Luxury Brands Obsessed with 'Sports·Street'... Now It's the Era of 'Big Collaborations' [Song Seung-yoon's Pa.Al.Bot]

Luxury Brands Once Proud, Now Receiving Successive Love Calls from Sports Brands
'Guccidas' and Dior Jordan... The Era of Collaboration
Flying Off Shelves Despite High Prices... MZ Generation as Main Consumers
Emphasizing Young Image to Secure Diverse Customer Base

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The recent buzz in the fashion industry is undoubtedly the collaboration between various brands. Collaborations between products or brands are spreading like a trend not only in the fashion industry but also in various fields such as food and beverage and dining industries. However, this situation is not unfamiliar in the fashion industry. In the past, it was common for famous brands to join hands and launch products together. Especially in the case of sports brands, collaborations with street brands were frequent.

But nowadays, even high-end luxury brands are turning their attention to collaborations with sports or street brands. This is interpreted as a strategy to secure a diverse customer base through collaborations with brands more familiar to the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z). By partnering with relatively traditional luxury brands and popular brands, they lower the entry barriers and emphasize a youthful image. Additionally, they can catch two birds with one stone by generating buzz through limited edition releases.

The ‘collaboration era’ between luxury and sports brands was led by Nike. Nike has consistently collaborated with world-renowned luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Off-White. These products not only sell out immediately upon release but also create ‘open run’ queues, with resale prices soaring sky-high. Last month, the nine Nike Air Force 1 models sold by Louis Vuitton through a lottery saw resale prices jump from several million won to 20 to 30 million won. The 'Air Jordan 1 X Dior High OG,' a collaboration between Air Jordan 1 and Dior, also saw resale prices rise from around 2 million won to over 10 million won. Due to this buzz, the world gets excited every time a collaboration product is released.

On the 30th, shoppers visiting the Louis Vuitton X NBA Capsule Collection pop-up store at Shinsegae Department Store Times Square branch are seen browsing the store. This Louis Vuitton X NBA Capsule Collection is opening pop-up stores in six cities worldwide, including Seoul, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Tokyo, and Doha. It can be visited as a pop-up on the first floor of Shinsegae Times Square until the 6th of next month. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The collaboration between Louis Vuitton and the street brand Supreme, which started around 2017, was also a key driver of this trend. The clothing, shoes, and accessories released at that time are still highly scarce and hard to buy. These collections sparked huge global attention and marked the beginning of the collaboration boom.

Recently, the collaboration product between Gucci and Adidas, known as ‘Guccidas’ (photo), also made a big impact. It is a product that blends Gucci’s identity into familiar items and has gained popularity mainly among the younger generation despite its high price. A similar collaboration occurred in 2018, between Fendi and Fila, known for products combining their logos.

Earlier in March, the French designer brand Ami also launched an exclusive collection in collaboration with the sports brand Puma. Last year, the collaboration between Coach and Champion attracted significant attention as famous figures such as hip-hop artists were seen wearing the products. The casual bag brand Eastpak has also maintained long-term collaborations with numerous luxury brands such as Marcelo Burlon, MM6 Maison Margiela, MSGM, Maison Kitsun?, and Raf Simons.