Collaborations between entertainment brands and fashion houses seem to be a mainstay of the licensing industry with a steady stream of them coming out on a regular basis. But are they becoming cookie cutter and almost background noise in an industry that is innovating in so many other new and exciting ways? Are creators and influencers the new fashion houses? And can partnering with them drive better and quicker returns on investment for IP owners?
It seems not a day goes past when a new collaboration between a fashion brand and licensed IP is announced. And, more often than not, they’re fun and the products look good, if fairly expensive. Recent good examples include Kate Spade x M&Ms and HUGO x The Nightmare Before Christmas. The buzz these collaborations create will bring in new, or excite existing, apparel licensees. With the aim being that similar looking SKUs will then filter down in various iterations through department store brands, specialty retail and finally to mass market stores. But is it all getting a bit, well, predictable?
The branded fashion collaboration has long been the perfect way to re-elevate your brand, especially if you’ve been struggling to place it anywhere outside of mass or you have an anniversary to celebrate and need an ‘anchor’ activation to drive awareness. Buzzy collaborations are a good way to get your brand a load of publicity – and not just in the licensing press. But when the collaboration is little more than standard style guide images put on an expensive branded item, the returns can soon start to diminish, and it can all feel like a rinse and repeat, limiting the excitement to core fans.
Are the brand collaborations that really cut through not those that do something unexpected and different? The ones that offer something new and speak to the brands’ core values? Rather than those that are just the joining of two big brand names, and the products merely a high-end version of something that was in Walmart or Primark a season or two ago? And will likely be back there again in a few months’ time. Surely to make the time and effort really worthwhile and to drive a strong return on investment, fashion collaborations need to engage new audiences, or at least make existing fans look at the brands in a new way?
Previous good examples of pushing the envelope when it comes to a fashion collaborations include the 2019 Mother of Pearl Collaborated with BBC Earth on a Sustainable, Mother Earth–Inspired Collection and the 2009 full Wizard of The Wizard of Oz takeover of Harrods for its 70th anniversary with limited edition reinterpretations of the iconic ruby slippers.
What both of these did was create conversations and allow new creative and interpretations of the brands – not just present some branded products, no matter how much thought has, or hasn’t, gone into the creative execution.
Fashion collaborations are often years in the making and can involve huge budgets that the licensors hope to earn back through the trickle-down effect they aim to create through the buzz and renewed consumer excitement.
In 2024 can the same, or more, buzz and excitement not be created more quickly and efficiently through collaborating with up-and-coming brands, new to licensing, as well as influencers? Recent collaborations such as that between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and British YouTube Group Sidemen would suggest it can. Creators and influencers are creating their own branded products that they can sell directly to their fans - at much more accessible prices than high end fashion houses - and there is a massive opportunity for licensing to partner with them.
So as a licensor you could send out a raft of emails to the usual licensing collaborators – PUMA, Champion, Marc Jacobs etc. - with the hope of seeing a buzz worthy range come to fruition in a couple of years’ time. But if you’re really looking to create buzz and excitement around your brand, reach new audiences and tell a different story, you may be better off finding common ground with some influencers that authentically resonate with your brand. Or better yet work with us here at negosh.com to identify up and coming apparel brands with their own fanbases that will showcase your IP in a new and exciting way.
Let us know your thoughts on licensed fashion collaborations on our socials and what your favorite and least favorite licensed fashion collaborations have been over the years.