Streetwear is key UK category on Instagram for summer

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 7, 2021

Streetwear is having a moment on Instagram at present with new analysis showing it as the top trending category during May.

UK streetwear brand Criminal Damage analysed the most popular hashtags on the platform for the summer and found that its specialist category is leading the pack with the most hashtags. 

It also found that Crocs are more popular than loungewear and tracksuits at the moment; and high-waisted jeans rank in the bottom 10 (perhaps hinting at a return of low-waisted styles, or maybe just a reflection of consumer interest in comfort clothing). In fact, consumers seem to be prioritising comfort still, even though lockdown is largely over.

The company found that streetwear clocked up more that 49.1 million hashtags last month, with second-placed ‘hoodie’ seeing 14 million, ahead of jumpsuit on 12.2 million. In single-digits, kimono, blazer, sandals, maxi dress, crop top, sweatshirt and leather jackets scored from 8.2 million down to 3.3 million to round out the top 10. 

Meanwhile, at numbers 11 to 20 were trainers, denim jacket, joggers, Crocs, loungewear, flip flops, little black dress, tracksuit, graphic tee, and skinny jeans, all of them enjoying over a million hashtags.

Clearly, there are plenty of staples in there, but there’s a marked absence of more formal pieces. Little black dress is almost the sole 100% dressy representative, although maxi dress, blazer, sandals, jumpsuit and crop top could qualify as well, depending on the context in which they’re worn.

Criminal Damage said that Crocs made the grade as they’re benefiting from celebrity endorsement from the likes of Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. And overall, it’s significant that shoes are popular again after a year in which footwear hasn't been a key item for many consumers during lockdowns.

However, many of those consumers seem to be continuing with some lockdown habits as the comfortable loungewear and other casual pieces in which they've been living for the past 15 months and more remain important to them.

That extends to streetwear, which is a category that can move almost seamlessly between lockdown and normal lifestyles. That perhaps explains why the number of hashtags seen for streetwear has been so much higher than for any other categories.

But what’s proving to be less popular now? As mentioned, high-waisted jeans are out of favour with only 8,000 hashtags. And high-waisted shorts have only 19,200. Black sneakers don’t seem to be doing too well with only 45,300 hashtags (and although white sneakers are more popular, they only have 353,700), while cargo shorts have 51,500.