In Fashion Land, Brands Have Lost Collaboration Plot

Let me walk you through a quick and incomplete list of luxury collaborations that debuted on the runways of New York, London, Milan, and Paris during the last fashion month.

Miu Miu x New Balance on sneakers; Givenchy x Josh Smith and Givenchy x Shin Murayama on art-inspired products and objects; Lanvin x Batman in thick footwear; Balenciaga x Crocs and of course Balenciaga x The Simpsons on this series’ 10-minute special; Fendi x Versace and Versace x Fendi aka Fendace; COMME des GARONS x Salomon; Richard Malone x Mulberry; KNWLS x Marco Panconesi on throwback jewelry; Moncler x is basically everyone; Manufacturer of Piganiol x umbrella botter; an SS Daley x National Youth Theatre. It’s just what you see before your eyes. Now, what do they all have in common? Well, absolutely nothing, and that’s the point.

If this latest fashion season, the first major event to be held in front of a large live audience in over 18 months, could be translated into a metaphor, it would be, Let’s throw it all against the wall and see what sticks. It was the approach taken for the show’s concept (think ’90s Chanels low-budget runway, Fendace, and the fiction-non-fiction red carpet Balenciaga), for design direction (from Y2K to sneaky minimalism), and also for collaborations that ranged from ordinary things. product pairings for blockbuster-luxury partnerships, and collaborations that cross over to other creative disciplines.

The last one will stick. While it’s easy to praise luxury brands for experimenting with different collaboration formats, it’s clear that most of them are lost at sea when it comes to formalizing their too-long collaboration strategy based on a one-off with little long-term forethought. Now, in the age of the internet where it is impossible to plan the next viral product, it is understandable that brands will take their chances by trying everything.

Collaboration is often a safe testing ground for measuring consumer reactions that might inform where a brand is developing next. They also provide opportunities to learn from partner category expertise, leverage their supply chains, and speak to audiences through collaborator marketing channels.

But all this is not new insight given the number of collaborations that flooded the luxury goods market in the last five years. While the new format is being tested, it’s still surprising to see how few brands have dedicated collaboration strategies in place that go beyond quick hits. At this point, not only should brands be more familiarized with the very clear benefits and pitfalls associated with collaboration and collaboration being a major part of their marketing strategy, but brands should be going crazy over it. Get out of your bubble of luxury comfort. This is the nature of the beast.

That means putting long-term collaborations on Nike x Sacai, Asics x Kiko Kostadinov, and Moncler x Craig Green. That means exploring beyond your own space with art, food and drink, pop culture, automotive, design, and unexpected technology collaborations. That means breaking the cycle of always working with the usual suspects when it comes to creative collaboration behind the scenes. That means hiring young people who know better than you, open that door. Most importantly, it means you need to see collaboration for what it is, to expand your brand universe. Surprise us. We promise well. Possible.