Pacsun was 43 years old when it had a major internet moment.

It was November 2023, just two days before Black Friday, when TikTok influencer Lyla Biggs posted a clip of her wearing a pair of low-rise jeans known as the Casey Jean in Astrid Wash. It went viral. In 48 hours, it sold 11,000 pairs. The brand said it made over $20 million in sales on TikTok alone. At the time, Biggs reportedly only had around 5,000 followers on the app (she currently has nearly 350,000 followers as of posting).

It was an example that marketing veteran Kim Vernon cited during her panel discussion at Impakt, an invite-only business conference at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City on Tuesday. It drove several important points home about the so-called attention economy—and the costs brands pay to get a slice of it.

“Brands are going to make the mistake of believing the attention economy is about capturing more attention, and it is not,” said Vernon, who throughout her storied career has held top marketing positions at fashion brands such as Calvin Klein and Prada Group. “The competitive advantage will be knowing which attention has economic value and allocating the next dollar against it accordingly.”

Pacsun , a brand that began in 1980 as a surf shop, is now known nowadays as a retailer that is popular with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

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