Being trendy is exhausting. Which is one of the reasons I don't bother trying. You probably don't either. Most people don't. How are on earth are you supposed to keep on top of which clothing brands are popular, when it keeps changing? Also, your socks have holes in them, and - if we're being totally honest - some of your pants do too. You've got to prioritise.
But what if it were easier...?
What if we could apply maths, and get a firm answer to the question: 'which clothing brand is most popular right now'?
And yes, I appreciate that is a deeply untrendy thing to do. Well, it might be, but it's possible. Using data from Google Trends. This tells you how many people search for each particular brand, and how it changes over time. It's pretty interesting.
Note: I've split the brands into categories below, so we're not comparing apples with pears. The graphs are based on exact searches for the brands in question.
Most Popular Sports Clothing Brand in the UK
It's Nike, and by some distance. The graph moves over time, and Adidas got close in around 2017, but since then Nike has become the undisputed king of sports clothing. Is it the trendiest, though? Perhaps, but there's a good case for New Balance, which has shot up the rankings since 2020, overtaking Puma in 2021.
Other brands - Umbro, Reebok, Fila, Lululemon - barely register, such is the dominance of the big 2. But I've added Reebok for Steven Gerrard-related nostalgia reasons.Most Popular Outdoor Clothing Brands in the UK
Overwhelmingly, The North Face is still the most popular outdoor or ski brand in the UK. It had a big spike in 2021, but it's still massive. There was a time when everyone seemed to be wearing a black North Face puffer jacket, and many people still are.
Canada Goose and Moncler also had huge growth from 2015, and although interest has dropped a bit, their enormously overpriced jackets are still very popular. In terms of the trendiest, there's a case to be made for Arc'teryx, or possibly Patagonia, both of which are growing rapidly.
Most Popular Men's Clothing Brands in the UK
Interestingly, it's Ralph Lauren. Both in terms of overall search interest, and in terms of trendiness from recent growth. Obviously there is a caveat here - Ralph Lauren is not purely a men's brand. Not many big brands are. But unfortunately it's not possible to see whether people are searching for male Ralph Lauren, or female Ralph Lauren. A note for Google: try harder with your surveillance.
One challenger to Ralph Lauren for trendiest men's clothing brand is Uniqlo, which has risen dramatically in recent years.
Tommy Hilfiger saw a big spike in 2019, and was briefly the joint-most popular brand, but it's been tailing off. Barbour remains very popular, especially for Christmas presents. Levi's is in there, but suffers from people not knowing how to spell it properly. 'Levi' has more interest than 'Levi's' but on this graph it still splits the numbers. My graph, my rules.
Most Popular Women's Clothing Brands in the UK
Zara is the most popular women's clothing brand. And yes, I know they make men's clothes too. But they're under the female category here, and they have come to dominate it.
But the big story - look at River Island! From outright women's fashion goliath, to a shadow of itself. H&M another big increase and now sitting in second place.
Most Popular Clothing Brand Overall in the UK
Well we have to find a winner don't we? So the top brands from each of these categories now get to fight it out, and we find... it's Nike. Of course it's Nike. Nike is the most popular clothing brand in the UK, possibly the trendiest. Everybody's wearing Nike. Nike, Nike, Nike.
Or, is it?
Most Popular High Street Clothing Retailers in the UK
The thing is, Nike is big. But there's one brand that's even bigger: Next. Now, this isn't exactly a fair fight. Next are a retailer who stock other brands, and even other product lines like homeware. But they do have their own brand of clothes, and it's bloody popular, apparently.
John Lewis, Primark, and Marks and Spencer are similar examples, although all three now lag behind Nike (and a long way behind Next). In fact, you can see a steady decline in interest in both John Lewis and M&S over time, whereas Next have stayed strong at the top of the tree.
Having said this, I don't think we can say the most popular clothing brand in the UK is Next. It's still Nike. And the trendiest? God knows, it's beyond me.
Jack, Founder of Ruler of London