Thread Report — Comparison

Acne Studios vs Nasty Gal: Fabric Composition Compared.

We pulled fabric composition data from 419 Acne Studios products and 203 Nasty Gal products. Acne Studios comes out clearly ahead at 78.4% average natural fibre vs Nasty Gal's 7.4% — a 71-point gap.

TL;DR

Acne Studios wins on both natural fibre content (78.4% vs 7.4%) and on having fewer polyester-heavy products (9.1% vs 80.8%). The headline gap is 71 percentage points of natural fibre per garment.

78.4%Acne Studios avg natural %
7.4%Nasty Gal avg natural %
622Products analysed

By the Numbers

MetricAcne StudiosNasty GalBetter
Products in sample419203Acne Studios (larger sample)
Avg natural fibre %78.4%7.4%Acne Studios (over Nasty Gal)
% items ≥95% natural58.9%4.4%Acne Studios (over Nasty Gal)
% items polyester-majority9.1%80.8%Acne Studios (over Nasty Gal)

Average natural fibre % per garment

Acne Studios
78.4%
Nasty Gal
7.4%

% of catalogue that's polyester-majority

Acne Studios
9.1%
Nasty Gal
80.8%

% of catalogue that's nearly all-natural (≥95%)

Acne Studios
58.9%
Nasty Gal
4.4%

Top Fibres, Side by Side

How often each fibre appears across each brand's catalogue. A higher number means more products in the sample list that fibre on the label.

FibreAcne Studios (% of products)Nasty Gal (% of products)Diff
Cotton0%0%+0
Polyester0%0%+0
Wool0%0%+0
Elastane0%0%+0
Viscose0%0%+0
Acrylic0%0%+0
Polyamide0%0%+0

By Category

Average natural fibre % per garment, by category. Counts in parentheses show the number of products from each brand in the sample.

CategoryAcne Studios (count)Nasty Gal (count)Diff
Dress63.9% (29)7.2% (196)+56.7

Where they're similar

Both brands lean on the same core fibres. cotton, polyester, elastane appear in the top five for both Acne Studios and Nasty Gal.

Where they differ

Acne Studios runs 71 percentage points higher on average natural fibre than Nasty Gal (78.4% vs 7.4%). Nasty Gal is markedly more polyester-heavy: 80.8% of items are 50%+ polyester, vs 9.1% at Acne Studios. If you specifically want nearly-all-natural garments, Acne Studios has 58.9% of its catalogue at that level — Nasty Gal sits at 4.4%. The biggest category divergence is dresss — Acne Studios at 63.9% natural fibre, Nasty Gal at 7.2%.

Verdict

Acne Studios is the clearer pick on fabric composition — 71.0 percentage points more natural fibre on average than Nasty Gal, with 58.9% of items at the nearly-all-natural mark vs 4.4%. That said, neither brand is "natural-only" — even at Acne Studios, the majority of items contain some synthetic fibre. Always check the label.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Acne Studios or Nasty Gal better quality fabric?

Based on average natural fibre content, Acne Studios edges ahead — 78.4% vs 7.4% per garment across the 622 products we analysed. Higher natural fibre content generally correlates with better breathability, fewer microplastics, and longer wear.

Does Nasty Gal use more polyester than Acne Studios?

Yes. 80.8% of Nasty Gal products are polyester-heavy (50%+ polyester), compared to 9.1% at Acne Studios.

How many products did you analyse for Acne Studios vs Nasty Gal?

419 Acne Studios products and 203 Nasty Gal products — every item with a parseable fabric composition label from each brand's site.

Which has more 100% natural pieces — Acne Studios or Nasty Gal?

Acne Studios. 58.9% of Acne Studios products are nearly all-natural (95%+ natural fibre by composition) versus 4.4% at Nasty Gal.

What's the most common fibre at Acne Studios and Nasty Gal?

Cotton is the most common fibre at Acne Studios (in 60.1% of products), while Polyester leads at Nasty Gal (80.8% of products).

Are Acne Studios dresss better than Nasty Gal's?

For dresss specifically, Acne Studios averages 63.9% natural fibre vs Nasty Gal's 7.2%. That's a meaningful gap — if you're shopping that category, Acne Studios is the safer default.

→ Full Acne Studios report→ Full Nasty Gal report→ All brands ranked

Related reports.

Acne Studios Full Report419 products analysedNasty Gal Full Report203 products analysedAll Brand RankingsEvery brand ranked by natural fibre %
Methodology: Fabric composition pulled from product pages on each brand's site. 419 Acne Studios products, 203 Nasty Gal products. "Natural" counts cotton, linen, wool, silk, cashmere, hemp and leather at 100%; viscose, rayon, lyocell, modal and bamboo at 50% (semi-synthetic). Polyester-majority = 50% or more polyester by label. Comparing Acne Studios and Nasty Gal. Data refreshed monthly.

Explore the Thread Report

Part of an openly-licensed dataset.

This page is one view of Fibr's Thread Report — fabric composition data for major fashion retailers, free to read and cite. Explore the rest:

About the Thread ReportWhat the dataset is, how it's built, and how to cite it.All brand reportsFabric breakdowns for every retailer we track.Brand rankingsWho uses the most natural fibre — and the most polyester.Brand comparisonsHead-to-head fabric data for every viable brand pair.Research findingsOriginal findings built on the dataset.State of FabricThe annual report on fashion's fibre mix.MethodologyHow we classify fibres and compute every number.Fabric guides & researchHow to read labels, decode fibres, shop smarter.

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