Credit: Antoine De Almeida

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again – 2018 has been the ugliest year for fashion. Blame it on the confusion from social media or the influence of nostalgia but the shakeup of the industry has been huge and with disruptors like Virgil Abloh, Riccardo Tisci and Hedi Silmane at the forefront of men’s fashion, it’s what will happen next that is a mystery.

In a new data report compiled by Lyst – a worldwide fashion search engine – we now know exactly what ruled consumers this year. In no surprising news, Supreme, FILA and Gucci made its way into the top 10 most powerful logos, while the Off-White Industrial Belt was among the top five cult products in high-demand. But the greatest trends? Meme fashion, the ’90s and “Dad” style.

Meme Fashion

Ah, meme fashion. Just as it sounds, this years most powerful fashion trends were inspired by memes, or inspired the creation of memes and from Balenciaga to Gucci and Yeezy, sales sky rocketed off the back of these bizarre designs. Over the past two years, Balenciaga gave birth to the platform croc, Kanye West showed how wearing shoes several sizes too small is somehow cool and Gucci created an entire social media campaign inspired by memes.

Is it actually realistic? No. Did it work? 100 percent yes.

Balenciaga T-shirt Shirt / £935 GBP SHOP NOW

’90’s Trends

The ’90s was one of the biggest influences of the 2018 style code, and consisted of oversized silhouettes, baggy denim and a tonne of colour. What we once frowned upon for our parents wearing, strangely became desirable and before we could even raid their wardrobes, the likes of Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren made a major comeback, rummaging through the archives for a modern twist.

Before long, influencers and A-listers were wearing bumbags on their chest, ill-fitting denim was in and matching tracksuits was the new norm – and still is.

Credit: Gucci

The “Dad” Style

Stemming from the ’90s trend, the “Dad” style came to fruition. Characterised by dad jeans, chunky sneakers and rugby shirts, if you wanted to be in style, it was easy as channelling any guy down at Saturday morning soccer. Chunky sneakers were the most successful at filling the brief.

Yeezy released the “500” style, FILA made bank with the sell-out “Disruptor” and once again, Balenciaga hopped on board with the Triple S iteration. Sparking mass amounts of sneaker-heads across the globe, it’s only a question as to whether the trend will continue into 2019 – stay tuned.

FILA Disruptor II Sneakers / $70 USD SHOP NOW 

For a full look at the this years list by Lyst, visit the website here.