So Happy Together: Exploring the Outer Reaches of Brand Collaborations
Brand collaborations have strong potential to enter our visual and mental landscapes as rich, contrasting ephemera. They might be a fleeting moment, a long running partnership, or something in between. Some are intriguing, niche, and maybe even elegant. Others are tepid, unironically brutish, or blatantly self-serving. Finally, some are truly and remarkably bizarre, leaving most consumers bewildered or begging for an explanation. We’re going to focus our attention on that bizarre, confusing lot today.
Slack x Cole Haan
Cole Haan is known for making reasonably fashionable and comfortable shoes. While Slack is known for rethinking intra-office communications and being the aspirational envy of every tech start up for at least the past five years. The two brands decided to walk the business casual line (pardon me) and release a pair of painfully business casual shoes featuring the Slack brand colors and logo. Unfortunately, the collaboration lacks the kind of contrast that makes such projects interesting. Even though the shoes were inherently “casual,” the brands are predominantly known for their business offerings leaving fans of either wondering where the cool was. Just because Slack has billions of dollars of investment doesn’t mean they have cultural icon status. The collaboration just wasn’t that compelling and didn’t do anything interesting to enhance either brand in the eye’s of the other’s fans. A line of Cole Haan accessories done with some tasteful Slack branding might have brought well-made business accessories to mind and market in a better way.
The Simpsons x Balenciaga
I don’t always take note when a fashion blog with the word “snobiety” in its name calls something a “full-on abomination.” However, it’s truly difficult to imagine why “The Simpsons | Balenciaga” episode and the accompanying collection were made. For some, the last Simpsons episodes considered to be “canon” came out in the late ’90s whereas Balenciaga is an avant-garde fashion house that seems to represent the most forward-thinking, European trends. They really broke the Venn diagram when they made this one — it’s a potent blend of faux kitsch-irony that makes my head swim. Finally, it seems a little beyond the pale for one of America’s most iconic low-brow families to be emblazoned on a $260 keychain, $1,000 hooded sweatshirt, or (nearly) $2,000 tote bag.
Jelly Belly x Reebok
Consumers are apparently fans of shoes, apparel, and accessories in bright or saturated colorways. So there’s no reason why Reebok couldn’t have developed this same line of sneakers without collaborating with Jelly Belly. Maybe they were looking for an appropriately sugary and vivid proper name to put at the front of each shoe model? I know some folks who could have helped with that. It could have also been a slight misfire in terms of assessing the (cult?) popularity of Jelly Bellies. Whatever the matter, at the time of writing this whole line was on markdown on Reebok’s website and selling below retail on resale sites. It seems that if Reebok wanted to push the collaboration to a more engaging level they could have done any number of things to better integrate the Jelly Belly brand, like substituting its iconic silhouette in for the “o” in Reebok, or going wild with some scratch and sniff textiles.
Supreme x Meissen Porcelain
I’m probably including a Supreme collab against my more cynical assessment, but this one tickled a special neuron in my absurdity lobe. In 2019, Supreme collaborated with the first European hard-paste porcelain manufacturer, Meissen, to make a cupid figurine that sports a Supreme logo t-shirt. Oh, if Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus could see them now. This collab is a piece of self-acknowledged kitsch from the self-declared ouroboros of contemporary consumerism. Maybe porcelain collectibles from the 1700s and Supreme’s less practical items are one in the same: niche novelties that take up space in rich people’s houses. Did this collab bring the porcelain-heads into the Supreme cult? Doubtful. Did it get some streetwear Supremos to diversify their “drop” collections with some fine porcelain? Maybe. Has someone asked if they could smoke weed out of one of these figurines? Definitely.
Nike x Ben & Jerry’s
I went back and forth on Including the Nike SB x Ben & Jerry’s Dunk Low “Chunky Dunky” collaboration — I’m a fan of both brands, and as far as execution is concerned the shoes are pretty spectacular. The details include almost a dozen references to the Vermontian ice cream’s packaging and identity, including a hairy cow faux-print, a tie-dye lining, and a “dripping” Nike swoosh in Ben & Jerry’s brand gold. I might not wear them, but they’re funny and light. However, by many accounts they were a very divisive shoe for the communities that are more invested in skate and dairy cultures. While, it seems a bit frivolous to make a shoe about ice cream, this is not by any means the silliest collaboration in this article. In the end, the whole run of the shoe sold out and it’ll now cost you the equivalent of 400 pints of Chunky Monkey to get your hands on them.
adidas x Bored Ape Yacht Club
I did my best to wrap my head around this non-fungible token collection on the Ethereum blockchain. However, after my fifth or sixth new tab led me to words like “phygital” and ad nauseam suggestions that I “buckle up” or “buckle down” for IRL corporate takeovers of the various metaverses being constructed in code everyday, I had to stop. I understand enough about blockchain and cryptocurrency to imagine how it could be valuable to a big brand like Adidas, but I simply can’t imagine myself infatuated with the detritus of what seems to be a pump and dump scheme.
Brand collabs have the ability to leave customers and cynical brand strategists speechless. The least successful examples seem to be tainted with a forced kind of boardroom dreck — “I have a connection at Candy Corn Inc. let’s see if we can set up a mitten warmer collab with Hothands.” On the other end of the spectrum are the dreamers with projects that come off sounding like hotdog bun auteurship or limited edition zipper pulls. Even as I write those down, I imagine I could be offending some vibrant, passionate communities — mea culpa. Ultimately, the bold and interesting collaborations stand as striking or curious artifacts on our cultural landscape, while the others will just lose your teenage son money on StockX.
Thanks to Eli Altman and Patrick Keenan.
