Brand partnerships are one of the life bloods of marketing in the mainstream media. By marketing a product between two brands, you are not only exposing your customer base to another brand and supporting them, but you’re also getting that exposure in return and being seen as comparable to the brand you’re working with. We have seen several over the years in popular sportswear brands like Nike with Michael Jordan and Adidas with Kanye West. But that’s not the extent of what brands are capable of with working together. I have compiled a list of some of the coolest brand collaborations from the last few years that had a major impact on the world of fashion and beauty. Without further ado, let’s get into it.
- E.L.F Beauty X Liquid Death
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Surely at this point we’ve all heard of the partnership between e.l.f and Liquid Death. For those of you who haven’t, e.l.f has historically been looked at as a drugstore, low budget beauty brand and Liquid Death is a brand of sparkling water. However, in recent years, the makeup brand that was once used as my play makeup as a 12-year-old girl has now become a staple in many women’s daily routines. The makeup featured in the line include a black eyeliner, setting spray, black lipstick, a limited-edition brush, a white base, and a whole lot of references to corpses. This collab in particular worked wonders for both brands advancements after research showed they had similar fan bases. In my own experience, I’ve seen Liquid Death at a lot of larger events like concerts. e.l.f has existed as “old reliable” makeup and it does a lot for long-wear and tear. These concepts go together flawlessly, so although no one seemed to expect the unlikely duo, we all should have.
- Louis Vuitton x timberland
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Louis Vuitton needs no introduction when making a list of luxury brand collabs. LV has done so many different partnerships from Supreme to even doing a line with Tyler the Creator. But this one in particular I thought was especially worth mentioning. While Louis Vuitton is a luxury brand, of course, they have begun to brand themselves as a streetwear luxury brand similarly to Off-White. By collaborating with Timberland, they have only solidified this image of expensive, luxury streetwear. Famous rappers tend to control the streetwear market and we see plenty of rappers, from Lil Baby to Drake to Future, all repping big jackets and accessories sporting the classic LV logo. By collaborating with Timbs, Louis Vuitton has solidified themselves both as a luxury leather goods brand and a streetwear brand with an edge.
- APPle x hermÉs
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If only this opportunity had been taken to make an Apple Birkin Bag. Nonetheless, this product is still genius. Apple collaborated with Hermès to create a watch face with the logo as well as a series of bands that have the logo. People who are purchasing Hermès likely have Apple products since they are seen as the more luxury option between Android and Apple. I think I would guess that this partnership was about reinforcing Apple’s status as a luxury phone brand by using Hermès as a catalyst for “see we’re also expensive and are a status symbol.” Or perhaps it was just for Hermès to do something cool and out of their comfort zone with partnerships. Either way, I will be purchasing one before they are discontinued.
- Nike x Ben & Jerry’s
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I know what you’re probably thinking… Nike isn’t a luxury brand what are you talking about? All I’m going to say is that these shoes are currently reselling on Goat for approximately $2,000. If that’s not luxury, you want to slide some cash this way? Kidding of course. The “Chunky Dunky” collab between Nike and Ben & Jerry’s was a huge success. The shoes themselves are a beautiful array of colors with a cow print on the main body of the shoe with a drippy Nike logo. This was one of the first big non-clothing brand/influencer collabs with Nike that we’ve seen, and boy did it work. The average person loves a good sundae, and a whole lot of people love shoes, particularly sneakers in streetwear. Targeting a market that is completely different from Ben & Jerry’s brought in a whole lot of sneakerheads and vice versa a whole lot of ice cream lovers are looking to Nike for their next pair of stylish kicks.
- Fendi x Tiffany & Co
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By far my favorite collab on this list, the Fendi X Tiffany & Co bag collab is so beautiful. With the body of the classic Fendi baguette bag with the iconic Tiffany blue color with silver decals. The bag sells for approximately $5,500 which is obviously the price of some people’s cars… BUT IT’S SO PRETTY! Fendi and Tiffany & Co did the collaboration in honor of the anniversary of the baguette bag from Fendi. The two luxury giants didn’t need to use this collaboration in order to market their brands to a different audience since most people who shop at Fendi definitely know about Tiffany and the reverse. So, the brands made it a limited-edition creation in order to drive up sales and hype! The bag is a vibrant color while still holding true to a simple design making it all the more desirable. While this collaboration may not be as well-known as some of the others on my list for you today, it should become your favorite.
- Gucci x northface
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This partnership is particularly interesting to me since the two brands don’t have a ton in common. North Face is typically a hiking and outdoorsy brand while Gucci is obviously a luxury staple. This line included hats, coats, vests, accessories, and even a bag. The partnership created some really cool pieces that I’ve seen styled in many different ways across multiple aesthetics from streetwear to loungewear. It’s a clever way for the brands to access completely new markets that may have never heard of the other brand in the collab before. Perhaps the goal all along was to reach people that have never thought to explore Gucci or explore North Face realizing that maybe the brands are more similar in price range and accessibility than previously believed.
- skims x fendi
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To conclude our list, surely one of the OG queens of social media had to be talked about. Kim Kardashian likely got this partnership with Fendi because of all the times she’s worn their clothes and promoted them as well as her reputation as a fashion icon. However, this isn’t a spread on Kim Kardashian, we are interested in her brand Skims. The Fendi collaboration with Skims followed a product drop strategy making it a limited release line which would garner a high volume of traffic to the sites. Everyone wants to wear a luxury brand paired with a loungewear brand from a socialite they trust. It was a perfect collaboration to reach fans of Kim Kardashian who are surely also well versed in the luxury fashion industry. The drop consisted of bodysuits, cardigans, sweatsuits, dresses, and more. All I know is that they all look comfy… and I need them!
In summary, my shopping addict habits have not been made better by this list of luxury goodies that I now need to possess. All of these brands have had tremendous success in the marketing space and have set a precedent as to what a successful brand collaboration will look like.