To say that TV shows have dominated our pandemic lives would be an understatement. Each show, when you really think about it, has pinpointed a particular time in the past year. First came Tiger King right at the beginning of lockdown at the end of March 2020, and along with it came an ignited interest in animal prints and Carole Baskin costumes prepped for Halloween. There was Normal People, I May Destroy You, Selling Sunset, Unorthodox, The Queen's Gambit and new seasons of The Crown and Schitt's Creek. And that was just 2020. This year already has seen the popularity of the BBC's The Serpent and Channel 4's It's a Sin. The TV hits will keep on coming, no doubt.
With nowhere to go and with a need for escapism, the lure of a really great series has been unmatched. Combine that with some incredible costumes and increasing budgets from streaming services, and you've got yourself some understandable fashion influence. I reached out to Lyst, the global fashion shopping platform, to see what searches the site has seen around some of the most fashionable shows from the past year. Keep scrolling to see which TV shows have impacted our wardrobes the most and the pieces we have been copying.
Normal People
There's no denying the Connell Chain effect. From the moment Paul Mescal's character Connell Waldron wore a gold chain, we were hooked. According to Lyst, last April, searches for chain necklaces spiked 23% week-on-week, and within 24 hours, "silver" and "chain necklace" became the most commonly used search terms for men’s jewellery. The influence is still going: "Almost one year later, searches for 'gold chains' are up 42% year-on-year, whilst page views for chain necklaces are up 36% year-on-year," Lyst tells me.
The Crown
The love for Princess Diana's wardrobe has been long documented—way before Emma Corrin portrayed her in The Crown. But thanks to season four of the series, which heavily features the Diana and Charles story, we're thinking about her style even more. Lyst says, "Three weeks following the launch of The Crown's fourth season, Princess Diana's on-screen style has sent searches for sheep sweaters (+110%), high-collared pink gingham (+73%) and pie-crust collar tops (+31%) soaring."
Bridgerton
While the Regency-era dresses aren't for everyone (not to mention, no one is really dressing up right now), there is one item of clothing that has shot up in popularity: corsets. "Four weeks following the launch of Bridgerton, we saw searches for corsets spiking +123%. Currently, global searches for corsets are up 39% month-on-month. Compared to the same season last year, searches for the category are up 46%. Meanwhile, page views for corset tops are up 31% year-on-year," Lyst tells me.
The Queen's Gambit
The Queen's Gambit was perhaps the surprise hit when it came to fashion. Unsurprisingly though, the thing that people ended up searching for the most as a result of the show was checked pieces. Lyst tells me that "searches for checked-pattern pieces jumped 43% month-on-month."
The Serpent
The '70s rarely go out of style, so after The Serpent hit our screens in early 2021, it's not a total surprise that "searches for flares (+39%), halter-neck tops (+33%) and printed hair scarves (+23%) have all increased since the series launched at the start of January, while the words 'psychedelic' and 'printed' have collectively increased 45%," according to Lyst.
It's a Sin
Megahit It's a Sin has one clear standout star when it comes to fashion, and that's Roscoe Babatunde. Thanks to his sense of style, Lyst saw a "60% jump in searches for acid-wash jeans" two weeks after the series's launch.
Next up, The Biggest Spring/Summer 2021 Fashion Trends to Know
