As the new year gets underway, Lyst’s annual report delivers trend findings from the previous 12 months to reveal how shoppers are behaving, and what (or who) is grabbing their attention. So, how does sustainability feature in the 2019 report? Julia O’Driscoll takes a closer look.
Last week, global fashion search engine Lyst published the Year in Fashion 2019 report, revealing what’s been piquing the interest of 104 million online shoppers in the past 12 months. From breakout brands to the year’s style icons, the findings show that sustainability began to significantly influence the mainstream fashion conversation – in fact, the report identifies both sustainability and inclusivity as the two key movements of 2019.
But just a few pages on, the report lists 2019’s ‘viral products’ – starting with the fad-worthy fast fashion item of the year, the dress. From July, searches for polka dot dresses rose dramatically as buzz around Zara’s monochrome midi grew louder and louder; mentions for the brand on social media rose by an astonishing 1,392% too.
Does the report indicate that the fashion industry has reached the positive turning point that we’ve been waiting for, or is sustainability simply the latest buzzword to be considered fashionable? Looking into the findings, it seems that could be the question facing the industry itself. So first, a closer look at the data.