Tagwalk has taken a deep dive on the fashion trends that marked 2023. Photo: AFP
At the close of 2023, fashion search engine Tagwalk unveiled the trends, brands, emerging designers and fashion shows that made their mark throughout the year.
It might seem that inspiration in the fashion sphere was dominated by "quiet luxury" and Barbie, but designers and luxury houses looked beyond these two very mainstream trends.
Based on traffic and search figures for 12 months, the report showed that Miu Miu clearly dominated the conversation. It was the luxury brand that generated the most traffic on the platform in 2023, for all collections presented (Autumn/Winter 2023, Couture 2023, Resort 2024, Spring-Summer 2024 and Pre-Fall 2024).
With 1.9% of all traffic, the "little sister" brand of Prada was in first place, ahead of Bottega Veneta (1.44%) (which proves that a brand can leave social networks without suffering from a lack of visibility), Chanel (1.36%), Celine (1.3%), and Dior (1.19%).
Regarding the fastest-growing brands, Luar, the label of young New York-based designer Raul Lopez, stood out. Although considered up-and-coming in terms of traffic, the brand posted the biggest increase over the year (+144%).
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Schiaparelli took second place with an increase of +120%, perhaps due to the buzz generated by its animal-head dresses presented at the beginning of the year.
Next in line were The Row (+104%) – the Olsen sisters' brand which has gone all in on "quiet luxury", Bally (+59%) and Ferragamo (+52%).
As for emerging designers who showed for the first time in 2023, The Attico stood out in terms of traffic (0.27%), ahead of Di Petsa (0.25%), Torisheju (0.15%) and Zomer (0.12%). Four fashion players who look set to be the talk of the town in 2024.
The rise of 'bourgeois' style
After "quiet luxury", it seemed that fashion designers are looking to bourgeois style. In terms of movers and shakers, this trend outstripped all others by a wide margin (+198%), far ahead of "ladylike outfits" (+127%), which – once again – put elegance and sophistication at the centre of fashion inspiration.
This was followed by 1990s-inspired outfits (+56%) and minimalist and preppy styles (both +42%).
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But do these fashion trends correspond with what consumers were looking for?
Well, yes and no. It was the 1990s that appeared to be the most popular theme (1.25% of searches), ahead of 2000s style (1%), utility (0.7%), romantic (0.6%) and preppy looks (0.52%).
Finally, trench coats, a women's wardrobe staple, was the most sought-after piece (1%), ahead of suits (0.5%), corsets (0.4%), miniskirts (0.3%), and the midi-skirts (0.3%).
Unsurprisingly, given the trends observed throughout last year, red was the most popular colour of the year (2.5% of searches), ahead of grey (1.2%), pastel sorbet (1.12%), blue (1.1%), and yellow (1%). – AFP Relaxnews
