According to Lyst, traditional luxury's hours are numbered

Who would have thought that COS would one day end up in the top 10 hottest brands of the quarter on Lyst? A ranking usually reserved for the highest luxury names? Strange but true: with a 44% increase in demand, the high-street brand from the H&M group made a huge leap forward, jumping eleven spots after its first appearance in the chart, landing between Prada and Bottega Veneta – both slightly declining. And while Skims dropped four places but remained on the list, the other non-luxury new entry this quarter is On, boosted by Zendaya, Federer, and FKA Twigs. Levi’s, too, thanks to Beyoncé, entered the list of fastest-growing brands alongside Duran Lantik and Dries Van Noten, both stars of the past Paris season. Even among the hottest products, half the list is occupied by non-luxury items: adidas' Taekwondo shoes, Puma’s Speedcat Ballet Flats, COS’s Barrel Leg Trousers, Alo Yoga’s hoodie, and Uniqlo’s colorful socks. Undoubtedly, fashion’s image seems to be becoming more democratic in the face of luxury, which – apart from the very top-tier brands – is losing both momentum and allure. But what about the luxury brands in the ranking?

The star of the quarter is undoubtedly Loewe, which, riding the wave of Jonathan Anderson’s final collection, overtook Miu Miu to reach the top spot. Miu Miu, for its part, maintained its strong market position, as did Saint Laurent. While Prada slipped to fifth place, fourth was taken by a brand quietly growing quarter by quarter: Coach, another example of affordable fashion capitalizing on a strategy focused on aspirational clients that luxury has turned away. Further down the top ten, another surprise appears: Chloé, which surged ten spots after a spike in demand and scored another successful milestone in its rebranding journey under Chemena Kamali. Still in the top 10 but declining is Alaïa. In the second half of the ranking, we see Gucci, Balenciaga, and Versace showing mild recovery, Jacquemus with a sharper decline (though we’re talking about the winter months), and also Moncler. Noteworthy is the slow rise of Toteme, another brand rewarded for its strong balance between quality, visibility, and price. Celine appears through its jeans worn by Kendrick Lamar at the Superbowl, which dominate the hottest products with a 412% increase in searches for “flared jeans”, while another standout is the famous Michael model by Paraboot, a classic in men’s footwear, which saw a 226% surge in searches.

One surprising element is certainly the absence of several key LVMH brands like Louis Vuitton or Dior, which were overtaken in searches by Loewe – now tasked with maintaining the momentum gained thanks to Anderson. Clearly, the Dior collection Anderson will design and present could bring the brand back into the rankings around Q3 this year, although the partial and somewhat ambiguous nature of his appointment, as things stand, may slow down the boom. Overall, since Lyst acts as a barometer for a more aspirational audience (regular luxury buyers tend to shop directly from brands or multi-brand retailers), it seems the broader public is starting to lean towards brands positioned around value-for-money. Setting aside “masstige” brands (“mass + prestige”) like COS for a moment, a product such as Paraboot’s Michael may carry a high price, but it’s still much lower than luxury items, while boasting prestigious production and brand equity recognized beyond trends and fashion. The same can be said for Toteme, whose ready-to-wear offerings aren’t far off those price points. In short, the public seems focused on finding a better equation between quality and style – something luxury currently fails to provide.