According to Quartz, fanny packs accounted for almost a quarter of the accessory industry’s growth in 2018, proving once again that this year has lost its damn mind.
While the impractical bags make up “just 1% of fashion-accessories sales,” they were (somehow) “responsible for nearly 25% of the industry’s growth in the first 10 months of this year, according to market-research firm NPD Group.”
The bags were such a runaway hit, they actually offset declining sales in “historically key categories” like tote and messenger bags, allowing “fashion-accessory sales overall [to grow] 4%, following years of decline.”
As the story noted, the once-maligned accessory is “in the midst of a major revival” — it accounted for $100 million in sales between September 2016 and September 2017 — and is now the “fastest-growing segment in the men’s accessories market.” As a result, the story said, “high-powered brands” like Alexander Wang, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci all now offer their own versions.
(If there’s a more fitting accessory to represent this smoking, hot mess of a year, than a designer fanny pack, please direct me to it.)
2018 showed up drunk.
You can read more about it at Quartz.
