getting the real thing.” Part of Ho’s strategy moving forward involves remaining true to the brand values that resulted in Swift finding the company organically, without any paid promotion or sponsorship deal. “Everything I was doing pre-Taylor is not really going to change post-Taylor because our entire goal with Popflex is to become the best-fitting clothing brand for women,” she said, noting the brand’s body-inclusive marketing, extensive sizing and community collaborations. Ho and her team, which is comprised of 23 full-time staffers and 40 contractors, are making the most of the Swift endorsement. Popflex has spent recent days “Taylor coding” parts of its website; for example, the brand changed its homepage banner to “Tortured Pirouette Department,” and added “Cassey’s version” to the skort description in a nod to the musician. The company has also been marketing other items that are similar to the sold-out skort, such as a corset dress that is similarly romantical in design, Ho said. The bulk of Popflex’s marketing is organic on social media and it rarely invests in paid media, she added. “We’re just having fun with the content and doing what is working well with the algorithm—but anything with Taylor Swift is doing great with the algorithm,” she said.

How Taylor Swift made this influencer-led apparel brand go viral—and what’s next

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