The latest viral moment of “The White Lotus” sees Parker Posey’s wealthy matriarch character Victoria Ratliff sending a blunt message to her husband: “I just don’t think at this age I’m meant to live an uncomfortable life.” The scene, which aired on March 23 in episode six of the third season, featured Posey in a Jim Thompson Slipper Orchid silk kimono dress. Since then, the online demand for the kimono has exploded.
“Our U.S. e-commerce site outperformed our global site for the first time, driven entirely by demand for the kaftan, for which sales have increased 671 percent in the past four days,” the brand’s chief executive officer Frank Cancelloni told WWD.
Founded in 1950 by American veteran James H. W. Thompson in Thailand, where the show’s third season is set, the silk manufacturer worked closely with “The White Lotus” costume designer Alex Bovaird to create fashion and home furnishing pieces that “authentically represented Thailand,” Cancelloni said. The partnership has paid off, with the brand’s U.S. order volume seeing a 228 percent increase and overall revenue jumping 138 percent year-over-year in March, according to Cancelloni.
Jim Thompson is only one of the many brands touched by “The White Lotus” magic this season. Lucy Akin, founder of Ciao Lucia, sent different looks from its resort 2024 collection to the show’s costume department. When episode four aired on March 9 with Piper Ratliff, played by Sarah Catherine Hook, wearing the brand’s Florencia dress, “a true lightning in a bottle moment” happened, Akin said.
Sarah Catherine Hook as Piper wearing Ciao Lucia’s Florencia dress in “The White Lotus.”
Stefano Delia/HBO
“That night, we saw retailers reacting and posting knockoffs for sale, bloggers flooded social media with affiliate links to help their followers track down the dress, and by the end of the episode, it had completely sold out,” Akin said.
My Beach Side, a brand that specializes in sustainably hand-crocheted pieces, saw a “significant rise in search interest, social media engagement and sales” after Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood, wore one of its minidresses, the brand said.
Online, more pieces by Juillet, Rachel Comey and Alemais sold out after being featured in the show. Even brands that didn’t get any “White Lotus” air time have noticed an upsurge in resortwear sales, such as luxury label Bruno Magli, which reported an increase in searches for its spring 2025 collection since the show premiered.
Aimee Lou Wood as Chelsea wearing My Beach Side hand-crocheted minidress in “The White Lotus.”
Fabio Lovino/HBO
It’s not all about sales numbers. “The White Lotus” has also proven to be a profitable outlet for brand awareness. Designer Simon Porte Jacquemus partnered with Bovaird to create a custom look for Chloe, played by Charlotte Le Bon, consisting of a pink bodysuit, a sheer skirt and a wide-brimmed hat. The outfit, seen in episode four, earned Jacquemus $1.7 million in media impact value, according to Launchmetrics. (MIV is a proprietary metric that assigns an actual monetary value to marketing strategies across print, online and social media to calculate return on investment.)
The list continues. With its Astor Place bag being carried around by Posey’s character, Louis Vuitton earned $4.3 million in MIV. Another scene featuring the character with Gucci’s Bamboo handle bag earned the Italian house $2 million in MIV.
Charlotte Le Bon as Chloe wearing custom Jacquemus in “The White Lotus.”
Stefano Delia/HBO
But not all brand awareness is welcomed when it comes to “The White Lotus,” a show known for exploring privilege and power dynamics. Duke University has expressed public discontent with HBO following a scene where Timothy Ratliff, played by Jason Isaacs, holds a gun against his head while wearing a Duke T-shirt. Frank Tramble, Duke’s vice president for communications, marketing and public affairs, called the image “troubling” in a statement.
Meanwhile, fast-fashion retailers H&M, Banana Republic, Bloomingdale’s and Abercrombie & Fitch are also trying to mine “The White Lotus” gold with different capsule collections inspired by the show. Its influence goes beyond fashion, with licensed products including travel accessories, sun care items, pillows, candles, chocolate and liquor.
“The White Lotus” airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on both HBO and Max. According to the television network, the third season is currently pacing more than 5 million viewers ahead of last season, which averaged 15.5 million U.S. viewers per episode.
