The partnership is a departure from what we’ve come to expect from West (luxe, avant-garde and highly curated) and moves towards a more pared-back look with a brand that is known for its simple urban casual wear.
In a recent article W Magazine hinted that the collection would include ‘jeans, T-shirts and hoodies that combine West’s fashion-forward silhouettes with the cool minimalism for which the French brand is known’. We’re imagining an avant garde but wearable line, best accessorised with a pair of designer mens sunglasses and a swagger to rival Kanye's.
It seems that celebrity and fashion collaborations have become so prevalent in recent years that you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins. Retailers have always clamoured to get into bed with the next big thing - the right face can do wonders for their sales.
Celebrity affiliations with designers come in all shapes and sizes, from a simple shout-out on Twitter to a full-blown advertising campaign. There are now hardly any fashion retailers who don’t have celebrity endorsement: Miranda Kerr for Mango, Rihanna for River Island, Isabel Marant for H&M, Alexa Chung for Superga...the list goes on.
But it’s not all plain sailing. While the right person can sell clothes, even a match seemingly made in heaven can turn hellish in moments, because there is no accounting for the fact that celebrities make mistakes like the rest of us.
There have been plenty of broken contracts, especially with sports brands. Tiger Woods was dropped by Nike after the revelations of his many infidelities; Lance Armstrong was spectacularly dropped by his own label (among others) over the doping scandal; and Kate Moss lost contracts with seven companies after she was pictured snorting cocaine back in 2005, although in the long run it didn’t do her any lasting damage.
These are extreme cases and, for many brands, celebrity pairings are worth the risk. They can be incredibly lucrative partnerships that heighten awareness for both parties. We take a look at some of the most successful celebrity-designer collaborations. (Warning: don’t expect to see any Lindsay Lohan for Ungaro or Kardashian Kollection for Dorothy Perkins.)
Kate Moss first began working with the high-street giant Topshop in 2007 on what became one of the most successful celebrity collections in Britain. The collection, which included everything from feathered shawls and velvet shorts to floral day dresses, was inspired by the supermodel’s own wardrobe and aimed to recreate her unique sense of style. When it hit stores thousands of women queued down the street to get their hands on a piece. Moss went on to create a further 13 collections for the store, including a capsule collection of the ten most popular items from all of her previous edits.
2. Jeremy Scott for Adidas
Having worked with Louboutin in the late Nineties, Jeremy Scott is hardly a stranger to working with brands, although none of his collaborations have lasted longer or been more successful than his relationship with the sportswear brand Adidas. His brilliantly tongue-in-cheek designs, including winged hoodies and hi-top trainers with animal prints and tails, have become collectors’ items.
Having worked with Louboutin in the late Nineties, Jeremy Scott is hardly a stranger to working with brands, although none of his collaborations have lasted longer or been more successful than his relationship with the sportswear brand Adidas. His brilliantly tongue-in-cheek designs, including winged hoodies and hi-top trainers with animal prints and tails, have become collectors’ items.
3. Chloë Sevigny for Opening Ceremony
If there was a perfect match of übercool celeb and equally cool brand then we’re pretty sure that this one ticks all the boxes! The collection was everything you could expect and more from the queen of East Village chic and included striped tees and miniskirts a-plenty. The aesthetic was Nineties-inspired with Sixties and Seventies vibes thrown in for good measure - as well as, of course, a touch of Sevigny’s iconic edge.
If there was a perfect match of übercool celeb and equally cool brand then we’re pretty sure that this one ticks all the boxes! The collection was everything you could expect and more from the queen of East Village chic and included striped tees and miniskirts a-plenty. The aesthetic was Nineties-inspired with Sixties and Seventies vibes thrown in for good measure - as well as, of course, a touch of Sevigny’s iconic edge.
If 2009 was a good year for collaborations, then Christopher Kane was the icing on the cake, with his spectacular collections for Topshop. The edits featured a variety of embellished tops with mirrored charms, rivets and eyelets that catered perfectly to the fashion-conscious woman. Topshop’s partnership with Kane was one of the biggest designer collections to date. We especially loved the oversized tees with gorilla and dinosaur prints!
5. Stephen Sprouse for Louis Vuitton
In 2000 the legendary Eighties designer Stephen Sprouse teamed up with Marc Jacobs, the creative director of Louis Vuitton at the time, to produce a series of his now-famous graffiti prints. In 2006, two years after Sprouse’s death, the fashion house collaborated with his estate to produce another highly lucrative collection using the same prints. Stephen Sprouse accessories are now a cornerstone of the perfect wardrobe.
These are our top five designer collaborations, but there are so many fantastic ones that it’s hard to feature so few! What are your favourite fashion collaborations and who would be your ideal partnership?
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