The 10 Most Popular Fashion Brands of 2013 (VERSACE Top The List), According to Google

Google has just unveiled its 2013 Google Zeitgeist, including data on which fashion brands and apparel companies Googlers in the U.S. searched for the most this year.

The most surprising takeaway from this year’s list of most-searched high fashion brands is that they’re pretty drastically different from last year’s. This year’s list isn’t necessarily an accurate representation of the brands that were the most popular or successful, but simply which ones gave people reasons to look them up.

Ice Prince rocking a Versace T-Shirt

Late Gianni Versace

The number one most-searched high fashion brand, Versace, is a perfect example. It topped the list not because there was a particularly exciting Versace collection this year, nor because people were buying it a lot, but because there was a popular Drake song of the same name, as well as a Lifetime Original Movie. The top “related search,” according to Google Trends, was “versace versace versace” (lyrics from said Drake song), which I think is amazing.

Another interesting name: Rachel Zoe. We wonder if Zoe would have even been considered a high fashion brand a couple of years ago. The most exciting name on the list, in our opinion, is Prabal Gurung. He’s the youngest designer on the list and one of few based in the U.S. Interest in Gurung peaked — you guessed it — around the launch of his Target collaboration.

Givenchy cracked the top ten as well and that looks to be due in large part to Kim Kardashian and singer Erykah Badu. Searches peaked last week, when the Badu campaign hit the ‘net, and at the end of September, when Kardashian made her first post-baby appearance at the Givenchy show in Paris.

While it may not be true of designers, the list of most-searched retail and apparel brands, however, may be more tied to actual sales. Last year, one of the most-searched terms, period, was Facebook — because many people get to it through Google instead of typing “Facebook.com,” which I do too for some reason. It’s crazy but I do it! Anyway, people likely do the same thing for online retailers, as in searching “Nordstrom” to actually get to Nordstrom.com and shop. It’s likely no coincidence that Nordstrom (which ranked number three) and Kohl’s (which ranked number one) were recently named the top two favorite retailers according to research firm Market Force’s annual consumer survey.

Check out the full lists below and peruse the full 2013 Google Zeitgeist page here.

Most Searched High Fashion Brands

1. Versace
2. Michael Kors
3. Diesel Black Gold
4. Gucci
5. Kate Spade
6. Rachel Zoe
7. Prabal Gurung
8. Givenchy
9. Mulberry
10. Luca Luca

Most Searched Retailer and Apparel Brands

1. Kohl’s
2. JCPenney
3. Nordstrom
4. Forever 21
5. Victoria’s Secret
6. Old Navy
7. Macy’s
8. American Eagle
9. Nike
10. Dillard’s