There's no denying the power of Love Island to influence us. With each new season comes a new dating lexicon, a new cleavage-adjacent trend (Underboob! Sideboob! hoverboob!), the urge to buy a beanbag, and a new graduating class of influencers ready to wield their power for the highest-bidding brand. For the Islanders, winning the competition is a bonus, the real prize is signing a lucrative brand deal once they leave the villa.
This year’s winner, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, signed a million pound deal with Oh Polly, one of the biggest deals in Love Island history. 'Coming out of the villa and being able to work with such incredible brands that I’ve loved and worn for years is a real pinch me moment,' she said. And tthis week, she celebrated the launch of her 16-piece Oh Polly collecttion (which launches 15 September) with a catwalk show at New York Fashion Week - where she walked the runway - and several whopping billboards in Times Square. Could Ekin be the first Islander to successfully break America?
‘Walking the catwalk at New York Fashion Week for Oh Polly was one of the best moments of my life,' Ekin-Su tells Grazia. 'And getting to do it wearing one of my favourite items from my new collection made it even more special. It was lovely having Davide there supporting me too.’
Other Islanders from this year have also landed significant brand contracts. Indiyah Polack is the new beauty ambassador for Boots, and has signed with Pretty Little Thing in her own six figure one-year deal, as has Gemma Owen; they will be the faces of its new resale platform PLT Marketplace. Meanwhile, Tasha Ghouri is now eBay's first pre-loved ambassador after ITV partnered with the site on a game changing partnership this year, in a move away from working with fast-fashion retailers.
Celebrity stylist Amy Bannerman, who has long championed second-hand fashion was charged with dressing the Islanders in the best pre-loved styles instead of click-to-buy polyester dresses destined to end up in landfill. The suitable switch delivered the most stylish villa in the show's history with ‘90s Versace, of the moment Jacquemus, Isabel Marant, Maharishi and Diesel.
According to Bannerman eBay UK has since seen an over 7000% increase in searches for pre-loved clothing on its site compared to last year. 'They also found that nearly half of viewers (47%) would consider buying pre-loved over new items since watching Love Island,' she adds. 'Tasha is an example of how the contestants can change the way people shop. She’s the most stylish of the Islanders and she chose to work with eBay over any other brand, that says it all.'
(Rumour has it that before Oxfam cancelled its London Fashion Week show out of respect for the royal family, Tasha was set to walk in its pre-loved runway, in front of an audience of the biggest fashion editors and stylists in the business.)
The ink on this year’s deals is still drying, and the Love Island rich list is still in flux, but the power of the Islander is only getting bigger - and more lucrative.