Balenciaga Is The World’s Hottest Brand, According to Lyst Index

REIGNING SUPREME FOR the second quarter in a row, fashion house Balenciaga has placed first in the Lyst Index for quarter four of 2021.

Wondering what that means? The Lyst Index is a ranking of fashion’s hottest brands and products that takes place four times per year — conducted by global fashion shopping platform Lyst. Taking into account Lyst shopper behaviour, Google search data, and social media mentions and engagement stats worldwide, it gives a pretty insightful look into which brands are best maintaining relevance on a global scale.

Contributing to Balenciaga’s success this quarter was their collaboration with The Simpsons for their Spring/Summer ’22 show; their Fall/Winter ’22 collection which was unveiled with The Lost Tape campaign; and their creative director Demna Gvasalia who received the International Women’s Designer of the Year award at the CFDA Awards.

Balenciaga creative director Demna Gvasilia, left, with Kim Kardashian, right, in Balenciaga at the 2021 Met Gala | John Shearer / WireImage / GETTY

Balenciaga’s The Simpsons collab in particular was what set social media ablaze, contributing to what Lyst has dubbed “a new era of fashion as entertainment”; and with the worldwide appeal of Y2K aesthetics, the VHS-style Lost Tape campaign also inspired plenty of praise for the fashion house.

The brand’s popularity is certainly backed up by its successful grip on the fashion-forward celebrity world too, with the likes of Kanye West recently sporting the brand at Haute Couture Week in Paris, and actress Alexa Demie wearing custom Balenciaga to the Euphoria season two premiere.

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Jeff Kravitz / Filmmagic for HBO / GETTY

Gucci retained its second position from last quarter, with the Love Parade fashion show, the Hacker Project with Balenciaga, and the second drop of their collaboration with The North Face as major contributors to their success.

Of course, the release of The House of Gucci was an additional relevancy booster for the label, with Gucci’s 1953 Horsebit Loafers becoming the hottest men’s product as a result.

In third and fourth places respectively were Prada and Louis Vuitton — the former of which had their “Bucket Hat Challenge” go viral on TikTok, and the latter, of course, presenting late visionary artistic director Virgil Abloh‘s final collection in Miami.

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INSTAGRAM / @farfetch

Balenciaga also took out the top position for overall hottest product of the quarter, with the Balenciaga Neo Classic small bag taking out the number one position, and the Gucci x Balenciaga The Hacker Project Crystal Jacket in fourth place.

And Moncler climbed the ladder from eleventh to fifth thanks, in part, to the launch of their first ever fragrances, and their collaborations with Fortnite, Hoka and Evian.

For the full list of rankings, you can read the Lyst Index report here.