Weekly Facebook fashion index: where do trendsetters in fashion capitals shop?

The Stylophane Facebook Fashion Index only features US designer department stores in its retail section, but a quick search can provide you with international shopping preferences.

The following ranking of the popularity of department stores is based on the existing index:

1) Neiman Marcus (+4.54%, 95,719 fans)
2) Nordstrom (+8.49%, 66,641 fans)
3) Saks Fifth Avenue (+7.35%, 38,216 fans)
4) Bergdorf Goodman (+45.39%, 32,375 fans)
5) Bloomingdale's (+9.08%, 26,412 fans)
6) Barneys New York (+9.19%, 16,592 fans)
7) Henri Bendel (+7.97%, 10,231 fans)

This list means that even though Neiman Marcus leads the pack in terms of total 'fan figures,' it is currently the least successful when it comes to growth and keeping this fan base active. Still, the ranking provides a useful overview of which upmarket department stores Americans choose for their shopping.

If Stylophane had included the Parisian Galeries Lafayette, it would have come in sixth place, before Barneys and Henri Bendel, with a total of 20,719 fans. In comparison, Lafayette's competitor Printemps only has 7,781 fans, which is a smaller number than that of Colette (9,842), indicating that the concept store is increasingly moving into mainstream culture.

Across the channel, the fashion-forward Selfridges (36,794 fans) tops the traditional Harrods (22,054) in London, with the city's 'Colette equivalent,' Dover Street Market, being left behind (6,114).

In Milan, it seems as if the Facebook era is still in its infancy with even the most popular conventional shopping destinations having very small fan bases: department store La Rinascente has 1,872 followers, topped by the prominent concept store 10 Corso Como (2,998).