The data doesn’t lie: The ’80s, ’90s, and ’00s are officially fashion’s favorite decades—at least according to Google. In the company’s yearly study of the most trending searches, a metric Google calculates by tracking the greatest increase in year over year searches, the top four fashion searches were: 1980s fashion, grunge fashion, 1990s fashion, and 2000s fashion. Compared to past years, which have featured questions like “How to wear booties with skinny jeans?” as top style queries, the retro revival shows an increased influence of the runways on mainstream fashion searches. Remember, this was the year when Versace’s reissues arrived in stores, Prada brought back its iconic nylon Linea Rossa, and Marc Jacobs remade his infamous grunge collection for Perry Ellis.
Vying with nostalgia as the predominant fashion trend of the year is anything—or anyone—royal. Meghan Markle took the fifth spot on Google’s list, with Kate Middleton placing ninth. Google also released a ranking of fashion brands that have attracted new interest throughout the year—Givenchy, for which Clare Waight Keller designed Markle’s wedding dress, ranked fourth, with a peak of searches happening around the royal wedding and continuing throughout the year.
If you’ve been paying attention to fashion at all this year, the fact that nostalgia and royalty are big on Google isn’t bombshell news. What might surprise you is the fact that Fashion Nova, the online-only fast-fashion retailer, outranked every runway brand, placing first on Google’s trending list. Chalk it up to the Cardi B effect, sure, but more than just having one of the most enthusiastic, authentic spokeswomen and collaborators, Fashion Nova’s rise represents something larger in fashion: community. The Fashion Nova brand connects with its shoppers seamlessly over Instagram; pays its muses to promote its goods in a less glossy, more relatable way—see Cardi’s off-the-cuff post announcing her collection’s release—and makes clothing in sizes and at prices that include more women than other luxury or fast-fashion brands.
The importance of community reverberates throughout Google’s trending brands list. Louis Vuitton, which named Virgil Abloh its artistic director of menswear, ranked second, with increased interest around Abloh’s appointment and runway debut, for which he cast his friends and collaborators. Gucci, with its ever-expanding world of partners, placed fifth, while resale site Fashionphile placed eighth, suggesting the importance of both nostalgia and community-based commerce. Versace, with its reissues and blockbuster Michael Kors deal; Alexander McQueen, a favorite of Middleton’s; Dolce & Gabbana, which negotiated a much-publicized controversy late in the year; Dior, which reissued its saddlebag; and Moschino, which collaborated with H&M, round out the list.
Designers, consider these lessons for 2019: Know your past, make friends with the palace, and, most important, keep your fans close.
See Google’s full trending lists below.
Fashion Brands
Fashion Nova
Louis Vuitton
Versace
Givenchy
Gucci
Alexander McQueen
Dolce & Gabbana
Fashionphile
Dior
Moschino
Fashion Searches
1980s fashion
Grunge style
1990s fashion
2000s fashion
Meghan Markle
Men’s fashion
Harajuku fashion
Hipster style
Kate Middleton
’80s men’s fashion
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