Sneakers, small accessories and Off-White rule as latest Lyst Index is released

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
May 9, 2019

If you thought the sneaker trend was waning think again as the new Lyst Index is out and sneakers are number one for both women and men. In fact, the men’s top 10 contains nothing but these sport-to-street shoes, six of them coming from Nike.

It’s the first instalment of the global luxury search platform’s 2019 reporting and covers the first three months of the year with the firm analysing the online shopping behaviour of more than 5 million people across 12,000 designers/stores and adding in social media metrics too.

So what have we learnt apart from the fact that sneakers really do rule? First, that Off-White is back in first position as “the hottest brand on the planet,” while Gucci and Balenciaga take second and third places. Saint Laurent is also key as it saw the biggest upwards surge, jumping 17 places.

It’s interesting too that while consumers are quick to judge brands on issues such as diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability, Dolce & Gabbana hasn’t suffered after its heavily-publicised problems in China. The Italian label moved up six spots this quarter.

In fact, Italian luxury megabrands “continue to own the Index” and nine out of the Top 20 brands are Italian (Lyst has given us an overall Top 20 for the first time this quarter).

It also said that Palm Angels enters the Index for the first time, joining other luxury streetwear names Off-White, Stone Island and Yeezy in the top 20.

And there are some interesting cultural insights too as Nike’s sporting hijab has become the hottest fashion product in the world this quarter. Searches for it have been increasing since its release, and “demand went up 125% on Lyst after retailer Decathlon abandoned its plans to sell a sporting hijab in France.” The news of that move also boosted Nike’s social mentions by 4,900%. 

Other headwear accessories have made a big impact this time too, especially “small, instagram-friendly” ones and Prada’s stud-embellished headband was the second hottest women’s product in Q1 with a 300% increase in searches in just two months. 

Also thinking small, the pocket-sized Jacquemus Chiquito bag boosted the brand’s social impressions by 1,831% and sparked thousands of searches on Lyst. 

The search company also said that looking ahead, ‘tie-dye’ is one of the fastest growing fashion search keywords of the year so far and the Proenza Schouler tie-dye turtleneck is the ninth hottest women’s product. 

THE TOP 20

The overall top 20, as mentioned, has Off-White in the lead position, up from number two, with Gucci down one in second place. Balenciaga stayed third while Valentino rose five spots to fourth place. Fendi was fifth with Prada rising fast to sixth from 11th. Stone Island was still seventh but Versace dropped two to eighth and Vetements fell one to ninth. Saint Laurent made the top 10 this time (up from 27th), and Nike was up three places to 11th, helped by its sneaker strength as it saw a 33% increase in searches for its sneakers since the last quarter.

Burberry was next, ahead of Moncler, Givenchy and the resurgent Dolce & Gabbana. Next came Yeezy, Balmain, Palm Angels and Adidas with Alexander McQueen rounding out the top 20 after rising from 25th place,

McQueen’s strength was helped by its oversized sole sneakers being the most wanted women’s product, taking the number one position on the women’s list this time. The Prada headband was next and Jacquemus bag third. Gucci’s logo belt was fourth ahead of Sandy Liang’s shearling jacket. The Fendi Baguette made a triumphant comeback in sixth spot, ahead of that Nike Pro hijab and Gucci’s Ace sneakers, the Proenza Schouler tie-dye top and Chloé’s Sawyer slides in 10th place.

As we said, sneakers ruled the roost for men with the top 10 featuring the Nike React Element 87 as number one, then the Adidas Yeezy Boost 700 v2, Nike Air Force 1, Nike LDV Waffle x Sacai, Nike React Element 55, New Balance 997, Converse Chuck Taylor All Star high top, Nike Air max 98 x Supreme, Nike Air Fear of God 1, and Veja V-10.