The Chanel Hula Hoop Bag Is Going to Stores — Thanks to Instagram

If you thought the hula hoop bag shown during Chanel's Spring 2013 show was a one-off exhibition piece, you were wrong. Paris department store Printemps has purchased the oversize runway bag and plans to sell it — and several much smaller versions — next Spring.

Why? The bag was a hit on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, where users voraciously liked, retweeted, and otherwise shared pictures of it and other unusual Spring runway items, including Céline's "furkenstocks" (double-strap sliders with brightly colored fur footbeds). According to WWD, buyers and retailers are paying an increasing level of attention to what their customers like on social media, because they turn into actual sales.

Claire Distenfeld, owner of Fivestory in New York, said she presold six pairs of flat sandals from Giambattista Valli after posting a picture of them to Instagram. "I always sell a ridiculous amount of product on Instagram and it doesn't stop at jewelry or $850 shoes," she said. "It can be Balmain or big things that you don't put your credit card on the computer to buy but you call the store and order over the phone."

A look at the products social media turned into bestsellers, here in the gallery.