This year 80 million shoppers from 120 countries started their fashion search on Lyst. We tracked more than 100 million searches; crunching the queries, page views, salesdata and social media mentions across 5 million fashion products from 12,000 designers and stores. From Dior to dadcore, plastic to prairie dresses, Lyst's data reveals what you wanted to wear in 2018.
This year we've seen Instagram develop as a powerful fashion force, setting trends and boosting sales. To succeed in the feed, brands have honed in on streetwear's graphics and logos as transmittable memes, causing a huge logomania trend and a 90s/00s aesthetic revival.
Celebrities, and their outfits, remain the most powerful influencers shaping what customers look to buy online. Through carefully curated Instagram posts the likes of Kylie and Kim got the world shopping and were responsible for some of the largest search spikes of 2018.
It was a year of comeback brands - with Fendi, Versace, and Prada firmly back on the radar - while the demand for contemporary labels Ganni, Réalisation Par and Staud went global. Dadcore, ugly sneakers and meme fashion set the style agenda for hero products that drove searches year round. Meanwhile, the humble, white sneaker found a foothold at every price point. The hottest bags were dominated by streetwear influences and unusual design and styling details, from belt bags to triangle shapes.
By analysing spikes in fashion demand throughout the year, we've compiled this timeline of some of the major moments that got the world searching. From the Golden Globes to the Football World Cup, 2018 was a year when politics, fashion and culture felt more intertwined than ever.
The red carpet at the Golden Globes was dominated by one colour, black; a statement supporting the #MeToo and Time's Up movements. There was a 39% increase in views of black dresses the following month.
Following Kim Jones's departure from Louis Vuitton in January, Off-White designer Virgil Abloh became the first designer of color to hold such a high-profile position in fashion, Menswear Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton. A moment to be celebrated.
This year's annual costume institute's theme, ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination', required some dedication to make the best dressed list. Rihanna pushed Pope-chic to a new level, Jennifer Lopez dazzled in Balmain and Priyanka Chopra opted for Ralph Lauren red velvet. Searches for headpieces more than doubled in the 72 hours following the event.
Melania chose to wear this controversial slogan Zara jacket when she set off to visit children detained at the border in Texas. While press and social media commentators debated her intentions, the olive green jacket sold out worldwide and subsequently went for exponentially higher prices on second hand sites.
The first Hollywood movie in 25 years featuring an all Asian-American cast was a major cultural, and fashion, moment. Including glamorous looks by Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Missoni, we saw a spike in searches for gold jumpsuits thanks to Araminta's bachelorette party outfit.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Just Do It campaign, Nike launched a divisive new ad starring Colin Kaepernick. Despite prompting criticism from President Trump, and the threat of a #JustBurnIt backlash, the campaign hit 10 million social media mentions and search traffic to Nike pages increased 13%.
Keeping out of the spotlight until the birth of her baby girl led to speculation and debate but ultimately sustained fan attention until the news finally broke. Kylie sparked an 81% surge in searches for yellow bikinis when she finally ‘grammed a picture of her wearing one alongside her baby.
In the lead up to Prince Louis' birth, Kate renewed interest in maternity clothes and some of her previously most-worn coats and dresses that had sold out in seconds. Searches for Jenny Packham almost tripled when Kate wore a red smocked dress by the designer outside the hospital after Prince Louis's birth.
There was huge speculation over Meghan's wedding dress, with Ralph & Russo, Erdem and Roland Mouret topping the lists. But when Meghan stepped out in Clare Waight Keller for Givenchy, a designer that no one had predicted, searches for ‘Givenchy dresses' surged 184%.
During the World Cup, fashion searches including the words ‘football' and ‘soccer' increased 340%, with England, Nigeria and Croatia kits the most wanted items. England manager Gareth Southgate's waistcoats got the world searching - his Marks and Spencer's piece sold out in minutes.
Chiara Ferragni's wedding created almost a quarter of a million social mentions, and her couture gowns earned Dior around $5.2 million in digital advertising. Her Dior dress, turn playsuit, caused a 45% rise in searches for white and cream lace playsuits.
K-pop stars BTS had the biggest ever YouTube 24 hour debut with their hit single 'IDOL' in August, and Sehun of supergroup EXO sat front row at the Louis Vuitton resort show. Fearless when it comes to fashion, K Pop stars are proving major global fashion influencers, spiking searches for Moschino and Chrome Hearts this year.