"Jungkook's impact is unmatched" - Fans react as BTS' idol powers Calvin Klein to NYFW 'Social Media Winner', dethroning Michael Kors' 6-year legacy

BTS’ Jungkook has been credited as the driving force behind Calvin Klein’s breakthrough success as Social Media Winner at New York Fashion Week’s Spring 2026 shows. This marked a historic win, as Calvin Klein dethroned Michael Kors, who dominated the rankings for the past six consecutive years.

According to social media analytics platform ListenFirst, Calvin Klein emerged as the top-performing brand with an unprecedented 1,168% growth rate compared to last season. Much of this surge came from conversations on X (Twitter), where fan communities alone accounted for 15% of the brand’s total engagement score.

The impact extended beyond chatter as the official event content generated more than 4.4 million engagements across Calvin Klein’s top five video posts, as per ListenFirst. F

Fans noted that it was the BTS idol's first-ever live appearance as Calvin Klein’s global ambassador, yet his mere presence was enough to shift the landscape. One fan described this as:

"Jungkook's impact is unmatched."

Fans celebrated the feat online, pointing out how he didn’t need to do much beyond showing up to create history for the brand.

Jungkook's appearance became the biggest event for Calvin Klein at New York Fashion Week

BTS’ Jungkook made history with his first-ever live appearance for Calvin Klein at New York Fashion Week's Spring 2026 showcase. This marked his first official event since being appointed as the global ambassador in March 2023, and anticipation was already sky-high leading up to his debut.

The star stole the spotlight the moment he stepped onto the carpet, drawing the attention of both the fashion world and the global media.

Outlets such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle lined up to cover him, with many publications rushing to capture every detail of his look and secure interviews during the event. His appearance became the centerpiece of Calvin Klein’s campaign at NYFW.

While fans knew his attendance would bring massive attention, the scale of his influence surpassed every prediction. On September 13, 2025, the day of his appearance, Jungkook was crowned the most-mentioned musician on X, generating more than one million posts within 24 hours.

He dominated discussions across multiple categories, claiming the #1 spot in entertainment, fashion, and music news, while also trending #2 worldwide and #5 in the United States. Even on Google Trends, his search interest skyrocketed to a perfect 100% score, showing how he became the central figure of global conversation that day.

After completing his military service in June 2025, Jungkook and his fellow BTS members are preparing for their comeback album, which is expected to be released in the spring of 2026.

About the author

Rujula is a pop culture journalist who covers K-pop at Sportskeeda. She graduated with a bachelors in English Literature from Mumbai University, following which, as a self-proclaimed K-pop fangirl, Rujula pursued her passion for the written word to report on all things Korean. Rujula has over 4 years experience in curating content for diverse companies like Disney (Star Sports), KpopWise, Icy Tales, Nettv4u, and Walking Wicket.

For her, referring to official sources and cross-verifying information are of utmost importance to maintain objectivity and credibility of the information she offers to her readers. She also takes into account social media posts from people experiencing an incident first-hand to add depth and perspective to her story.

While creatively presenting information about an artist’s particular look or campaign is Rujula’s forte, she believes her true strength lies in interviewing celebrities and idols. At Sportskeeda, Rujula has exclusively interviewed famous K-pop groups and idols such as ChoCo, Jae Chong, BLACKSWAN, DKZ, Lee Taevin, E:LFIN, Kim Seong-gyeong, and Hyun-woo.

Rujula’s favorite artists in the K-circle are BTS, Jackson Wang, ENHYPEN, and SEVENTEEN, and she admires them for their humility, genuineness, and generosity. When not busy tracking the latest developments in Korean entertainment, Rujula can be found playing cricket, a sport she has played professionally for over 10 years.

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Edited by Riya Peter