LONDON — The newly coined buzzy term “Rodent Man” not only has taken the internet by storm, but it has also helped Loewe overtake Miu Miu to claim the top spot on the latest Lyst Index hottest brands ranking.
For the three months ending June 30, searches for Loewe jumped 29 percent on Lyst.
The online shopping platform, which became profitable for the first time in the last fiscal year, noted that the release of Luca Guadagnino’s latest movie “Challengers” — which features costumes designed by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and a press tour where Zendaya and costars Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor, two of the poster boys for the Rodent Man trend, wore Loewe looks on multiple occasions — helped the brand align with “a high-profile cultural moment.”
Josh O’Connor in Loewe at the Met Gala.
Lexie Moreland/WWD
The LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-owned Spanish luxury house in the period also sponsored the Met Gala this year and sent an army of stars including Faist, Omar Apollo, Jamie Dornan, O’Connor, Alison Oliver, Ambika Mod, Ayo Edebiri, Dan Levy and Ariana Grande down the red carpet wearing bespoke looks designed by Anderson.
It also launched a new Paula’s Ibiza collection, welcomed Wang Yibo as its global brand ambassador, presented its menswear spring 2025 show in Paris, unveiled a second drop with On, dropped a Pride capsule collection, awarded Andrés Anza with the 2024 Loewe Craft Prize, and teamed with Jonathan Bailey’s new foundation, The Shameless Fund, for a viral “drink your milk” T-shirt.
Dan Levy, Wang Yibo and Pascale Lepoivre at the Loewe men’s spring 2025 show.
Getty Images for Loewe/Pascal Le Segretain
According to Lyst, these activations ultimately fueled the desire for products such as basket bags, the anagram tank top and the Loewe x On Cloudtilt 2.0 sneakers, which according to Lyst was the second quarter’s hottest product, driving a 308 percent spike in searches for On after their release at the end of May.
The Lyst Hottest Brands ranking for the second quarter of 2024.
Courtesy of Lyst
Coach reentered the ranking for the first time since the second quarter of 2022 thanks to a 27 percent increase in searches, driven by demand for the Tabby bag, the third hottest item in the quarter.
Kim Kardashian’s Skims is one of the two non-luxury players in the ranking, alongside New Balance. Lyst said searches for Skims increased 32 percent over the past three months. It was fueled by high-profile collaborations that tapped into cultural moments with collections featuring Nicola Coughlan and Jude Bellingham.
The Lyst Hottest Products ranking for the second quarter of 2024.
In addition to On, Lyst said Casablanca and Dragon Diffusion are some of the brands seeing a spike in searches in the period.
Casablanca’s popularity was driven by its retro tennis-inspired pre-fall 2024 collection, resulting in a 64 percent increase in searches. Demand for Dragon Diffusion, a brand known for woven leather accessories, shot up 197 percent quarter-over-quarter. Its Santa Croce tote bag, which retails for 375 pounds, was the fifth most-searched product in the quarter.