It’s not clear who or what decides which brands will be the most talked about of the year. Really, it comes down to a heady (and often random) mix of things like instant catwalk buzz; influencer, celeb or fashion-girl backing; award nods and impressive designs. Nailing one of these can lead to a murmuring under the surface, but nail all of them (which often happens in a domino effect) and you’ve got yourself an officially ‘buzzy’ brand.
It's important to note: a buzzy label is not necessarily always new, or a high-end designer that has the cash to get its products seen. It can be either of those, but it can also involve a lesser-known high street brand coming to the fore, or a resurgence of a previously overlooked label that needed time to grow into its identity. Look at Totême for example, which launched back in 2014 and hit peak ‘buzzy’ status in 2021.
What we mean to say is ‘buzz’ ebbs and flows in the fashion world, and it’s down to a cocktail of talent and luck who ends up with the crown(s). One thing’s for certain, though, the following 7 brands have claimed the title for 2022. From Nensi Dojaka’s ‘naked’ dresses to Connor Ives’ upcycled, breakout designs and Peter Do’s debut catwalk collection which spiked the brand's page views on Lyst by 376% in 24 hours.
Keep scrolling, then, to see and shop all the buzziest brands the fashion crowd will want to be wearing in 2022…
1. CONNOR IVES
After graduating from Central Saint Martins in only 2020, Connor Ives is already on his fourth collection, has dressed stars like Adwoah Aboah and Vanessa Bryant for the Met Gala and counts Rihanna as a fan. He was also shortlisted for the 2021 LVMH Prize and is part of Net-A-Porter's Vanguard initiative for 2022— If that's not buzzy, we don't know what is.
Connor's collections also makes use of deadstock fabric and upcycled clothing to create covetable yet sustainable pieces.
2. NENSI DOJAKA
If you've read any other article on Who What Wear this season, you've probably already heard of Nensi Dojaka. The talk of London Fashion Week and firm celebrity and fashion-girl favourite, Nensi won the coveted LVMH prize in 2021 with her strappy 'naked' tops and dresses, and launched a huge trend in the process. So we can only expect her star to rise even higher in 2022.
3. CIAO LUCIA
Launched in 2017 Ciao Lucia is, in their own words, a label 'for the girl, on eternal vacation'. Who What Wear US Editor-In-Chief Kat Collings is a big fan of their unique separates and adorable dresses and Emily Ratajkowski has recently been spotted wearing the designs. So you can bet this one's going to be all over your feeds this summer.
4. COPERNI
The Parisian label counts celebrities like Bella Hadid and Maisie Williams as fans and was named as one of Lyst's 'brands to watch' for 2022 in their Year in Fashion report. The clothing is space age and sexy but it's the structured shoulder bags everyone's talking about, increasing in demand by 90% year on year according to Lyst.
5. MACH & MACH
The buzz around Tbilisi-based Mach & Mach has been building for a while now but we're predicting these shoes are only going to get bigger for 2022. Who What Wear US Senior Editor Kristen Nichols named them as one of her 'Next Major Designer It Shoes' and there isn't a fashion we girl we know who wouldn't want a pair.
6. PETER DO
Peter Do has had insiders excited about its beautiful minimalist pieces since it launched in 2018, but the designer's star has really begun to shine since they showed their first catwalk collection for September's NYFW and seriously wowed the crowds. The designs are a perfect fit for SS22's 'low key luxury' trend, so expect bigger and better things only from this brand in the future.
7. CHRISTOPHER ESBER
Christopher Esber and his sexy yet sophisticated designs have been popular with the fashion crowd for some time now— there wasn't a day of fashion month we didn't see someone wearing his pieces in the crowd. But since ribbed knitted dresses, draping and stringy straps (all his design trademarks) are huge trends for 2022, we can only imagine this brand's buzz growing in the new year.
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