Lyst and Business of Fashion have released their second quarterly Index, a report which ranks the hottest brands and most buzzed-about products in the fashion industry – and their findings are testament to the growing pull of streetwear.
Balenciaga has climbed two places since the last quarter to take the top spot, making it the hottest brand of the third quarter of 2017 according to data analysed by BoF and search platform Lyst. The reason behind this jump in popularity, which has caused Gucci to drop into second position? As BoF points out, ‘a new logo and a Colette residency kept the brand top of mind, while Demna Gvasalia continues to design products that drive the fashion narrative online.’ With its click-baiting re-makes of staple styles like Ikea’s FRAKTA carrier bag, the brand has taken the hyper-modern, self-referential streetwear aesthetic of Vetements (the fashion collective of which Gvasalia is a founding member) and re-imagined it for a high fashion audience.
While Gucci might have fallen into second place this quarter, there’s still plenty of cause for celebration at the storied fashion house, which is currently reaping considerable rewards from Alessandro Michele’s eclectic creative direction. A report last month showed that the brand was the biggest contributor to parent company Kering’s profits and revenues in the last quarter, and according to BoF, ‘Alessandro Michele and Marco Biarri’s partnership is the most consistent performer in the brand rankings to date.’
The biggest leap, though, comes from Virgil Abloh’s streetwear label Off-White, which rose from 34th place last quarter up to third place, knocking Kanye West’s Yeezy from the top ten. This buzz has been generated in part by the brand’s sell-out collaboration with Nike, and its most recent S/S’18 show, which saw Abloh pay unexpected homage to the fashion legacy of Princess Diana.
Other streetwear-infused labels featuring in the top 10 include Vetements, Stone Island, Moncler and Raf Simons, all of which show growing popularity with millennials and have been favoured by rap stars, adding mass appeal to their fashion klout.
Read more about Lyst and Business of Fashion’s latest Index at businessoffashion.com
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