Balenciaga has knocked Gucci out of the top spot for hottest brand in fashion, according to online data compiled during July-September by Lyst and Business of Fashion. Gucci still sits in the No. 2 spot and there was no change for Vetements and Givenchy, which maintained their No. 4 and 5 spots respectively. This is all good news for luxury conglomerate Kering, which owns Balenciaga, Vetements and Gucci.
The break out star of the report is Off-White, which vaulted from a No. 34 position in the April-June report to No. 2 for the current period. The summer was a busy one for the label as lead by Virgil Abloh, who generated a ton of press around collaborations with Werby Parker and Ikea, as well as a much buzzed about spring 2018 women’s presentation themed on the wardrobe of Princess Diana. Within sneaker culture there’s been a tremendous amount of press coverage of Abloh’s “The Ten” shoe collaboration with Nike.
What’s amusing is that Off-White’s No. 2 ranking puts the label well ahead of Raf Simons, whose brand is ranked No. 10. While Abloh has openly stated he’s a big fan of Simons, the Belgian designer was famously dismissive of Abloh in an interview in GQ, in which he which he implied Abloh lacks originality. Oh how the tables have turned!
