Feb 4, 2020

This Is the Most In-Demand Item on the High Street

by Elinor Block

It's hard to find a truly definitive list these days. We are obsessed with ranking everything (a list of lost grocery lists, anyone?), and even when it's not weird (say you decide to list the best episodes of Buffy), prepare for a lot of Twitter threads telling you why you're wrong. For this reason, I'm a big fan of hard data that you can't dispute and isn't subjective. It might be the boring Capricorn in me, but I love it when you can clearly see what people have genuinely put their faith into. One list that adheres to my data-driven criteria is Lyst's quarterly index reports.

The global fashion search platform regularly reveals the products most people have bought over a three-month period. To work this out, Lyst looks at the online shopping behaviour of more than nine million shoppers a month searching, browsing and buying fashion across 12,000 designers and stores online. The formula behind The Lyst Index takes into account global Lyst and Google search data, conversion rates and sales, as well as brand and product social media mentions and engagement statistics worldwide over this three-month period.

Lyst's Index

Photo:

Courtesy of Lyst

See what I mean? It is quite clearly a proper list. This past quarter, from October until the end of December, has once again proven that the top 10 list of products is dominated by designer labels. However, while previously this list was completely luxury-focussed, these past few months have seen one high-street item creep in at number 10: the Arket down puffer coat.

As we spend a lot of our time shopping, you'll be unsurprised to learn that it's been a big hit in the Who What Wear office—a couple of staff members already own it. However, to give this item further fashion credibility, minimalist influencers such as Hannah Crosskey, Alexis Foreman and Brittany Bathgate also own this head-to-toe puffer. Why is it so popular? Well, other than the fact it's very stylish, it's the equivalent of wearing your duvet out in public without looking like a total scruff. Keep scrolling to see how people are wearing it, and then shop the piece.

Brittany Bathgate wearing the coat

Photo:

@brittanybathgate

Alexis Foreman wearing the coat

Photo:

@alexisforeman