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This article was first published in the September 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
Earlier in 2015, London-based fashion marketplace Lyst noticed an unusual uptick. When winter storm Juno snowed New Yorkers in, pageviews for lingerie brand Agent Provocateur rose by 500 per cent -- mirroring a similar spike in Craigslist posts asking for, ahem, "friends". "It was obvious people were cosying up," says Caroline Ohrn, Lyst's head of data.
Processing more than 100 million points in analytics data every day across two million users and 180 countries puts Lyst in a unique position to spot fashion trends around the world, as illustrated in this infographic. Mansur Gavriel, for example, is the top-selling designer in major countries around the world, with 2014 sales of its Bucket Bag ensuring bags and luggage was by far the marketplace's most popular product type.
Dig deeper and the data reveals that shoppers in less traditionally fashion-conscious countries are pretty patriotic: Michael Kors and Tory Burch are among the US's top five most-bought designers, and living in the adopted home of denim, Americans spend 42 per cent more on jeans than the British. Mature markets such as France and Italy, meanwhile, are more adventurous, with local designers Balenciaga and Dolce & Gabbana sitting shoulder to shoulder with Nike and Golden Goose. "That is indicative of French culture," says Ohrn. "Buying a few classic pieces but mixing them with a cooler style."
And if you're wondering what you should be looking for when buying your killer outfit, "Rockstud" and "Fringe" are Lyst's top searches. But some things never change -- the most-searched for colour is still black.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
