From top to bottom, this is a visualization of the top 30 brands on Grailed, by total GMV. On the right side, you’ll see how brand’s shifted on this list, relative to its position in 2018. Some key things to note:

-The consistent, year-over-year placement of the top four brands on this list—Supreme, Nike, adidas and Off-White respectively—prove that, while streetwear is waning in general popularity (both colloquially and through overexposure in the market), its most popular labels still dominate demand in the market.

-If the “sneaker wars” seemed to tip in adidas’ favor in 2017 and 2018 (thanks undoubtedly to the influence of Kanye West), there’s no questioning that Nike dominated 2019. The most visible symbols of Nike’s dominance have to be regular collaborations with cultural icons like Virgil Abloh and Travis Scott, who both churned out multiple sneakers that were—as expected—sell-through success stories. However, we can’t ignore the variety of different fashion collaborations that Nike dropped this year. Jerry Lorenzo’s Air Fear of God 1 (and its multitude of colorways) walks the line between a streetwear and sport sneaker, with a selection of apparel to round out his vision for his Nike partnership. Under-the-radar darling Cactus Plant Flea Market burst into the mainstream consciousness thanks to a myriad of different Nike reworks—spearheaded by its DIY-approach to the futuristic Vapormax silhouette. Perhaps the most visible Nike collaboration was its work with Chitose Abe’s Sacai. Flipping both the Nike Blazer and the LD Waffle with a unique, stacked-and-layered approach, the sneaker stands apart as one of the most visible (and most desirable) sneakers of the year.

-2019 was the “Year of Travis Scott”, and it’s seen in different ways across the market. While Scott isn’t the only notable name with a Jordan collab, Jordan Brand’s ability to knock Saint Laurent Paris is undoubtedly due in part to Scott’s series of notable Jordan sneaker reworks across 2019. This includes a Jordan XXXIII, a Jordan I a Jordan IV and a Jordan VI; even Nike’s dominance was boosted by Scott, thanks in no small part to his selection of Air Force 1 reworks. Furthermore, “Travis Scott” (as a designer) jumped significantly, proving that, on top of his sneakers, the market was clamoring for pieces from Scott’s multi-faceted merch empire—from flips on logos of teams from his native Houston, to “Cactus Jack”-branded tees or Astroworld-adjacent gear.

-If Kering dominated 2018 with Balenciaga, Gucci and Saint Laurent Paris, it’s clear that LVMH is striking back. Global phenomenon Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones’ appointments to Louis Vuitton) and Dior (respectively) in 2018 have clearly blossomed into fruition in 2019. While brands like Louis Vuitton have always had an audience thanks to its decades-long lineage of luxury (see: monogram-logoed) bags, the meteoric rise of Dior and spotlight placement on 2019’s top 30 brands shows that Jones’ vision for the brand—including collabs with buzzy designers like Matthew Williams of Alyx and Yoon Ahn of Ambush—is just as desirable to the modern man. As those pieces have made their way from the runway and onto Grailed, it’s bolstered the maisons’ spots within Grailed’s ecosystem. Expect the pair’s design dominance to remain, especially as Jones Stussy-influenced Dior collaboration and...well, anything Abloh touches, to on Grailed. While Saint Laurent and Gucci outrank Louis Vuitton, and Balenciaga outranks Dior, the fact that those brands slid down or remained neutral year-over-year contrasts starkly with the growth of the LVMH-backed Louis Vuitton and Dior.

-While plenty of brands saw some positive movement in 2019, Gosha Rubchinskiy fell significantly. Aside from shuttering his namesake label, the designer undoubtedly suffered after his connection to a controversy involving underage models at the tail end of 2018. Of course, controversy isn’t a brand-killer in the way some might think; issues that have plagued VLONE’s A$AP Bari have not damaged the brand on Grailed—VLONE jumps five places year-over-year.

-While Palace is a strong force on Grailed, it’s clear that—at least when compared to a contemporary like Supreme, it has struggled on Grailed in 2019. Blame that on colloquial, negative critiques of the collections, or the lack of a buzzy collaboration following 2018’s blockbuster Ralph Lauren partnership, but Palace drops 12 places on 2019’s top 30.

Charting the brands with the largest increase in sales across 2019, this chart should help bolster the anecdotal cultural evidence that’s been percolating all year. The brands here are the "fastest growing" in that they are driving the most new dollars being spent per day on the site relative to 2018.

This graph should represent two things: For one it should show how titans of the marketplace either regained or asserted dominance across the market. Secondly, it should convey how smaller, niche brands were able to grow significantly (thanks to one reason or another) in the last year; in other words, which brands got bigger, and which brands finally scored their big break. Some key things to note:

-As outlined in our top 30 brands comparison chart, Nike had a blockbuster 2019. While we outlined all the tentpole collaborations, drops and partnerships that helped make Nike more visible (and, colloquially speaking, “culturally relevant”) than adidas, this chart displays the monetary growth of the Swoosh on Grailed. Sister sneaker label, Jordan Brand, also benefited from this bump, largely through the same method. A quick look through the top 15 shows that many of the fastest growing brands are also labels who have churned out Nike collaborations in the past 12 months.

-Speaking of Nike and Jordan Brand, two of its biggest collaborators—Travis Scott and Virgil Abloh—saw major bumps in 2019. While Virgil Abloh’s growth on Grailed has been steadily increasing thanks to his work with Nike’s “The Ten” and his role at Louis Vuitton, it’s Travis Scot who truly took the top cultural spot on Grailed this year. Aside from releasing multiple sneaker collections, Scott’s presence in 2019—which includes a Netflix documentary release—spans merch and music combined. Like Abloh, Scott’s clear visual aesthetic and style—shaped by August 2018’s Astroworld album, has allowed fans to quickly identify (and more importantly, assimilate) Scott’s branded gear.

-While Rick Owens is far from an unfamiliar face—especially to those who are part of Grailed’s longtime usebase, his appearance on this chart can hardly be ignored. With such a longstanding cult label, it can be hard to explain exactly why Owens received such traction in 2019. The bump could be thanks to a large celebrity fanbase, or a standby of classic signatures from both his eponymous runway label or offshoot DRKSHDW brand. It’s likely both—on top of a flurry of “if you know you know” fashion memes centered around his Chuck Taylor inspired Ramones, or the social media driven hype around Owens’ Geobasket sneaker—more colloquially known as “Rick Dunks.”.

-Smaller brands flourished in 2019 as well. While DIY-meets-streetwear label Cactus Plant flourished thanks to its ongoing, aforementioned Nike collab, it also was bolstered thanks to stead celebrity cosigns, as well as merch designs for Kanye West and Kid Cudi.

-Japanese cult brand Kapital (and its sister brand Kapital Kountry), grounded in denim but with a far more expansive and diverse seasonal collection, benefitted from exposure on both celebrities and on social media, making its “Smiley Face” motif and bandana printed jackets and shirts a must have fashion staple (and a regular sight in our “#Grailfits” content franchise)

-Chrome Hearts, the long-running, Los Angeles-based jewelry brand also saw major movement in 2019. While the brand’s wares are always in-demand (and pricey), its customs work—both on modified Rick Owens sneakers and Levi’s jeans, have become cult items all on their own. While we don’t want to gas ourselves up too much, we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that Chrome Hearts is a regular fixture on our “Most Expensive” series—proving that, week-over-week, demand for Chrome Hearts is high (no matter how high the prices are).