Prada tops Lyst Index for first time, Saint Laurent bag is top product

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Feb 2, 2023

Prada hit something of a low just a few years ago as the early impact of the pandemic sent it spiralling into loss-making territory. But its impressive recovery of late was underlined on Thursday as the latest instalment of the Lyst Index showed it as the hottest brand in the world.

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Not only was that a reflection of its return to its former prominence, but an indication that perhaps even bigger things lie head, because it was the very first time, it has made it to the top of the quarterly list.

Searches for the brand rose as much as 37% during the quarter with its logo slingbacks being the brand’s fourth product to enter the hottest products list this year. In fact, the Prada logo was a staple among 2022’s favourite products. 

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UPS AND DOWNS

Q4 saw plenty of unprecedented movement in the top 20 brands list, and after a controversial end to the quarter, Balenciaga dropped seven places in the brands ranking. The label that has been a frequent holder of the top spot actually exited the top 10 for the first time since the index started, demonstrating just how big an impact negative publicity can have. 

Meanwhile, Moncler (+14), Miu Miu (+1 and another win for Prada as a group), Bottega Veneta (+5), Loewe (+7), Dolce & Gabbana (+3) and Saint Laurent (+3) all moved upwards within the top 10, the most movement since the chart began. Moncler’s 14-place leap put it in third spot – its highest in two years – with a 76% rise in searches. 

While Balaneciaga struggled, there was some good news for owner Kering as two of its brand scored strongly. As well as the rise for Saint Laurent, the five-spot jump at Bottega Veneta came as Margot Robbie “created a meme moment for the brand when she wore its custom jersey dress to the Governors Awards in November". Searches for its dresses spiked 143% in 24 hours. 

Other hot brands included Ugg, entering for the first time in 15th place. And with over 1.2 billion mentions on TikTok, Lyst said “the power of a strong Gen Z following is undeniable”. Its sold-out $140 ultra-mini boots spiked 82% over the festive season. 

Also on the rise, LVMH’s Loewe jumped seven places with its padded bomber jacket the seventh hottest product. As seen on Hailey Bieber, Kendall and Kylie Jenner, Taylor Russell and Lori Harvey, there are currently 478.5 million views for #LoewePufferJacket on TikTok. 

Tapestry will be pleased too as Coach entered the ranking for the first time, in 19th place. This was thanks to a rise in demand for its “more accessibly priced handbags over the gifting season, which have increased in popularity among Gen Z shoppers”.

THE ONES TO WATCH

Aside from the biggest names in the top 10 and top 20, the quarter’s ‘Breakout Brands’ (labels rising fast “on a powerful and rapid upwards trajectory”) included three key names that showed the strength of the styles set out by their late designer-founders. They also showed how each brand remains in good hands and continues to be nurtured by those at the helm. They were:
 

•  16Arlington, worn by Hailey Bieber, Simone Ashley and Emma Corrin and generating 313 million views on TikTok with searches for the label up 56%. 
• Alaïa, with its Le Coeur shoulder bag its key trending product in Q4. Brand searches rose 33%. As well as dressing Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams in the viral dance that generated 1.7 billion views on TikTok, the brand was worn by other key influencers Kaia Gerber, Kylie Jenner, and Margot Robbie. 
• Mugler was key too as it returned to Paris fashion Week after a two-year break and was worn by Kylie Jenner, Dua Lipa and Addison Rae. Searches were up 49% and its spiral leggings were its trending product. 

TOP PRODUCTS

Meanwhile, the Q4 Hottest Products ranking (once again genderless as in Q3) showed the appeal of both on-trend and timeless pieces. Saint Laurent’s Icare bag was the top product with a 46% spike in searches.

Carried by Bella Hadid, Zoë Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Sydney Sweeney, the jumbo quilted bag’s celeb popularity also created a halo effect for the bag category and searches for totes were up 55%. 

Kendall and Kylie Jenner, plus Bella Hadid “gave underwear as outerwear the stamp of approval” and Miu Miu’s logo-patch satin briefs entered the list in ninth spot. Designed to be worn with on-trend low-slung pants and mini skirts (another huge success story for Miu Miu last year), searches for logo briefs increased 96% over the quarter.

It’s no surprise that in the first ‘normal’ party season for several years, party dressing was key. 16Arlington’s Solaria dress was the fourth hottest product of the quarter, worn by Hailey Bieber, Jodie Turner-Smith, Paloma Elsesser and Olivia Wilde. Meanwhile Mach & Mach’s bow shoes were eighth, with over 70.9 million TikTok views. 

More classic, Acne’s mohair checked scarf saw its searches rising 52% and made it the third time a checked scarf by the label had entered the hottest products list.

Another classic, Dr Marten’s Leonore Chelsea boots were in third spot, “thanks to the resurgence of 90s grunge and the widespread reviews across retail sites that they’re warm and comfortable”. Searches for the brand rose 51%. 

Finally, we can’t ignore collabs and the second Crocs one to enter the index, the Crocs x Salehe Bembury clogs, became the 10th hottest product. In different colourways, the latest (the “sasquatch”) was the collab’s first all-black option at $90.