Instagram’s new Features option allows creators to upload horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, reflecting a broader shift toward longer and serialized entertainment on social platforms. TikTok is emphasizing longer videos through its rewards and subscriptions, Substack is encouraging live video events, and YouTube has introduced Stations for creators’ continuous channels. Instagram is also becoming compatible with smart TVs.
The move comes as audiences show signs of fatigue with repetitive short-form content and the pressures of maintaining a social media presence. More than half of Americans say doing so feels like work, according to figures cited in the source article. For fashion brands, this creates an opportunity to turn their heritage, creative identity and cultural knowledge into more substantial entertainment.
Max Cocking and Louby Mcloughlin, co-founders of digital content agency Dislo, argue that brands should respond to “clip fatigue” with more considered storytelling. They say longer formats can build stronger relationships and authority, and suggest that brands commission series rather than isolated posts.
Creator-led shows are already developing into recognizable entertainment formats. Examples include Noah Blau’s docuseries “Errands,” Jack Coyne’s music interview show “Track Star,” Kareem Rahma’s “Subway Takes” and “Revival of the Fittest,” a series centered on a record store. Some brands are supporting existing shows without taking over their formats; dating app Feeld, for example, sponsors episodes of “Interior Motives,” which examines bedroom decor.
Fashion trend analyst and brand consultant J’Nae Phillips describes this as a shift from creators publishing interchangeable posts to building formats and production worlds. For brands, the opportunity is to support entertainment rather than interrupt it. In North America, 66% of people aged 13 to 29 say they are interested in brands making original films or content series instead of traditional ads, according to YPulse.
Fashion companies have already experimented with narrative-led marketing. Jewelry and accessories brand Alexis Bittar has used fictional serialized content, including the mockumentary series “Bittarverse,” launched in 2023, and the 2026 true-crime parody “The Sexecutions of Amanda Gates.” Founder Alexis Bittar says the stories were designed to hold viewers’ interest without a hard sell, while creating a more developed world around the brand.
Long-form entertainment does not have to target everyone. StockX’s “Listed” invites fashion collectors to present coveted pieces, which can be shopped on the platform, while Figma’s “Source Material” features creatives and designers discussing their inspirations. These examples use focused interests and specialist communities as the basis for original programming.
Short videos are expected to remain part of marketing, increasingly serving as trailers and entry points to longer stories. The article’s contributors also caution that production polish is not the main priority: brands should invest in strong ideas and talent, while working with creators and the communities they have built. A successful approach, they suggest, depends on giving audiences a reason to watch and return rather than simply placing a brand in front of them.
Sources: Vogue.