Gucci has been named the most searched for fashion brand on Microsoft’s Search Engine, Bing, in 2011, marking its second year at the top.

Similarly to Google’s Zeitgeist list, which will soon be announced, Bing.com compiles an annual search trends list to capture key American movements of the year.

Italian luxury brand Gucci, which also offers more affordable mass market items such as keychains and wallets, has beaten the likes of Louis Vuitton and Burberry to the top spot in the most searched for brands category.

French fashion house Chanel was last year’s number two in the compilation, although it has dropped to fifth position for 2011. Ralph Lauren now occupies the second most searched spot, having notably made the headlines this month after Vogue magazine published a spread on the brand’s heir David Lauren’s wedding to model and designer Lauren Bush.

Other appearances clearly linked to media reports include that of John Galliano at number nine; the creator made news for all the wrong reasons in 2011 after being found guilty of racist and anti-Semitic abuse following his arrest at a Paris bar in February.

Notably absent from the top ten are Versace and Missoni, who have both enjoyed mainstream success in 2011 with affordable lines at H&M and US department store Target respectively.

Meanwhile, Chanel’s founder and namesake Coco Chanel made number eight, despite the label’s ubiquitous creative director Karl Lagerfeld not making an appearance.

Other brands featuring in the top ten include sportswear label Y-3 and casualwear retailer J. Crew.

Top Searched Fashion Brands On Bing.com in 2011 (via The Wall Street Journal):

1. Gucci
2. Ralph Lauren
3. Y-3
4. Louis Vuitton
5. Chanel
6. Guess
7. J. Crew
8. Coco Chanel
9. John Galliano
10. Burberry

-AFP Relaxnews