438: The Chanel patent flat resale market needs to be studied
Brand Rank: Winter 2025 Edition, part I.
Brand Rank is a data-driven index of the most shoppable brands in the Magasin universe. See past Brand Rank reports here.
Welcome back to Brand Rank! There’s a concept I picked up in high school AP Bio that I’ve since applied loosely and often, in large part because it’s so much fun to say: ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. It’s about a smaller process seeming to mimic the motions of a larger, related one. In our report on the most shoppable brands of the last quarter of 2025, the names that earned a spot did so through moves that also earned them titles as some of the top players across the entire year; the parts are very much representative of the whole.
Today, in the first of two sends, we look at brands 11 through 20 on the list.
Methodology
To learn more about how Brand Rank gets built, you can find a full explainer here. In short, we assess every instance of brand engagement. Our weighted system determines—out of the 5,000+ brands that ranked—which 20 are most in-demand among Magasin’s tens of thousands of subscribers.
Across the fourth quarter of 2025, 525 brands were mentioned in the chat 1,515 times. Magasin itself wrote about 530 brands in 1,334 instances. 3,507 orders over the period spanned 310 brands. And the top 391 brands were responsible for driving 480,342 clicks. That’s an average of nearly 1,228 clicks per brand.
11. Zara
Even though Magasin leans independent, we’ve adopted a couple of pet “mass” brands that tend to end up here quarter over quarter (elsewhere on this list: COS, Gap, Aritzia). Zara’s not typically part of the narrative, but its collaboration with de facto leather-to-lube-yourself-into brand Ludovic de Saint Sernin warranted our reporting and subsequently racked up reactions from readers, who bought up its inventory of waxed-cotton facsimiles and austerely packaged beauty products and took their thoughts to the chat. Pieces from the LdSS collection and more are currently on sale for 50%+ off.
Key products: Ludovic de Saint Sernin Leather Chair, $2,299 / Low-Rise Waxed Bootcut Ludovic de Saint Sernin x Zara Jeans $87 $149
12. Prada
Prada dominated Magasin’s chat room this quarter. It always does! As before, that prevalence isn’t pegged to any news hook but simply from being a constant in people’s closets and fashion psyches: a beloved Prada coat from The RealReal, the sale of a rare tie-dye Prada bag, someone wearing their mom’s Prada boots years later (Prada is multigenerational!), a bidding war over a different pair of Prada boots, a new vintage site with good Prada inventory. Buy buy! Sell sell! Prada’s stock is always hot, and its staying power is unmatched.
Key products: Prada Monochrome Soft Matte Blur Lipstick, $50 / Cleo Leather Handbags, $500+ / Vitello Leather Fringe Shuffle Mule Loafers, $750 $1,250
13. COS
COS landed mid-pack with a balanced scorecard: solid clicks, reliable post performance, and a consistent order stream. Its strength this quarter lay in the transitional-dressing middle: clean silhouettes positioned as solutions for holiday dressing and return-to-office. This crinkled-satin mini dress drew attention as an unfussy occasion option, while these relaxed fluid wide-leg pants performed as a wardrobe workhorse, especially once reduced over Black Friday.
Key products: Crinkled-Satin Mini Dress, $329 / Relaxed Fluid Wide-Leg Pants, $119 $139
14. Lemaire
Lemaire’s outerwear offering outperformed its bags this season, with duffle jackets and a leather blouson (now on sale) demonstrably more urgent acquisitions than its Shoulder Gear bag (the current cornerstone in the brand’s bag offering—a rare reprieve for its Croissant series). This isn’t mysterious: hefty, interesting-looking coats that don’t get boring and are up to the task of acting as your whole outfit for several bitingly chilly months. Footwear shows up in a big way, too, particularly its eel skin short boots (poster child of the current leading leather subset).
Key products: Black Short Duffle Coat, $1,590 / Belted Wool-Blend Trench Coat $895 $1,700
15. Skims
Skims’ rank was almost entirely powered by clicks and orders, underscoring how transactional the relationship with this brand has become for our readers. There’s not so much dialogue happening here, but decisive action once links go live. And that makes sense this year, right? I mean, it launched a merkin thong for the lols (though it did sell out), and released the long awaited NikeSKIMS mashup (to lukewarm reception, neither of which meaningfully moved the needle compared to the basics the brand is known for). Take the Cotton Fleece Classic Hoodie: a simple, familiar item that benefits from the brand’s sizing credibility and cultural saturation. When we surface it, shoppers move quickly. Skims remains less about discovery and more about trust, functioning as a dependable utility brand in a market otherwise hungry for novelty.
Key products: Cotton Fleece Classic Hoodie, $88
16. Gap
Gap’s Q4 performance was driven by value-led engagement, with clicks translating efficiently into orders, especially on basics priced to feel impulsively actionable (there were a significant number of days during Black Friday sale time where the CloseKnit Jersey basics were going sub $10 a piece). The Men’s Heavyweight Relaxed Straight Jeans featured in Louis’ column benefited from both a fit trend and a meaningful markdown, while the Breathe Thong’s (the stalwart of our underwear deep dive) ultra-low sale price pulled in high-volume traffic. Editorially, Gap wasn’t overrepresented, but it didn’t need to be. Readers know what they’re getting, and GapStudio’s more editorial point of view with Zac Posen’s steadfast leadership remains a destination for the more Zara-COS prices trend pieces. This season confirms Gap’s greatest market strength: when price, product, and timing align, it still commands attention.
Key products: Men’s Heavyweight Relaxed Straight Jeans, $55 $80 / Breathe Thong, $5 $12
17. Chanel
The patent Chanel opera shoe should be studied by the economists who made the case for the Birkin bag index. Originally released in late 2024 for $1,225, the patent flats immediately sold out and are now experiencing compounding demand that has resellers listing them for…$2,550…$3,332…$3,999…as much as $4,800. I got my own pair on TRR earlier this year for around $1k, so sub-retail can be found, but having kept an eye on these for some time, I can say listings don’t stay up for very long regardless of price.
Key products: Interlocking CC Logo PVC Slides, $375 / Black Patent Leather Flats, $2,550
18. Ralph Lauren
The success of Ralph Lauren during gifting season should come as no surprise. A suite of strategic landing pages conspired to slice up the brand’s holiday offerings into a dozen tempting curations, conceivable for every person on any list (particularly during an effective 30% off promotion). The belt of the season (if we crowned superlatives, this would have been a major one this quarter) proved its potency in the clicks and orders files, as well as out in the world…I really just saw a lot of people wearing it. I believe it’ll be here for at least another go around: MyTheresa just included it in its latest buy and it’s already selling down.
Key products: Calf Hair Loafers, $78 $600 / Metal-Accent Leather Belt, $598
19. Aritzia
We wrote about Aritzia often this quarter—especially around athleisure-adjacent pieces that blur lounge and street—and readers followed along, as click activity shows. Discounted items like the SoftWhip Flawless Hi-Rise Capri and Cozy Sweatfleece Mega Barrel Zip Sweatpant performed particularly well, indicating appetite for familiar silhouettes at reduced prices (sale is currently on). Aritzia continues to thrive in that sweet spot between trend awareness and uniform dressing, especially when sales tip the scale.
Key products: SoftWhip Flawless Hi-Rise Capri, $34 $68 / Cozy Sweatfleece Mega Barrel Zip Sweatpant, $66 $88
20. Max Mara
Max Mara reasserted itself as the the gold standard this season, with readers dubbing its wool coats their “forever” ones in the chat and conjuring its name when making a point about other brands—“it’s almost as gorgeous as my Max Mara, but I live in Alaska and it’s not as warm,” “I love Max Mara but it’s not in the budget.” To wit, several people gestured to the more affordable ‘S Max Mara line, whose coats don’t suffer the consequences of budget-consciousness, and, of course, to The RealReal, where there’s a peacetime surplus.
Key products: Max Mara Coats, various
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Thanks LR. Bummed about those patent Chanel flats.. my brain is very attached to them 😵💫