Photography via Instagram/balenciaga

Turns Out, the World’s Hottest Fashion Brand isn’t Gucci

We're shocked, tbh.

Date November 7, 2017

The results are in, and it turns out Gucci is no longer the world’s hottest fashion brand, despite all the slides, fanny packs and floral track pants infiltrating your Instagram feeds.

According to Business of Fashion and global fashion search engine Lyst, Balenciaga now takes the top spot, climbing from third place in the last ranking, which took place in the second quarter of 2017. Gucci has been relegated to second place and Virgil Abloh’s Off-White jumped an impressive 31 places, taking the third spot on the list.

Abloh’s success isn’t entirely surprising, however — as BoF notes, he’s making all the right moves to position his brand, whether it be through his collaboration with IKEA, his partnership with Warby Parker or his collab with Nike, which saw him reimagine 10 models from the athletic brand’s archives, including the Air Jordan 1, Air Max 90 and the Air Force 1 (all the styles are set to drop Nov. 9). Oh, and dedicating his spring/summer 2018 show to the late Princess Diana and enlisting Naomi Campbell to close the show didn’t hurt either.

As for Balenciaga, Lyst attributes the Demna Gvasalia-designed brand’s success to “a new logo and a Colette residency” which “kept the brand top of mind” and well-designed products “that drive the fashion narrative online.”

And while Gucci is number two, Lyst still counts the Alessandro Michele-designed label as “the most consistent performer in the brand rankings to date.”

Check out the top 10 list below, and head to Business of Fashion for the full run-down.