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Nike x Dior Air Jordan 1, H&M x Versace jackets and the Louis Vuitton x Supreme luggage beloved of Justin Bieber and Beyoncé – are these the most successful fashion collaborations ever?
STORYLuxurylaunches
- When Kim Kardashian praised Kris Jenner for gifting Smeg x Dolce & Gabbana toasters to her party guests, sales went through the roof
- Meanwhile an extremely limited run of trainers from Nike’s collaboration with Dior means the Air Jordans now fetch more than US$15,000 on the resale market
The buzzword in the luxury market is collaborations. Almost all high street, as well as luxury brands, are experimenting with lucrative, out-the-box partnerships, and while a handful have met with a lukewarm response, most have sold out within minutes.
Collabs are gaining popularity for a plethora of reasons; brands piggyback on each other’s goodwill, provide marketing opportunities, and even open alternative avenues for sales. These “blink and miss out” capsule collections are desperately sought after and if nothing else, generate palpable excitement and golden PR opportunities.
According to a recent study by Bain & Co, it is projected that millennials and Generation Z will account for 45 per cent of the global personal luxury goods market by 2025. Most traditional or heritage luxury brands came to terms with this reality early on, and it shows in their selection of partner brands.
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Here’s a list of the most revolutionary luxury brand collaborations of the past decade we couldn’t wait to get our hands on.
Gucci x The North Face
When two behemoth brands like Gucci and The North Face joined forces in December 2020, nothing less than extraordinary was expected. The North Face, an undisputed leader in outdoor gear, teamed up with Gucci to create an exquisite collection at a time when being out of the house was a rare thing and hence, considered luxurious.
“I don’t differentiate between beauty and functionality,” said Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director, about the collaboration. “I find it very comfortable to be beautiful and I find it very beautiful to be comfortable.” The collection had a strong vintage feel and comprised an assortment of retro- funk wear including hiking boots, puffer jackets, and sweatshirts emblazoned with the dual logos for the “luxe explorer”.
We saw celebrities including Jennifer Lopez, Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid all sporting the winter wear, and giving glamping a whole new spin. While some critics frowned upon this odd mishmash of brands and called The North Face a sell-out, most welcomed the collection as a cheerful respite with its prints and colours amid the morbidity of the pandemic.