Royal Wedding boosts best of British

The independent shopping website www.ShopStyle.co.uk, which brings together brands and stores under one digital roof, has revealed that its most popular fashion searches of 2011 were patriotic. Five out of the top ten most searched for

designers in 2011 were British: Ted Baker, Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen and Paul Smith.

The site is reporting that the penchant for all things British significantly increased across 2011 thanks to the Royal Wedding and Catherine Middleton choosing Alexander McQueen for her wedding dress, which helped the label jump into the top search terms, to number eight in the top label searches of 2011.

The top British label was Ted Baker in third, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood took fourth and fifth places respectively, and Paul Smith were listed at number 10.

The only other designer to move into the Top 10 this year was Ralph Lauren fuelled by his TV appearance on Oprah, who claimed the seventh spot. He was joined by Diesel who took the number one accolade, followed by Marc by Marc Jacobs in second, Tommy Hilfiger took sixth and Acne were the ninth most searched for label.

In addition to the most searched for labels the site, which boosts over one million users each month and over 2000 UK and international fashion brands, also calculated the top product searches. The maxi dress topped the list, followed by jumpsuits and red dresses. Other items in the top ten included dresses and nude shoes another link to Catherine Middleton’s influence.

Shannon Edwards, Managing Director and VP Europe for ShopStyle said: “From the Royal engagement announcement the fashion world was in love with Catherine’s classic elegance and sophisticated, adoptable style. The Royal Wedding was an incredible event for fashion and began our adoption of all things British, from designer labels to high street stores. It will continue into 2012 as we look forward to the Jubilee celebrations and the Olympics.”