Contemporary brands and classic designs thrive in the Lyst round-up

bella hadid with a coach brooklyn bag
Contemporary brands and classics are thrivingGotham

Four times a year, fashion search engine Lyst rounds up the most popular designer brands and products in the world by analysing search and social data – and it is a marker of success that the industry has begun to watch closely. For the third quarter of 2024, it seems that contemporary brands over high-end luxury, and classic designs over trends, seem to be thriving.

The report – which was released just this week – highlighted the 10 'hottest' products of the quarter, looking into what particular pieces shoppers were buying, searching for and interacting with this year.

To compile the results, the company analysed the behaviour of more than 200 million shoppers, who have been searching, browsing and buying fashion across thousands of designers stores and retailers online. The formula takes into account searches on and off the Lyst platform, product views and sales, as well as social media mentions, activity and engagement statistics worldwide, over the three month period.

Something which stands out immediately in this quarter's report is that contemporary brands are taking centre stage. Although the high-end labels are still dominating in the brand index (Miu Miu tops the list followed by Loewe, Prada and Saint Laurent), the product round-up shows more affordable pieces ruling. This includes Coach's £325 Brooklyn bag, Puma's £90 Speedcat trainers, Clarks' £130 Wallabee shoe and The Frankie Shop's £228 Piper pants.

puma speedcat
Jeremy Moeller - Getty Images

While there are a couple of high-end products in the list (namely Alaïa's £625 fishnet ballet flats, Miu Miu's £2,100 Arcadie bag and Tom Ford's £350 Bronson sunglasses), well over half of the round-up would be classed in the contemporary or affordable bracket.

What's more, almost all of the products are classic designs, rather than flash-in-the-pan trending products which historically do well in the Lyst report. Instead, biker boots, affordable totes and tailored trousers make up the list, as well as a shoe that was first released over 50 years ago.

What does it tell us about shoppers right now? Practical and timeless designs are key, and the luxury price hikes may be pushing some aspirational shoppers back to the mid-range market.

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