Oh, 2013, we hate to see you go. You were filled with good fashion, a nod to the nineties, and positively some of the best brand mash-ups we have seen in quite some time.
While the world brand was once synonymous with businesses, we have also seen the rise of personal celebrity brands with social media, which in turn, has become some of the most beautiful unlikely mash-ups, brilliantly announced and promoted on social media. With brands like Target and H&M still holding it down like the bigwigs, celebs like Rihanna, Jay and Beyonce had some pretty hefty collabos of their own.
Check out some of our favorites of the year below
In the last few years, Target has made it a point to leverage their brand with designer collaboration the average Saks shopper would find covetable. This year, they tapped Michelle Obama’s right hand designer man, Phillip Lim, to design a collection based off of his higher-priced collection. As with any other collection, the pieces made their way onto eBay with some insane mark ups just hours after the release.
MAC cosmetics has always prided itself on being the kind of brand that always dates, but never marries, until they met Rihanna. The Bad Gal was the first celebrity to enter a longstanding relationship with the brand beginning with the release of RiRi Woo, a play off of Rihanna’s favorite color Ruby Woo from the brand. She has since seen 3 releases with the line, and yes, they have sold out every single time with the lippies being the first to go.
H&M has also made it a point to climb the social ladder of affordable fashion with their high-end collaborations. Last year we were wrapped up in the joy of Margiela, and this offering brought fashion lovers the first menswear offering from the lady who made sneaker wedges a thing.
Ever since Nicolas Ghesquière unexpectedly stepped down as creative director of Balenciaga, a void was left for another designer to fill. While initial reports pointed to Christopher Kane as the new creative director, a representative from his camp quickly debunked that rumor and we would soon learn a young chap would be stepping up. Alexander Wang may be one of the youngest in the game, but that didn’t stop him from taking the role at Balenciaga at the lapel, and so far, so very good.
Alexander Wang’s Secret Event:
While we are talking Wang, we will talk the Beyonce approach he took earlier this year, by announcing a super secret event in New York City. Thousands showed up, but only a lucky few would get to enjoy the mass mayhem inside what turned out to be a free-for-all shit show, that was actually filmed and later released.
While it wasn’t a collaboration between fashion brands, Rick Owen’s collaboration with a step team was the most talked about of them all. Rick Owens broke every single “traditional” runway rule, when he enlisted the skill set of four groups of nearly all-black U.S. college students, of variable shapes and sizes, to display his Spring/Summer 2014 collection during Paris Fashion Week.
And for the last one, we are stepping away from the fashion brands to highlight Jigga man’s epic move with Samsung this summer, Jay Z’s Samsung deal — in which he released his Magna Carta… Holy Grail album to Samsung users first through an exclusive app.
BEYONCÉ x iTunes And Starbucks
Seriously, do we even need to elaborate on this one? Beyonce used the power of iTunes to drop an unexpected album in the middle of the night, which everyone bought, and when Target refuesed to sell her album due to her deal with iTunes, she made a new deal…with Starbucks. Oh, and guess what every Target has? That’s right, a Starbucks. Checkmate.
What are some of your favorite brand collaborations from the year?
