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There are countless things we associate with fall, but for Line Sheet readers, shopping has to be the biggest one. Last month, in my ongoing exclusive data partnership with ShopMy, the top sales-driving links across the internet hinted at some of the trends we can expect this season. Now, we have the results from September, and the top 10 converting links—no surprise—were dominated by footwear and denim. (As a reminder, these results reflect the items shoppers clicked on that drove them to a retailer’s platform, not necessarily what they ended up buying.)
It was obviously a strong month for Khaite, which had two pairs of jeans show up on the list: the Kerrie wide leg and the Abigail straight leg, both priced over $600. This tracks with data from Lyst, which showed that demand for Khaite denim spiked 63 percent from August to September. It’s also further evidence that designer and Khaite founder Catherine Holstein, who’s been working with Benjamin Talley Smith, knows what she’s doing with denim. Holstein has found a successful merchandising strategy—shaped with veteran operator Brigitte Kleine, who was installed as C.E.O. two years ago—and Stripes must feel like their $150 million investment in the company, made in March 2023, is paying off.
While there weren’t any shoes in August’s top 10 list, four pairs appeared in the September roundup: Staud’s Wally boots, Loeffler Randall’s Goldy knee boots, Aeyde’s Sofie ankle boots, and this suede sneaker from Dries Van Noten. Over 50 percent of the Goldy knee boot purchases came from new customers, according to a source, yet another indication that influencer platforms are functioning as acquisition engines rather than just sales channels. (Over 300 creators, according to ShopMy, shared this item.)
Meanwhile, it’s worth noting the appearance of Dries Van Noten’s suede sneaker in the top 10, which suggests that chatter about the demise of the fashion sneaker may be overblown. That said, monthly searches for Adidas’s Sambas are down 32 percent from their 2024 peak, according to Style Analytics. And anyway, boots are what raise retailers’ spirits every September. At Loeffler Randall, they accounted for 40 percent of all footwear sales last month. (Espresso is currently the best-selling colorway.) For Staud, an inside source shared that the Wally and all its iterations made up over half of their sales in the footwear category so far this fall.
Knits, Trenches & Handbags
Beyond footwear and denim, a few other new-ish iterations of fall classics appeared on the list. Naturally, there was a sweater: La Ligne’s Solid Mini Marin, which is part of a knitwear category that accounted for 45 percent of the brand’s total September sales. Notably, the Mini Marin drove more customer acquisition on ShopMy than La Ligne’s own e-commerce site, where returning customers gravitated toward the Solid Lean Lines cardigan. Again, this underscored that different platforms can serve different purposes in the sales funnel.
Otherwise, Dôen’s Lavon pant—the fall evolution of Dôen’s top seller from the summer, the Iona silk lace shorts—claimed the number five spot. Gucci’s Giglo small canvas tote claimed the number nine spot. (At $1,850, it’s the most expensive item on the list, but still an entry-level price point for the luxury brand, along with top sellers like the Hailey oval sunglasses.) And finally, Jenni Kayne’s McCall trench, priced at $795, came in at number 10. (The item quickly became one of their top-five-selling items in the outerwear category after its September 5 launch.)
In short, September’s list seems to validate the strategic bets that brands have been making to drive sales, namely through affiliate marketing and working with platforms like ShopMy to seed products and highlight key items. It will be interesting to see how these brands continue to lean into affiliate marketing, and which of them, or their SKUs, move into October’s top 10.
