Loewe is back as world’s hottest label, On grows fast

LVMH’s results may not have set the world alight in the latest quarter but there was one piece of good news on Wednesday for April to June — the latest Lyst Index showed its Loewe label overtaking Miu Miu and Prada to reclaim the title of hottest brand in the world, a position last held a year ago. 

Loewe had a lot going on in the quarter — sponsoring the Met Gala, launching a Paula’s Ibiza collection, showing its SS25 menswear in Paris, dropping a Pride capsule, and dressing Zendaya, Ayo Edebiri and Jonathan Bailey. 

The Zendaya link was particularly important. The release of the Challengers movie, with costumes designed by Jonathan Anderson and select items available to shop through Loewe, “aligned the brand with a high-profile cultural moment. These activations fuel desire for the product; demand for basket bags and the anagram tank top helped drive a 29% increase in searches over the last three months,” we’re told.

The rest of the top 10 comprised the aforementioned Miu Miu and Prada, then Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Versace, Balenciaga, Jacquemus, Moncler and Gucci.

From numbers 11 to 20, we had Valentino, SKIMS, Burberry, New Balance, Louis Vuitton, The Row, Alaïa, JW Anderson, Dolce & Gabbana and Coach.

Of all these, Saint Laurent, Versace, Balenciaga, Jacquemus, Gucci, SKIMS, New Balance, Alaïa, and JW Anderson all rose one or two spots and Jonathan Anderson in particular must he happy given his top spot for Loewe and his own label moving from number 20 last quarter to number 18 this time.

Also worth noting is that Coach was back in the top 20 for the first time since Q4 2022. 

See catwalk

“Mixing heritage appeal with refreshed designs, the brand’s ability to blend accessible luxury with on-trend aesthetics has resulted in a 27% increase in searches this quarter, driven by demand for the Tabby bag, this quarter’s third-hottest product,” Lyst said.

Other factors propelling some of the brands upward included Jacquemus rising two spots on the back of the launch of its wedding campaign ‘Le Mariage’ and summer capsule ‘Les Rayures’.

And SKIMS’ one-place rise came in a busy quarter including the announcement of five new stores and the launch of a swimwear line. Searches increased 32% and the brand continued to build momentum through high-profile collabs, tapping into culture moments with collections featuring Nicola Coughlan and Jude Bellingham.

It’s worth noting too that while Burberry has been in the news due to falling sales and profits, it fell this quarter, but only by one spot.

Fastest-moving brands

And what about those not in the top 20 but on an upward trajectory? The April to June ‘Moving fast’ labels were On, the Swiss brand earning that status for the second time in just a few quarters. Following news of a multi-year deal with Zendaya as a brand partner, searches for it increased 31% month on month.

Also in the fast-moving trio was Casablanca with the resurgent Parisian brand continuing to drive momentum via its retro tennis inspired Pre-Fall 2024 collection, resulting in a 64% increase in searches and offering a further thumbs-up for the tennis-core trend.

Dragon Diffusion also made the list. Known for its woven-leather accessories, searches were up 197% quarter on quarter. The Dragon Diffusion Tote bag “has emerged as a hero product this quarter”.

And on the subject of the most in-demand products, On x Loewe’s Cloudtilt 2.0 sneakers were the quarter’s hottest product of all. The collab helped drive a 308% spike in searches for On after their late May release.

Adidas SL 72 OG shoes were in second place. It will be interesting to see how they fare for Q3 given the controversy around the ad campaign that the company recently pulled.

As mentioned earlier, Coach’s Tabby bag was a hot product and came in third this time, while in fourth place overall, Casablanca’s crochet knit shirt was the hottest specific menswear piece this quarter, with searches up 161% compared to Q1. Again, this was a reflection of the the brand embracing tennis-core.

The Dragon Diffusion Santa Croce Tote was fifth “and has managed to cement itself as a new cult favourite within a notably crowded market: the basket bag category. Despite the competitive landscape, searches for the brand’s made on-demand tote bags have increased 197% this quarter”.

In sixth place were High Sport’s flared pants with Lyst saying they’ve “earned a cult following among industry insiders in the US”. Searches for High Sport increased 42% on the platform this quarter.

Amy Lynn’s puffball dress was in seventh position. The seven-year-old label saw searches for the dress spiking 53% in April after going viral on TikTok and generating over 61.6 million posts.

COS has been a familiar top 10 presence in recent quarters and this time its Fisherman sandals were in eighth spot, ahead of Dries Van Noten’s suede sneakers at number nine (another endorsement, along with the Adidas shoe, of the sleek, retro sneaker trend and showing how it spans multiple price points). 

Meanwhile Prada rounded out the top 10 with its Symbole sunglasses.