Loewe was the world’s hottest brand in Q2: report

Dive Brief:

• Loewe is the world’s hottest brand for the second quarter of 2024, reclaiming the top spot from Miu Miu, which dropped to second place, according to Wednesday’s Lyst Index.
• The LVMH-owned fashion house was last in the top position a year ago and returned to the spot following recent high-profile events, such as a launching a celebrity-fronted advertising video, creating costumes for a Hollywood movie and landing a Met Gala sponsorship.
• Coach reappeared on the Lyst Index for the first time since Q4 2022, at 20th place, which Lyst said was “driven by demand for the Tabby bag,” also named the third hottest product of the quarter.

Dive Insight:

Loewe’s brand spot featuring actors Dan Levy and Aubrey Plaza, along with its costumes for the “Challengers” movie, which were designed by Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson, led to its boosted appeal for the period, according to Lyst.

“These activations fuel desire for the product,” Lyst said in the report, adding that “demand for basket bags and the anagram tank top helped drive a 29% increase in searches over the last three months.”

Prada and Miu Miu jockeyed for first and second place in recent quarters, and Miu Miu’s Q1 retail sales, announced in April, were up 89% year over year. However, Prada slipped to third place behind Miu Miu in the current Lyst survey, with Saint Laurent rising one place to fourth and Bottega Veneta dropping one place to fifth position.

Jacquemus rose two spots to claim the eighth position, climbing two spots due to the launch of its “Le Mariage” wedding campaign and demand for its “Les Rayures” summer capsule collection.

Gucci, Balenciaga, Versace, and Skims each rose one place on the index. Lyst credited Skims’ 12th place position to “a busy quarter including the announcement of five new store openings and the launch of a new swimwear line.” Searches for Skims increased 32% over the past three months, according to Lyst.

Meanwhile, Lyst said in its report that as “luxury brands continue to raise their prices, we’re seeing contemporary labels,” including Coach, claim a share of the searches those high-end brands used to garner.

Coach’s mix of “heritage appeal with refreshed designs” coupled with “the brand’s ability to blend accessible luxury with on-trend aesthetics” led to a 27% increase in searches this quarter.

Loewe’s collaboration with running brand On helped the Cloudtilt 2.0 sneaker become the quarter’s hottest product, per the report, while leather accessories label Dragon Diffusion saw a 197% in searches quarter on quarter, and the brand’s Dragon Diffusion Tote bag was the fifth on the hottest product.

The Adidas SL72 OG sneakers were the second hottest product on the quarter’s index, the Lyst Index stated that searches for Paris-based Casablanca’s retro tennis inspired crochet knit shirt were up 161%  quarter on quarter, making it the fourth hottest product. Overall searches for the Casablanca brand were up 64% in the quarter.

Lyst has been reporting on trends since 2018, and each quarter the fashion technology company and shopping app ranks fashion’s top 20 brands and products based on shopping behavior. Lyst determines positioning based on multiple data points, including social media mentions, consumer searches, product views and sales, and global activity and engagement statistics.