Sustainability and Star-Studded Campaigns Top The Lyst Index

by SHOWstudio on 26 January 2022

The quarterly report from the online marketplace reveals a consumer thirst for celebrity collaborations and outdoor-inspired pieces.

The quarterly report from the online marketplace reveals a consumer thirst for celebrity collaborations and outdoor-inspired pieces.

The final quarterly results from The Lyst Index for 2021, which compiles the shopping behaviour of over 160 million visitors to the global fashion platform, are in. Gathering worldwide sales, Google search data, social media mentions and engagement statistics for over 17,000 brands and stores, the findings reveal consumers who are hungry for life outside and are looking for fashion to meet that need.

Topping the list for the second quarter in a row are Balenciaga and Gucci, two Kering powerhouses with sales only strengthened by the November release of The Hacker Project design exchange between the two brands. Prada and Louis Vuitton remained in the top five hottest labels, with Dior slipping to number six after being replaced by collaboration-friendly skiwear brand, Moncler. The common factors for making the top spots were famous faces appearing in advertising campaigns and on the runway and a focus on the environment, with garments geared toward getting outside and brands making visible pushes toward sustainability.

Big Names, Big Results

Although celebrity endorsement has long been a bedrock of the luxury market, this quarter saw cross-pollination between media and fashion that proved particularly fruitful. While the Hollywood film House of Gucci pushed the classic Gucci 1953 Horsebit loafers to the top spot for men's products, the Hollywood Boulevard-set Gucci S/S 22 presentation Love Parade featured actors including Macaulay Culkin, Jared Leto and Jodie Turner-Smith walking in the show.

Meanwhile, Balenciaga collaborated with long-running animation The Simpsons for their S/S 22 show, causing a social media sensation. Prada used star power to launch their cinema-inspired holiday campaign A Midwinter’s Night Dream starring breakthrough actors Julia Garner, Shira Haas, Louis Partridge and Taylor Russell, scripted and directed respectively by fashion film legends Mary Harron and Glen Luchford. The brand saw an additional online hit with their "Bucket hat challenge" getting a coveted viral moment on TikTok. Over at Louis Vuitton, Hoyeon Jung, star of Netflix's mega success Squid Game has been appointed as ambassador, and Fendi sought to capitalise on Kim Kardashian's built in sales with a sell-out collaboration with her SKIMS brand.

Prada Re-Nylon bucket hat.

Taking It Outside

For shoppers still living under constantly changing COVID guidance and in the shadow of the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference findings, the outdoors were clearly top of mind. This was reflected in the success of brands who are seen to be making strides towards sustainability as well as those who offer practical (and chic) solutions for outdoor living. Moncler, the luxury brand long associated with the ski slopes, topped the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for Textile, Apparel and Luxury Goods and saw them crack into the top 5 hottest brands at the end of 2021.

Prada announced their road to net zero climate strategy in the same period that their women's bucket hat and men's puffer jacket, both made from the recycled plastic Re-Nylon fabric, hit the top 10 women's and men's products lists. Prada's sister brand Miu Miu also saw success by looking outdoors, with their crochet hood and face covering making the list, and Stone Island joined the trend for functional fashion with their ribbed wool balaclava. Dior and Gucci both looked to the mountains for inspiration, with Dior launching their first ski capsule collection and Gucci a second drop collaboration with The North Face.

Miu Miu crochet hood.

Check out the rest of The Lyst Index for Q4 2021here.

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