Freshly crowned at the prestigious 2020 CFDA Fashion Awards, Telfar label founder Telfar Clemens is known for his commitment to inclusivity as well as to accessible fashion. This seems to have struck a chord with consumers worldwide, since the brand’s famous shopping bag is the most popular womenswear item of the quarter, according to the latest Lyst Index.
And the good news is that you don’t need to spend mega bucks to get hold of it, with prices starting from US$150 ($204.92). Marine Serre — another designer committed to a cause — takes second place with her stretch top printed with crescent moons. The French designer, who strives to make fashion more responsible, features this signature print on several of her creations, which have been worn by celebrities from Beyoncé to Adele to Kylie Jenner.
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The protective masks and home wear, popular in the second quarter of this year, have fallen out of the ranking this quarter. In womenswear, it seems shoppers are once again looking to more sophisticated fashion choices, with other popular items including Bottega Veneta’s Tire boots (fourth place), Prada logo loafers (sixth place) and the Ganni leather balloon sleeve dress (seventh place).
It is a different story in menswear, where comfortable clothes still seem to be riding high, relegating the suit and tie to the back of wardrobes. Topping the list of the hottest men’s products for 3Q 2020 is the Air Jordan 1 High OG sneaker from the much-hyped Dior x Nike collaboration.
Sport and comfort seem to be the watchwords in menswear, since the Birkenstock Boston clogs take second place, followed by Nike Tech Fleece joggers and UGG Scuff Deco slippers. Lyst notes that face masks are still in high demand, with consumers looking for trendy options.
Overall, demand grew by 389%, lower than the 510% spike earlier in the year. Meanwhile, the Italian fashion house Gucci is the world’s hottest brand this quarter, pushing Nike down to third place.
Still in second place, Off-White — the brand founded by Virgil Abloh — retains its popularity on the web. Next come Prada, Balenciaga, Fendi, Versace, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and Valentino — proving that Italian fashion houses are having a moment.
Note that Marine Serre enters the top 20 this quarter, scoring the fastest rise in the ranking (up 10 places). The Lyst Index analyzes the behavior of more than nine million consumers who each month search for and buy fashion items online from 12,000 brands and stores.
The Lyst Index takes into account international searches on Lyst and Google, conversion rates and sales, social media mentions and engagement statistics worldwide, over a three-month period.
Gummy affair
Chewing gum is the world’s second most common form of litter after cigarette butts. With the global market for gum expected to grow to almost US$39 billion by 2027, people are already coming up with original ways of dealing with its waste, starting with making everyday products from recycled gum.
This growth is notably fuelled by innovation in the sector, such as new sugar-free products. Currently worth US$29.9 billion, the global market for chewing gum is expected to grow to around US$38.6 billion by 2027, according to insights from ReportLinker. In the US, gum sales are likely to total around US$8.1 billion for 2020 alone.
That is an awful lot of chewing gum, much of which will end up on the sidewalk. Of an estimated 374 billion pieces of gum sold worldwide each year, seven in 10 will not make it into a trash can. And a piece of chewing gum takes between five and six years to degrade.
Although gum-chewers are encouraged to act responsibly and environmental awareness continues to grow, several concepts are taking shape to tackle the problem and recycle used chewing gum. One of those concepts comes from London-based designer, Anna Bullus.
Heading the GumDrop Limited startup, the artist has meticulously studied the composition of chewing gum to find out exactly what it is made of and how it can be recycled to make new products — starting with a waste collection receptacle for used gum! Other products in the range include a coffee cup and a guitar plectrum.
The portable coffee mug — finished in a bright pink shade nodding to its past life — sells for GBP11.99 ($21.20) on the Gumdrop website. Anna Bullus has also developed a pair of sneakers made with recycled chewing gum. Created in collaboration with the Explicit brand, the shoes are made from 20% recycled gum from the streets of Amsterdam. The sole even features a map of the Dutch capital! The limited-edition sneakers can be yours for EUR190 per pair ($303.10).
As well as using recycled gum, the shoe is also crafted from recycled plastic. Instead of throwing used chewing gum on the ground or elsewhere, in some areas it can be collected in specially designed boxes from the global recycling giant, TerraCycle.
The firm, which specialises in hard-to-recycle materials, has developed specific gum collection receptacles for used gum as well as its packaging. It remains to be seen if these are sufficiently widespread and sufficiently visible to change consumer habits.
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