203: There's a clear winner in the battle of the mall brands—for now

Brand Rank: February Edition

Welcome to the February edition of Brand Rank, a data-driven index of the top trending fashion brands surging in real time across the retail world and on Magasin platforms. See January’s Brand Rank here.

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Methodology

Taking into account some on-point feedback from last month’s inaugural Brand Rank, retailers’ on-page designer endorsements, which can be biased, paid for, or otherwise skewed representations of the shopping snapshot in time we aim to capture with this franchise, will no longer be factored into brand scores. Instead, we’re doubling down on our internal data to uncover the most in-demand brands of the moment. If the point system below looks different from last month’s, that’s due to this shift in our (very manual) “algorithm.”

Brand Rank implements a weighted scoring system that assesses Magasin coverage and reader behavior in four categories: Chat Mentions, Post Mentions, Clicks, and Orders.

Providing the greatest expanse of data were brands mentioned in the Magasin Chat—“chat mentions.” Every brand mention appearing during the period earned 1 point. This month alone, hundreds of brands were mentioned over a thousand times.

Also tallied were brands mentioned in newsletter sends coming directly from Magasin—“post mentions.” These also carry a weight of one point per mention, equal to that of chat mentions. I believe that’s an important relationship to highlight, as your input carries as much, if not more, value in determining who ends up this list.

The 20 most-clicked shopping links from newsletters sent in February—“Top Clicks”—were broken out, awarding the brand associated with the link 1/10th of a point per click. If a link received 852 clicks, as with Bottega Veneta, it earned 8.52 points.

Lastly, as you are aware, we use affiliate linking for some of our content, and as such have access to data including the number of orders driven through a specific URL—we’re calling these “Top Orders.” From this data, we’ve identified the top 20 links that drove the highest number of orders, and assigned a weight of 1/2 a point per order. So, if a link to a pair of Lemaire shoes drove 15 orders, the brand is credited with 7.5 points. For clarity, it’s not apparent in the data whether those 15 orders placed were all for Lemaire shoes, or even Lemaire products, just that clicks that arrived to a site through that Lemaire link led to a certain number of orders in total.

If you have any thoughts or feedback about this methodology or how you’d like to see these surveys conducted in the future, please chime in via the comments or by replying to this email!

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1. The Row—72.98 pts
   Stealing the top spot out of Toteme’s hands and altogether booting scandal-causing second-place holder Eileen Fisher off the leaderboard, The Row has proven victorious through all channels. A chat favorite with 22 mentions under its belt from those primarily extolling the brand’s shoes—namely the Boheme and Ava Mary Jane flats and Fisherman sandals—as well as its Idaho and Banana bags. The brand drove 1,548 clicks and catalyzed 49 orders (more than any other on this list), largely around its latest entry-level Abby bag and pair of knit, wide-leg pants on resale.
   

2. J.Crew—56.76 pts
   Barely cracking the qualifying top 20 in January’s Brand Rank, J.Crew has shot up from its last-held number-19 spot to bask in the light of the silver medal. A compelling Valentine’s Day collection won it a headline placement in “196: A J.Crew skirt that scratches my Alaïa itch,” causing a click storm for both the titular pleated skirt and a patent red pencil one from the same holiday release (3,176 clicks between those two products alone), making it the top-clicked and top-ordered brand by a landslide. In the chat, the brand came up as an option for virtually every basics query, recommended for its satin midi skirts, plus-size blazers, poplin pajamas, and cardigans that aren’t $10,000.
   

3. Banana Republic—22.13
   Brand Rank first-timer Banana Republic lands third on the list, not far behind fellow mall brand J.Crew—with all the interest and investment being put into reviving this tier of nostalgic, mass retailer, this is a race I’m watching closely. The chat took an interest in BR’s jeans and Peter Do capsule, but the fact of the brand’s occurrence in my own wardrobe—namely this cashmere polo—drove a significant enough number of clicks (1,313) to land the brand in the top three.
   

4. Alaïa—21.63 pts
   Another victor from the titular subject line above, Alaïa set into motion a great deal of shopping inspiration through its FW24 collection trunkshow on Moda Operandi. The brand amassed 763 clicks from 7 newsletter inclusions, while also being a chat darling: its fishnet flats, criss-cross flats, and Coeur heart bag were the center of much buy-curiosity. And this is me editorializing here, but I expect the brand to hold its place or even rise in rank next month with the arrival of its Teckel bag that’s already beginning to sell out.
   

5. Dries Van Noten—21.5
   Another riser in the ranks, Dries shot up seven spots, up from number 13 in January. Dries Van Noten performed exceptionally well on the orders front, driving a ton of transactional activity during the SSENSE sale, where the brand offered some pretty spectacular discounts (it’s secretly still hugely marked-down at SSENSE’s silent sale here).
   

6. Prada—21
   It may seem a fluke that this is Prada’s first appearance on this list, but it was ultimately the message boards that brought it in: 15 chat mentions concerned its logo loafers, card holders, and—most of all—vintage and resale pieces from the brand.
   

7. Toteme—20.48
   January’s golden child drops down a few spots to let some light fall on other brands…for the time being. Between 7 chat mentions (for its barn jacket that’s mysteriously $300 off in an unmarked sale at SSENSE, its scarf coat in green, and lauding its outerwear in general) and 5 post mentions (about its Net-A-Porter capsule and highly clicked knit flats), Toteme is still in great shape. Similarly to Alaïa, I suspect the release of Toteme’s The Row-like Scoop Bag will drive further discourse in March.
   

8. Bottega Veneta—18.52
   Despite the critical success of “New Bottega,” it’s still the old styles keeping shoppers most attuned to the brand. The vintage Intrecciato Hobo Bag, a Magasin favorite, cinched the brand the number 8 spot, alongside some chat chatter about other vintage bag styles, its lug sole boots, and a pair of pointy white flats from Vestiaire Collective that are miraculously still available.
   

9. Tove—16.39
   I’ve been enjoying something of a love affair with British brand Tove throughout fashion month, allocating 6 mentions of it in newsletter sends (compared to a single mention in the chat), however readers are happy to meet me where I am by extending nearly 1,000 clicks to Yoonmi coat I continue to advocate for.
   

10. Wales Bonner—16.21
    Wales Bonner proved itself in the Magasin omniverse beyond its Adidas collab sneakers (though those did come up, rightfully so), with chats and newsletter sends focused on the brand’s puka-shell loafers and beaded charm necklaces.
    

11. Lemaire—14.5
    The success of Lemaire’s Linoleum Boxing Shoes (still on sale at SSENSE), which got it up to spot number 4 last month, continues to be felt, inspiring 15 orders carrying into Feb. Obligatory mentions of the Croissant bag, plus some conversation around its pants for men, solidified its standing.
    

12. Tibi—14
    Also present in my fashion month wardrobe, Tibi was mentioned 9 times in the newsletter and likewise recommended in the chat for its inspiring styling, plus a special callout of this (on sale) poplin mini skirt.
    

13. Corali—14
    Jewelry brand Corali inspired both clicks and orders, largely around a pair of its earrings I picked up during the SSENSE sale, signaling a more-than-passive interest in the brand. I’ll reiterate a sentiment I shared recently: I think Corali is poised to be the next Sophie Buhai, but is still small enough to feel like a special little secret.
    

14. Khaite—13.5
    Surprisingly also a first-timer on this list, Khaite achieved well-rounded standing across all qualifiers, with chat mentions emphatic about its Danielle jeans, Oron dress, and Varick pumps, while newsletter content inspired orders around the brand’s more affordable pieces on The RealReal.
    

15. Lauren Manoogian—11.95
    Lauren Manoogian earned itself a healthy dose of clicks thanks to interest in its Double Knit Trench, however frequent sell-outs that outpaced demand meant few orders followed through. For those still intent on adopting the style, there’s one left in stock here or this similar silhouette might do the trick.
    

16. Pleats Please—11.82
    While evergreen in its shoppability, Pleats Please ultimately ranked in the top 20 this month due to some attractive pricing found at the SSENSE sale—while the off-white long-sleeve shirt driving orders is no longer marked down, these 53 other pieces still (secretly) are.
    

17. Chopova Lowena—11.82
    Chopova Lowena was only mentioned once in the newsletter—to shout out this dress in the SSENSE sale—but it was enough to land the brand on this list. FWIW, the dress is still marked down for only slightly above what it was at its lowest.
    

18. Uniqlo—10
    An entirely chat-driven placement, Uniqlo found recognition for its menswear in this utility jacket and these wide-leg pants. A new season of Uniqlo:C just landed (I got these pants, amazing!!!), so I’m curious to see if Uniqlo can compete at the level of J.Crew or Banana Republic by the time March’s Brand Rank rolls around.
    

19. Jamie Haller—9.9
    Loafer-monger Jamie Haller also struggles with keeping up with demand, and highly intentional shoppers are sometimes faced with sold-out sizes in the most popular styles. Still, that didn’t stop the Penny Loafer in Black Patent from becoming one of the most-clicked links (currently available in size 36, 37, and 41, or full size ranges in other colors).
    

20. Rosie Sugden—9.8
    An off-hand mention of Rosie Sugden’s Bed Socks put this Scottish cashmere brand at number 20. After a brief out-of-stock spell, the socks are back in stock in gray, tan, and pink, and even 20% off with FORYOU.
    

Honorable mentions: Skincare brands from this month’s beauty coverage were omitted for the sake of maintaining this as a predominantly fashion-focused newsletter, but it’s worth sharing that, in their original rankings, body exfoliator and moisturizer Amlactin came in at number 8, French pharmacy brand A313 at number 10, and maker of my favorite dry shampoo Klorane at number 14.

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I may earn some money if you make a purchase through one of the links above.

Research contributed by News Editor Em Seely-Katz.

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