MADEbytheprojects: August Edition

the projects*
Jul 27, 2017 · 7 min read

Back to normal this month, with a load of awesome partnerships and collaborations.

I’m loving how brands are looking past the obvious and really leveraging their products through various platforms, whether it’s a blockbuster movie or an LA gangster, there’s loads of interesting ways to go to market.

But First, Plastic

There is a heap of news, stats and facts about the amount of plastic waste we create every year on this planet. Beyond the tonnes rubbish that is created, the scariest fact is the time it takes to dispose of it, or allow it to break down, between 450–1000 years depending on its chemical make-up. MADEbytheprojects* are now actively looking for other options and will be suggesting alternative products for clients requesting plastic items, especially in a single use capacity. We all need to do our bit, and we think this is a good starting point.

1. AMI x Eastpac

Luxury Parisian fashion house AMI have teamed up with Eastpak on this run of 3 bags. Eastpak are more familiar dressing the shoulders of students and backpackers, so I love this partnership — they’re even following last month’s trend with the oversize waist bag!

2. Nike Kyrie 3 X Mountain Dew

Limited to just 32 pairs (triple double reference?), the colab kit highlights NBA star Kyrie Irving’s ability to metaphorically
break his opponent’s ankles with his quickness and skill

The pack contains exclusive sneakers in a neon Mountain Dew colorway, an iPad loaded with a Kyrie highlight reel, autographed X-Ray of a broken ankle, five limited edition cans of Mountain Dew, first aid kit, and an emergency phone — everything a potential victim needs!

Image via Complex Original

3. KFC — Merchandise

The Colonel has released his own range of merch… need we say more?(alright just one thing, almost every item has sold out).

4. TAG HEUER X Kingsman

The Director for Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle wanted a real world timepiece option for the characters to wear in the movie.

They went with the new TAG Heuer Connected, which is now available to buy along with other costume elements from the movie through a partnership with Mr. Porter.

5. Hennessy x JonOne — Artist Series

Artist JonOne heads up the 7th installment of Hennessy’s limited run of art inspired bottles. Launched in NYC with a gallery show featuring music from A$AP Ferg, the bottle is available for purchase with added extras including paint tin case, jigger and notepad.

6. Robbe & Berking — Martele Bar Set

This 62 piece bar trunk houses everything you could ever need to knock out your next Cosmopolitan. Every element is handcrafted from leather, wood and silver, and will only cost you $29,000.

7. Mister Cartoon x Nike — Nike Cortez

Nike.com

The legendary graffiti and tattoo artist, Mister Cartoon recently produced a pack of 3 personal takes on Nike’s iconic Cortez silhouette. Putting his spin on this trainer with his own LA logos and slogans makes for a really on-point partnership with a figure who could be seen by some as quite controversial.

8. Beats by Dre X Balmain X Kylie Jenner

Beats By Dre’s latest iteration sees a partnership with Balmain. The safari inspired range of over and in-ear headphones come in 2 different colour ways, delivered in a suede case with iconic Balmain touches. Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing, fortunately has been known for his close friendship with the Kardashian-Jenner family, who frequently wears his designs to red carpet events, introduces us to Kylie Jenner as the face of the campaign. Whilst technically the same as other headphones in the standard range, these are retailing at almost double the RRP. Worth the extra? You decide.

9. Smart x Nike — Asphalt Gold Smart Brabus

This GWP will offer a bit of a road block to most sneakerheads — if you want these limited release Nike Air Max 1 Ultra Flyknit iD, you’ll need to buy the car first — with just 500 units available, both products have matching yellow highlights and grey bodywork. Nice little added extra.

10. Huskee Cup — Kickstarter Campaign

Huskee Cup

There’s loads of bad press around the supposed recyclable coffee cup that we all know and use. But what if I told you there was a totally recycled cup becoming available — HuskeeCup is produced from the waste of the coffee manufacturing process. 100% sustainable and 100% cool.


Supreme x Louis Vuitton

This past month has seen the internet, pop-up stores and footpaths taken over with hoards of cool hunters (for want of a better word) queuing and camping to snag a little piece of the newly released Supreme x Louis Vuitton clothing and accessory range.

I thought I’d add a couple of pages on this global phenomenon to tell you a bit more about it.

How Do I Get Some?

Well, firstly, no-one queues any more, not at least in the normal queue. No, they go to a pre-queue event and register for the queue. Please bare in mind these drops happen WEEKLY in major US cities, and so do the pre-queue events. On drop day you head to the store with your number and wait in a further 3–4 lines until you make it into the shop. After entrant number 100, it’s slim pickings and then you still have to queue to pay!

All in all, 5 hours of queues across 2 mornings and you may not even be able to get your hands on the product you desperately want.

What is the street value?

Supreme drops, along with many modern day releases are subject to buyers instantly re-selling the item online.

The recent SxLV release have seen t-shirts, hoodies, bags, tops and jackets pop-up on eBay for anything between $1000 to $15,000 literally minutes after becoming available — even beforehand in some cases.

Victim of their own Success?

Quickly after Tokyo and Sydney closed their doors after selling out, East Coast launch dates in the US were retracted, leaving fans in outrage — had SxLV run out of stock, had there been issues at previous launches, was there backlash over re-seller prices? No-one knew. A recent update suggests launches may go ahead, but without a secured date. Maybe you can be too popular…

theprojects

the projects* is a creative agency based in Sydney, LA, NYC and London. We anticipate trends, lead conversations and create inspiring, credible experiences.

the projects*

Written by

An independent brand consultancy with offices in LA, NY, London and Sydney. We craft creative solutions that keep brands thriving in an ever changing world.

theprojects

the projects* is a creative agency based in Sydney, LA, NYC and London. We anticipate trends, lead conversations and create inspiring, credible experiences.

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