Chanel, Prada and McQueen make CoolBrands list

Luxury designer brands Chanel, Prada and Alexander McQueen all feature in the top 20 of the annual CoolBrands list, following the disappointment last year where no fashion labels were featured. For the 12th annual survey,

Chanel came in a 13, placed just ahead of Prada at 14, which hasn’t featured in the top 20 since 2007, while Alexander McQueen helmed by Sarah Burton, which last year was ranked outside the top 20 and named the coolest fashion brand, was ranked 19th.

Once again technology giant Apple retained the top spot in the annual CoolBrands survey, which is compiled by a panel of 38 “key influencers” including fashion designer’s Julien MacDonald, Melissa Odabash, and Sadie Frost, model Daisy Lowe, and fashion stylist Grace Woodward, and voted by 3,000 British consumers.

Luxury brands dominate CoolBrands 2013 list

This year the CoolBrands list is dominated by luxury brands from car brand Aston Martin, which took second place, and watch brand Rolex that was ranked third, with luxury names making up 25 percent of the top 20. This is in stark contrast to last year where the only luxury brands to feature were Aston Martin and Bang & Olufsen.

Other notable names featured include sportswear giant Nike, which moved up the ranks from 19 in the list to fourth place, ahead of its rival Adidas at 15, while sunglasses brand Ray-Ban was named the tenth cool brand.

There was disappointment for retailers Selfridges and Liberty, both were ranked in the top 20 in 2012, however this year the two stores failed to place meaning no retailers made the top group.

Stephen Cheliotis, chairman of the CoolBrands Council said: “While Apple remained number one this year, question marks remain as to how long they might hold this position in the face of an increasingly competitive set of rivals – much will depend on their next few updates and their ability to regain the innovation initiative.

“Overall the Top 20 saw a definite swing back to luxury brands as the affordable everyday brands slipped back. Fashion brands came back to the fore, with sport and music brands becoming more conspicuous.

“Whether it’s due to strong heritage, product quality or quite simply a correlation with the reviving British economy, this year’s CoolBrands list shows an increasing number of luxury brands are back at the top of the cool list, reversing last years’ trend of affordable everyday luxuries dominating.”

Image: Chanel’s latest face Diane Kruger captured by Peter Lindbergh