High-end shopping platform Lyst has released its latest Lyst Index — and once again, Miu Miu has topped the table. But the highest-end brands didn’t hog the limelight entirely in Q4 and more accessible labels were stars too with names like Coach, Cos and Massimo Dutti in demand.

First, the top 20. In Q4, Miu Miu stayed “the world’s hottest brand”, as well as being “the winning brand” of the year as a whole, having claimed the number one spot three out of the last four quarters (Loewe just beat it in Q2).

And parent company Prada’s own signature brand was also in the top three all year, sitting comfortably at number three in Q4.

Saint Laurent was at number two in the quarter and was another major success story for 2024 as a whole as it steadily rose in the top five.

Lyst said that the “rest of the table continues to shuffle as fashion fans reassess the value of luxury labels, and (re)discover more accessible brands and trends”.

Looking at the entire top 20 rankings, Loewe dropped two places but was still high up at number four and Coach jumped 10 spots to number five.

Lyst said: “A well-executed [Coach] strategy to connect authentically with Gen Z customers has paid off, with demand up 65% quarter on quarter, and 332% year on year. Competitive discounts during peak sale season allowed more customers to access hot Coach bags and made Coach pieces popular holiday gifts”.

Bottega Veneta was sixth, followed by Alaïa, Moncler, The Row, top 20 newcomer Ugg, Skims, Gucci (down four spots), Jacquemus (down six), Versace (down three), Balenciaga (up two), Valentino (down six), newcomer Cos, Ralph Lauren (down four), Chloé and Totême.

Those rankings clearly underline that Lyst contention that its top 20 has seen a major shuffling process with some of the most expensive labels losing out in favour of more affordable ones.

It said that Ugg, “another Gen-Z favorite, breaks back into the Hottest Brands list, rocketing into tenth position. While Ugg always sees seasonal success, this quarter’s demand is unprecedented; UGG searches are up 358% over the last three months, and up 12% year on year”.

And while Skims was only up one place, it further adds to the affordable luxury theme. A jacket from its North Face collaboration made the hottest products list as “smart partnerships with brands and talent continue[d] to drive Skims’ social buzz, alongside strong demand for core shapewear collection pieces”.

Not that the highest-end brands have been losing out completely — as the names in top 20 show. And Balenciaga was one luxury label to hear some good news suggesting its finally recovering from its ad campaign misstep of a few years ago. This time it rose two spots and searches for it rose 25% in Q4, with demand driven by the Bel Air and Rodeo bags.

Interestingly, while The Row was the ninth hottest brand, H&M Group’s Cos entered the ranking at number 17 and its viral cashmere sweater (a dupe for The Row’s style) was the fifth-hottest product.

Before we get to the full list of hot products, it’s also worth mentioning that the trio of Moving Fast brands for the quarter were Our Legacy, DeMellier ad Auralee.

Stockholm-based Our Legacy’s recent growth encouraged LVMH Luxury Ventures to take a minority stake in the business last year and demand on Lyst rose 22% in Q4.

DeMellier handbags saw its popular Midi New York bag helping drive a 119% rise in demand in Q4.

And Japan’s Auralee saw limited collaborations with Tekla and New Balance helping engage a growing international fanbase. Searches for the Auralee x New Balance 990v4 sneaker sparked a 114% increase in demand in the quarter.

Now for those hottest products. What’s perhaps most interesting is that $628 was the average price of a hot product, down 27% year on year.

Number one product was the Coach Brooklyn bag with a 46% spike in searches, while a Coach cherry bag charm at number four tapped into the Gen-Z craze for customisation (searches for bag charms on Lyst spiked 77%).

Ugg’s Classic Ultra Mini boot was in second spot and a Miu Miu fleece was third. That Cos sweater was fifth with Wardrobe NYC’s RHW Blazer Dress sixth and the Skims x North Face jacket seventh. Charlotte Simone’s leopard coat was eighth, &Daughter’s Ada cardigan was ninth and Massimo Dutti’s penny loafer was 10th.

That list makes it very clear that the luxury slowdown saw ultra-expensive products losing out to much more accessible ones in some cases. 

Lyst also said that crew neck cardigans were a trending product category in both women’s and menswear. &Daughter’s cardigan was “the it-knit of the season, representing a viral TikTok moment for red cardigans over the winter”.

Wardrobe NYC’s RHW blazer dress, from a collaboration collection with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, benefited as it was worn by Beyoncé at a Kamala Harris rally and searches spiked 110% in Q4. Taylor Swift also helped drive a 242% surge in searches for British designer Charlotte Simone’s cult vintage-inspired coats.