224: This months-old brand is more sought after than Miu Miu

Brand Rank: April Edition.

Welcome to the April 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 March’s Brand Rank here.

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Methodology

Brand Rank implements a weighted scoring system that assesses Magasin’s coverage radar 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 April alone, the chat mentioned 462 brands a total of 1,298 times.

Also tallied were brands mentioned in newsletter sends coming directly from Magasin. This month, we published info on 355 brands a total of 798 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 April were broken out, awarding the brand associated with the link .01 points per click. If a link received 1,679 clicks, as with Reproduction of Found, it earned 16.79 points. (For those who are curious, through this methodology the top 35 brands had a collective 59,230 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 pair of Margiela boots drove 14 orders, the brand is credited with 7 points. (For clarity, it’s not apparent in the data whether those 14 orders placed were all for Margiela boots or even other Margiela products, just that clicks that arrived to a site through that Margiela link led to a certain number of orders in total.)

Finding and assembling this data takes our team of two people a combined 20+ 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.

Thank you to all of those who have reached out offering your ideas and help in developing this project! I’m excited to get back to each of you and see what magic we can make with all the data. To everyone else, if you have any thoughts or feedback about this methodology or how you’d like to see these surveys conducted in the future, I invite you to please chime in via the comments or by replying to this email.

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1. The Row—79.38 pts
   Our North Star is back in the top spot after briefly ceding it last month to COS (who hasn’t gone far). Having never dipped below third place, The Row maintained its lead through April with high marks in all departments. Its SS24 arrival at Net-A-Porter—including the unforgettable Laz wrap skirt and my Xhefri hat—and choice deals to be found at Walmart and on resale (as with a Gabriel tote that sold but is available again here) spearheaded conversations happening on-platform; my new purchase of the graphic thong kitten heels also drew a number of clicks. In the chat, gossip on Margaux restocks was exchanges (on resale, this sub-$4k Margaux 15 can now be considered a good deal); dupes for The Row’s Chan Wide Leg Corduroys (try this Reformation pair) and its seen-on-runway jelly sandals (like these Jeffrey Campbells) were found; and I personally went down a rabbit hole when someone asked of the ‘80s brand, “What kind of brand was Zoran? Was it what The Row is now?” (Based on current TRR prices, now’s a good time to collect the former before Desert Vintage snaps it all up.)
   

2. COS—69.25 pts
   Last month’s top ranker keeps it up in a close second. Our sends highlighted the brand’s Banana Bag-like Swing Micro Crossbody (only $135!) and its SS24 Atelier collection. But in true “people’s princess” form, the brand ranked largely due to activity in the chat, where the COS x Linda Farrow sunglass collab came up quite a lot. Its tanks, tees, and viral quilted crossbody bag remain stalwarts.
   

3. Uniqlo—69.06 pts
   ”I don’t need to tell anyone about Uniqlo,” is something I’d said on my Throwing Fits episode earlier this month, but having then seen a ton of wide-eyed chatter around the brand (it’s opening more stores Stateside), I might have to rethink the level of brand awareness I assumed it had. Uniqlo has been a fixture in this newsletter since day zero, and recent Uniqlo:C (with Clare Waight Keller) and J.W.Anderson capsules, not to mention the conversation that’s been driven through its inclusion in the Challengers wardrobe, keep it as relevant as ever.
   

4. Gap—66.46 pts
   While it’s common to see mall brands sit beside luxury labels on this list, Gap’s presence this month is unique in that it was driven almost entirely by it’s Body line of underwear. My intimates overhaul post inspired 60-something orders from the brand, most of them for its Breathe Bikini that established itself as my new everyday pair.
   

5. Rue Sophie—58.31 pts
   Barely a few months old, and Rue Sophie has already landed itself in the top five. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve worn my Provenance jacket from the brand (like The Row’s Liens Coat, but under $300) at least every other day since I got it. Its pared back silhouettes and high-integrity fabrics are a rarity at the extremely fair prices assigned across its spring collection—the Chabot mock neck for $88, Drape pant for $178, and Bois anorak for $298 are imminent buys as far as I’m concerned.
   

6. Miu Miu—50.98 pts
   No doubt, there’s Miu Miu fever. The brand’s New Balance collab, its boat shoes, its corded sandals (and their affordable counterparts), board shorts, and eternally trending suite of skirts (oh, and let’s also talk about the runway spectacles that just landed) rule the current trend landscape to a degree that no other brand has managed to match.
   

7. Coucou Intimates—46.5 pts
   Landed on this list—in seventh place, no less—on the strength of a t-shirt alone. Coucou’s The Baby Tee is already the cornerstone of my wardrobe this year, since trying one out and instantly buying three more so that I’m never without one in rotation.
   

8. Jamie Haller—44.69 pts
   Shoe dealer and RTW entrant Jamie Haller is throwing its weight among some hardcore brands on this ranking (it beat out Prada!), breaking the top 10 for the first time (though JH hive has been gunning for it since day one). This month’s launch of The Slingback silhouette and a tight edit of clothing tipped the scales in the brand’s favor.
   

9. Prada—44.69 pts
   Unlike little sister brand Miu Miu, Prada’s place on this list can be largely tied back to vintage pieces—these platforms remain as tempting as ever—not to say that the new-in isn’t an exercise in restraint. The lighter-than-air voile dresses have landed online, alongside this reasonably (for Prada) priced georgette skirt and mohair blazer that’s likely to be overlooked but is actually worth the money for its beyond-excellent fit (I tried it and cried at the store).
   

10. Studio Nicholson—44.54 pts
    I couldn’t help but notice that Toteme, usually a fixture in Brand Rank, did not make it into the top 20 this month, and I wonder if its absence can be partially tied back to our attention being redirected to another quality everydaywear brand, Studio Nicholson. The UK-based label released its SS24 collection and hosted a site sale, and it’s relaxed, substantive silhouettes are beyond plausible for a summer uniform.
    

11. Alaïa—39.81 pts
    Up from spot 16 last month, Alaïa had headline placement this past month after its elusive Teckel was improbably in stock on SSENSE for mere moments (one’s in stock and on sale at Baltini rn). However, rare-fashion tracking service Sourcewhere shared that the brand’s mesh flats—included as a spring resale swap in my recent Vestiaire coverage—outweighed the bag (and they were a Lyst Index top product); you can still find them on resale for around a grand.
    

12. Still Here—38.55 pts
    New York-based denim brand Still Here’s aspirations to be the next Gap are inching further into reality as its SS24 collection first delivery becomes a major sale-driver this month. Per the chat, these are an attainable alternative to Phoebe’s Drop Jeans, and eyes are trained on the new-in page awaiting the launch of denim capris on May 2.
    

13. Mango—37.47 pts
    Victoria Beckham’s capsule with Mango landed the brand on the list for the first time—this dress in particular caught interest, but it’ll be Beck’s bag we see on shoulders everywhere when spring catches up.
    

14. Giorgio Armani—33.27 pts
    The vintage Armani kick I’ve been on shone through thanks to interest and intrigue around a really great leather jacket that sold out within minutes of me sharing it (RIP, you are missed!). This one also blows my mind.
    

15. Little Liffner—31.78 pts
    After going quiet for a few years, Danish accessories brand Little Liffner is back and delivering precise and desirable styles like this suede Pillow Bag and Banana Chain Bracelet that I recently picked up.
    

16. Everlane—29.31 pts
    Everlane is evergreen in its value. An offhand comment about an on-sale ribbed merino tank I bought dragged it up a few spots, for sure, but the chat stands by its tees, jeans, and laid-back dresses.
    

17. CUUP—28.22 pts
    It’s clearly underwear month at Magasin, with bra and panty mongerer CUUP coming in at no.17—its modal undies and mesh bras got a lot of attention, though not nearly as much as Gap Body did.
    

18. Baserange—27.72 pts
    French basics brand Baserange’s archive sale buoyed the brand in the top 20, down a few spots from its number 13 post from last month. The sale may be over now, but its Summer 24 collection just launched (everything is great and weird—I mean, just look at this hooded mint poplin shirt), so let’s see how that tracks for May.
    

19. Thirdlove—27.7 pts
    Intimates again! ThirdLove’s 24/7 Second Skin Bra was the most-wanted single bra of the lot.
    

20. Dries Van Noten—27.5 pts
    It’s not so much residual interest from Dries’ announcement that he’d be stepping down from his namesake brand as it is an ever-present fondness for DVN that’s kept the label on this list. But after the mass surge to collect Dries-at-Dries pieces on resale, I can realistically expect a bit of a hangover to knock it off the charts next month. Let’s find out!
    

Honorable mentions: Viviscal, the hair growth pills I’m currently testing in place of Nutrafol, were, based on the numbers alone, actually in 11th place, but given that this is a fashion-focused publication, I knocked it off the leaderboard (sorry!); similarly, hair tool brand T3, whose AireBrush has changed my drying routine, fell just below Dries—the brand emailed me and hinted they’d be coming out with a new device that competes with a popular Dyson product…won’t say which but I think you know!; and shout out to Reproduction of Found, a unisex sneaker brand introduced in our menswear send, that damn near cracked this list in fierce competition with countless other womenswear labels among it.x

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