PARIS — Miu Miu, Chloé and Bottega Veneta were the most searched for brands, according to data by fashion search engine Tagwalk, with Alaïa and Ralph Lauren’s location shows making an impact.
The number of shows for spring collections was down across the four cities, to 213 from the 243 that showed in 2023.
The overall trend was toward more elegant and romantic with masculine touches, such as strong suiting, moving on from the very delicate and ladylike recent collections, according to the company’s cross-city analysis of spring 2025 collections.
“We see a little more power, a little more assertive without being too aggressive,” said founder and chief executive officer Alexandra Van Houtte, moving on from the “quite sexy” looks that debuted post-pandemic.
Paris remained the most popular city for collections, with a 45 percent share of search, though New York took some of its thunder with the Alaïa and Ralph Lauren shows. Milan and London remained stable.
The change of location proved to be a boost for the pair. Alaïa’s decision to show in New York this season increased searches for the brand by 417 percent versus its Paris show in September 2023, while Ralph Lauren’s show in the Hamptons caused searches to jump 410 percent.
Alaïa spring 2025
Courtesy of Alaïa
Miu Miu was the top searched brand for the second season in a row, followed by Chloé, Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent and Valentino. Overall, Parisian shows dominated the top 20 most searched brands, with Prada and Gucci being the Milanese entrants, and Ralph Lauren and Burberry being the sole entrants for New York and London, respectively.
Van Houtte noted that results for Alessandro Michele’s runway debut at Valentino performed in line with the brand and piqued some interest for a first-time collection, but despite being the hottest ticket in town it “did not overperform” in search.
Key entrants to the list were Acne Studios, at 16, with its voluminous shapes and earth-toned color palette, and Stella McCartney, at 18, with its oversize tailoring and neutral and light blue tones. Pelagia Kolotouros’ second collection for Lacoste also entered the top 20, at 19, with her fashion-forward athleisure.
Notably this bumped some brands out of the top 20, including Versace, Jil Sander, Ferragamo and Balmain. These gave way to brands that “are a little more affordable [for] consumers,” noted Van Houtte.
“Typically, there are brands like Zimmermann that [journalists] don’t necessarily look at and that the industry doesn’t look at, but that are mega watched by buyers,” she said. “It really helps to understand the market’s interest in certain brands.”
Pastel was the most searched keyword by buyers, who were also seeking asymmetrical looks, along with fringe, HotPants and boudoir looks, such as Chloé’s lingerie style lace bloomers. That will move the trend to a more sensual silhouette, along with less midi lengths and more mini styles.
Chloé spring 2025
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Buyers mostly favored the top 10 brands and stalwarts such as Chanel and Dior on their must-see lists, with the exception of Coperni, which finished at number eight in the top 10 most-searched brands. That notable number is an indicator of how the brand is positioning itself with big media moments such as Kylie Jenner on the runway at Disneyland.
“That’s a very, very good indicator of how the brand is really performing because there’s social media and the buzz that you see. And then there is the reality of the market, which is not quite the same,” Van Houtte said.
Those social stars boosted the brand slightly, with views of Kylie Jenner’s black gown up 6 percent over the average Coperni look, while its look featuring a vintage Disney T-shirt thrifted on Vinted was up 8 percent.
Van Houtte noted that Coperni creates buzz after each show, with stunts such as Bella Hadid’s spray-on dress and high-profile personalities on the catwalk, but “fluctuates every season,” indicating that it is more about social moments than brand power.
Coperni spring 2025
Courtesy of Coperni
Chloé has received more consistent interest from buyers. Chemena Kamali’s debut for fall 2024 was widely praised by retailers, and that continued this season for spring 2025 with her second collection that built on the brand’s DNA while subtly shifting the silhouette.
Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent was another example of this mastery of a house’s codes while keeping it fresh. “These brands have a DNA, which is so specific to them, that manage to keep on trend, but to keep their DNA,” she said.
This contrasted with Courrèges, which has seen searches stall with its looks being too consistent and the silhouette nearly identical season after season. The brand seems to have “plateaued in terms of style,” Van Houtte said.
Tagwalk’s data also showed that despite the prevailing negative narrative around Sabato De Sarno’s first collections for Gucci, searches for the brand are up 15 percent year-over-year.
“The reality is it still gets viewed,” she said. “He has created his silhouette. It’s a silhouette that you either like or you don’t like…[but] he ticks the trends.” Notably, De Sarno’s silhouette has been a hit with other designers from mass market brands according to Tagwalk’s data, who searched for Gucci’s denim, HotPants, fringe and miniskirts.
Gucci spring 2025
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Chanel performed strongly, despite the collection being designed by the studio following the departure of creative director Virginie Viard in June.
“[The studio] did a great show but they also put a lot of information in the show,” with a wide variety of looks and shapes on offer, Van Houtte said. The top looks from the house were in line with the brand’s DNA while being trendy, with a mini-shorts look being one of the most viewed.
Elsewhere, “there’s a lot of traction around” Hèrmes, notably ticking up since the arrival of “The Gentlewoman” and “Fantastic Man” editor Jodie Barnes as stylist last year.
On trends, last season’s popular “pop of red” is on the decline, while gray, pink and pastels are becoming more prominent. Brown in all forms was still the dominant color present on 47 percent of this season’s runways, with shades of blue a growing accent color.
The color that saw the most “mega-growth” in search this season was the very specific butter yellow, giving more momentum to the pastel trend.
Silhouettes are shifting quickly with micro styles in shorts and skirts appearing in high street stores, and while fringe is still popular at brands like Dior and Prada, the western trend is fading from view for spring. It also seems that “mob wife” is past its moment — leopard was down 89 percent from the spring 2024 collections.
