Love Island might now be over, but the hype surrounding islander Ovie Soko lives on!
Adored for his mature advice and mellow vibe, the 28-year-old has become the unexpected style icon of the series.
While most of the boys favoured a uniform of white skinny jeans and polo shirts, Mr Soko opted for a closet filled with bold Hawaiian shirts and 90’s inspired bucket hats - A fact that didn’t go unnoticed by viewers.
According to the latest quarterly index from fashion search platform Lyst, the pro basketball player turned reality star style choices have had a huge impact on customer habits as of recent. Seeing two of his signature looks making it on the “Hottest Men’s Products” list.
Prada’s Banana and Flame Print shirt has been named the third hottest men’s product this quarter, while the fashion house’s Nylon Bucket Hat scored sixth place.
Okay, so Ovie’s Love Island closet might not have been boujee enough to contain Prada, but it can’t be denied that his outfits share a similar aesthetic viewpoint.
“Although Soko's influence is undeniable, his signature style has been popular for several months now. While Ovie might have come out of the Love Island villa as one of the British public’s biggest summer style inspirations, the Hawaiian shirt started its quiet comeback a few seasons ago," Lyst fashion insight reporter, Morgane Le Caer, added while speaking to The Independent.
Lyst found that there was more than 155,000 searches for the term “printed shirts” in the last three months with searched for Prada shirts increasing 36% in June.
Lyst’s quarterly index is compiled based on online shopping habits of more than 5 million shoppers a month browsing, searching and buying fashion over 12,000 designers and online stores. The report also takes social media metrics, taking account follower growth, brand mentions, and keywords into account.
Traditionally, the list of most searched products is solely occupied by designer labels. However, this year Topshop has managed to sneak their way onto this quarter’s list with their Strappy Sandals, which rank in sixth place.
So what do you think? Is Ovie the style icon we never knew we needed, or is he simply riding the wave of trend? Let me know your thoughts below!