Louis Vuitton is fashion's Best Global Brand

The French fashion house Louis Vuitton - whose creative director is Marc Jacobs - beat off competition from Gucci, Burberry and Prada in a recent study, which ranked worldwide companies in terms of their estimated total annual value.

Swedish high-street chain H&M came second, while Zara - popular with Duchess Catherine and her sister Pippa Middleton - was third.

British brand Burberry was ranked sixth and its CEO, Angela Ahrendts, was thrilled with the position.

She said: "Burberry is so proud to be one of Interbrand's Best Global Brands again this year. Being a great brand is at the heart of everything we do. It is such an honour to feature alongside the other great global brands in today's report."

While top of the fashion sector, Louis Vuitton ranked 17th overall with a value of $23.5 million (£14.5 million), behind the likes of Apple, Google and Mercedes-Benz.

Coco-Cola was announced as the Best Brand in the world, estimated to be $77.8 million (£48 million).

The top nine Best Global Brands in the fashion sector:

1. Louis Vuitton (#17, worth $23,577)

2. H&M (#23, worth $16,571)

3. Zara (#37, worth $9,482)

4. Gucci (#38, worth $9,446)

5. Hermes (#63, worth $6,182)

6. Burberry (#82, worth $4,342)

7. Prada (#84, worth $42,71)

8. Ralph Lauren (#91, worth $4,038)

9. Gap (#100, worth $3,731)