2017 Was the Year of Fashion Finally Embracing Pop Culture, According to Google
The days of fashion as an elitist and exclusive niche industry are done—just look at Google’s list of the most trending fashion brands of 2017 for proof. Every brand in the top 10 made headlines in 2017 for boundary-crossing collaborations, innovative ad and marketing campaigns, and projects with creative upstarts that reflected the pulse of the world at large.
The number one spot on the list goes to Gucci, a brand that’s been on the rise since Alessandro Michele was named creative director in 2015. This year, though, Gucci has really been on fire. Not only has every one of its fashion shows outdone the last, but it’s also racked up new celebrity fans, from Rihanna to Harry Styles, and managed to produce a seemingly constant stream of artist collaborations that range from billboards to ad campaigns to buzzy items like homeware and logo tees. The brand also has an almost unstoppable social media presence and made international news by announcing it was going to stop using fur in its collections effective November 2017.
After Gucci come Louis Vuitton and Supreme, whose paradigm-shifting collaboration proved to be beneficial for both brands, propelling them into the number two and three spots. (Remember, it wasn’t just fashion insiders who obsessed over Louis Vuitton x Supreme, but also the guy with the Louis Vuitton x Supreme Ferrari—and the guy with the Louis Vuitton x Supreme coffin.) The Insta-popular brand Fashion Nova, beloved by Kylie Jenner and her ilk, took the number four spot followed by Chanel, which gained popularity via its network of fans and Frank Ocean’s track “Chanel,” and Yves Saint Laurent, which made headlines with its roller-skate stilettos and fashion show under the Eiffel Tower.
Up next come two brands known for their political stances: Dior and Dolce & Gabbana. Dior’s artistic director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, produced buzzed-about slogan T-shirts that cited Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Linda Nochlin. (Dior’s massive retrospective exhibition in Paris also helped increase its visibility.) Dolce & Gabbana entered the political realm via Melania Trump, who wore a series of the label’s looks during her first months as First Lady. Italian maisons Valentino and Moschino close out the list; both launched cosmetics this year.
What’s interesting is that many of the brands on this year’s list have become so ingrained in pop culture that they have taken on other meanings, especially Gucci. In addition to being an Italian fashion house, Gucci is also the shorthand for Gucci Mane and Gucci Gang, which both saw an extreme spike in interest in 2017. According to Google, searches for Gucci Mane and Gucci Gang shouldn’t influence the data for Gucci, the fashion brand—Google claims to have ways of differentiating between searches for fashion Gucci and rapper Gucci—but it’s hard to imagine there is no correlation at all. Even if you start out looking for Gucci Gang, don’t you want to know what Lil Pump is rapping about? Raf Simons, who was edged out of the top 10 ever so slightly, saw similar success thanks to A$AP Mob, whose song “Please Don’t Touch My Raf” became an Internet sensation. The moral of the story: In 2017, being a fashion brand isn’t enough—it helps to be a way of life.
