213: COS, the people's princess

Brand Rank: March Edition

Welcome to the March 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 February’s Brand Rank here.

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Methodology

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. Every brand mentioned throughout the month earned 1 point. In March alone, the chat mentioned 511 brands a total of 929 times.

Also tallied were brands mentioned in newsletter sends coming directly from Magasin. This month, we published info on 256 brands a total of 435 times. These inclusions also carry a weight of one point each, 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.

Every link that received over 400 clicks from newsletters sent in March were broken out, awarding the brand associated with the link .1 points per click. If a link received 1,158 clicks, as with Baserange, it earned 11.58 points. (For those who are curious, through this methodology the top 35 brands had a collective 29,417 clicks, only counting links that received over 400 clicks each—are you still with me?)

Lastly, as you are aware, we use affiliate linking for some of our content, and as such have access to stats including the number of orders driven through a specific URL. From this data, we’ve identified every brand-specific link that drove over three orders, and assigned a weight of .5 points per order. So, if a link to a Dries Van Noten dress 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 Dries dresses, or even other Dries products, just that clicks that arrived to a site through that Dries link led to a certain number of orders in total.)

Finding and assembling this data takes our team of two people a combined 15+ hours of work—it’s highly manual work while we shop around for AI that can make this process easier while remaining as accurate as we are—and we are continuously making tweaks to this ranking system to best reflect the weight brands hold at a given moment.

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. COS—61.56 pts
   COS’ self-reinvention has been amazing to watch. Before Covid, it was a place I stopped at in an underground supermall on my way home from the office to buy something inconsequential to wear to work the next day. Now, it’s flying influencers out to Rome to stage world-class fashion shows, produced a bag so viral it became a household item, and consistently sells out its capsule collections. Despite its H&M ties and fast-fashion baggage, it’s been adopted by the fashion class to provide supporting architecture to their otherwise designer wardrobes. (A glow up I dare say.) It held 11th place in January’s ranking and did not even make the list last month. The brand was only mentioned in Magasin once this past month, but drove 3,600+ clicks from that single inclusion and was brought up in the chat 14 separate times, frequently for its white tees, jeans, and even wedding-guest and graduation dresses. COS is truly the people’s princess!

2. The Row—46.4 pts
   The fact that The Row has never not ranked in the top three tells you everything you need to know about this newsletter and its readership at this moment in time. You and I each had its name in our mouths this month, with 10 chat mentions and 15 newsletter inclusions. The 24 orders the brand drove also played a substantial role in its ranking. But as much fervor as there is for buying The Row, there is equal (and opposite) drive to suss out its dupes. This month, the chat surfaced this Massimo Dutti bag, this Amiacalva tote, these Emme Parsons fisherman sandals (these Flattered and Officine Creative fisherman sandals, too), a scooped-up-by-a-fellow-chat-member vintage hat, and these Massimo Dutti sandals as close approximations to The Row’s pricier originals.
   

3. Banana Republic—41.18 pts
   Where is Banana Republic’s victor from last month’s battle of the mall brands? With J.Crew having fallen off the edge of this list, Banana Republic can now freely muck around as the primary nostalgic clothier of great-quality basics. BR’s Khaite-caliber cashmere, highlighted in my PFW outfits, secured it a top spot, driving its fair share of clicks and orders.
   

4. Uniqlo—35.32 pts
   As predicted in last month’s Brand Rank, Uniqlo’s newest Clare Waight Keller collaboration catapulted it up 14 spots—the brand was the most ordered of the month. I have these wide-leg pants and love the cut (size down), but think this belted parka and these sandals (Uniqlo shoes? Who knew) deserve further investigation.
   

5. Dries Van Noten—31.54 pts
   Regardless of the creative director’s announcement he would be stepping down, Dries was always going to be on this list. I am surprised that the brand’s standing—lateral from last month, albeit with a score 10 points higher—didn’t jump up further. The brand was most discussed in the chat in regard to its shoes: in boot form, for its walkable sandals, and those asymmetrical heels. That curved heel is doing numbers. The Dries resale boom (which I commented on for Vogue Business) was also raised in a previous send and commented on in the chat, but it has thankfully not led to a dearth of great Dries at fair prices: brocade shorts for $148, walkable heeled sandals in mint condition for $160, an iridescent cropped blazer for $94, and a jaw-dropping colorblock opera coat for under $650.
   

6. Lauren Manoogian—25.3 pts
   Between its archive sale, its new season launch, and the recurrence of a certain double-knit trench in my wardrobe (currently on sale), Lauren Manoogian was a chief click generator this month. A large chunk of the site in addition to the trench is still on sale (check out these mules, wow), and I may have to explore the latest launch further in this newsletter in the coming weeks… More TBA!
   

7. Proenza Schouler—24.68 pts
   Similarly to Lauren Manoogian, Proenza’s archive sale played a huge role in landing the brand in the top 10. For those wondering, the sale is still live! And new pieces have been added since I last linked out: the roomy, everyday Arch bag for under $700 raises the pulse a bit.
   

8. Sezane—23.63 pts
   Welcome to the ranking, Sezane. This almost entirely reader-supported pick was a chat darling, with 13 mentions calling out this denim jumpsuit, this embroidered dress, a great-priced trench, its Le Crop jeans, this crochet button-down, and its sweaters at large.
   

9. Prada—21.16 pts
   Prada interest swirled this month around those chartreuse satin slides I passed on while in Paris, as well as (per usual) vintage—someone in the chat mentioned these Prada Sport Mary Janes on TRR, which in turn led me to this short-sleeve turtleneck for $108, this boatneck tank for $76, a zip-up fleece for $248, and a shearling scarf for $156. Prada Sport is classic for spring and SO well priced on resale these days.
   

10. Toteme—20.5 pts
    The 10th spot almost feels like a demotion for Toteme, which has previously held 7th and even 1st place on this ranking, however it appears to be holding its number score month over month (and even had a .02 increase from February). It’s as though interest for Toteme holds steady while other brands are enjoying a surge. The products on readers’ minds include the asymmetric ballerinas, boxer shorts, center-seam jeans, and this v-neck dress.
    

11. Jacquemus—19.33 pts
    After seeing the beautiful Les Sculptures collection and buying myself La Veste Ovalo blazer, I’m sensing a second wind for the designer of the microbag who unfortunately lost the plot for a few seasons. Welcome back Simon!
    

12. Phoebe Philo—18.19 pts
    Both deliveries of Phoebe’s second edit touched down in March, and while skepticism remains one of the defining characteristics of shoppers’ relationship to the brand, soaring prices elsewhere are almost enough to make certain red-inked numbers on her ecomm pages seem…reasonable in context. This is the month that the Phoebe Philo brand finally shifts from concept to clothier, likely much to the designer’s relief.
    

13. Baserange—17.58 pts
    Even at number 13 on this list, off-kilter basics brand Baserange is probably still overlooked for its ability to differentiate outfits with subtle changes to familiar shapes. My emergency purchase of a gray melange sweater from Bon Marche during PFW injected the brand into the conversation this month, but its now-running archive sale (up to 70% off) may be the thing to keep it there, once more shoppers have the chance to discover its clever pieces.
    

14. Rue Sophie—17.57 pts
    The newly reinvented Rue Sophie caught attention this month by nailing a rare quality-to-cost sweet spot. The brand’s familiarly minimal pieces do feel a bit like riffs of other, pricier brands on this list, but having now tried a few of its styles—the Provenance Oversized Jacket and Parc Pants—I can report that the tightly woven 100% cotton and the cuts are enormously pleasant to wear!
    

15. Studio Nicholson—15.96 pts
    This newsletter is an outspoken fan of Brit brand Studio Nicholson (the outerwear consistently overdelivers), and the chat has been busy crowing its faves, too: the jeans, slides, knits, and yes, coats have all been loudly advocated for.
    

16. Alaia—15.16 pts
    Alaia’s SS24 collection featured heavily on the moodboard and in the credits for this period-drama dressing exploration. With so many individual pieces from the collection on the tip of everyone’s tongues and prices as high as they are, I suspect the “dupes” dialogue will come for Alaia moreso in the coming months.
    

17. Staud x Birkenstock—15.03 pts
    A first for a collaboration to reach this list! Usually I would have broken these down and tracked engagement with each individual brand, but the fact is that interest was laser focused on the limited sandal collection produced in tandem.
    

18. Khaite—13 pts
    Khaite deals were sprinkled throughout news + sales reports from the month as various retailers dropped their prices (Saks’ Friends & Family Sale currently has the best selection at the lowest rates), while the chat talked jeans, boots, dupes for knits (like this Jenni Kayne), dupes for its studded mules (like these Reike Nens), and the Coli dress.
    

19. Neous—10.59 pts
    I love when a single mention of a product has the force to shoot a brand up into the top 20, in the case, Neous’ Pherka sandals—my dream summer heel, which, if you’re wondering, I’m still dragging my feet (ha ha) on buying.
    

20. Bevza—10.55 pts
    If it were my job to elect the people’s princess, I might have picked Bevza instead of COS. Affordable, thoughtful, eccentric at all the right times, Bevza’s latest (which includes this essential logo tank and this shirt with great bust architecture) addresses an area of fashion most people love to bemoan no longer exists. Wake up and shop what’s right in front of you!

Honorable mentions: I was weirdly relieved that High Sport fell at #21 on the extended ranking list—I’m tired of the conversation and tired of seeing the pants, frankly!; Labour & Wait, the fancy British hardware store, incomprehensibly beat out Tove, Bottega Veneta, and Lemaire at #24 thanks to an off-hand link out to a waxed cotton bread bag—it is chic though; and after weeks of incremental improvements to the brand since the return of its founders, I just got an insanely good white leather Mansur Gavriel Candy bag and predict it’ll break the top 20 by next month—welcome back MG!

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