Fashionable collections of musicians from Wu-Tang Clan to Rihanna
Fashion industry regularly throws up news stories about the next cooperation of brands with musicians. From the advertising campaigns, not professional models continually look at us, but performers of our favorite tracks. The champion in this matter can be called the Swedes H & M - in their portfolio are stars such as Lana Del Rey, Beyonce or Lady Gaga. World-renowned hip-hopers jointly with large companies produce collections named after themselves, and as a result of cooperation, some even have new brands. The latest example - Beyonce and Topshop are about to launch the Parkwood Topshop Athletic Ltd. sportswear brand. It's time to recall the most vivid examples of such collaborations.
Run-D.M.C.
adidas
Teamwork Run-D.M.C. and adidas can be called a historical event in some way - it was from her that the warm relations and regular collaborations of the sports brand with hip-hop artists began. The background is as follows: in the 1980s, the most flourishing career of Run-D.M.C. - hip-hop culture, as we know it today, was in its germ, and the performers preferred to go on stage discharged. Run-D.M.C participants. however, it was more like the style of native Queens, which they broadcast during their performances and in the clips: a three-stripes tracksuit, gold and adidas sneakers without laces - the guys did not change them and wore every day.
Over time, the popularity of Run-D.M.C. grew up. Without waiting, the band members became a walking advertisement for the single "My adidas". After that, adidas offered the hip-hop team to sign a long-term contract worth $ 1.6 million. One of the first jointly released products was the Ultrastar sneaker model, a modified version of "superstars", the main favorites of the Run-D.M.C participants. Collaboration Run-D.M.C. and adidas has become one of the most successful projects in the field of music and fashion intersection, and capsule collections are still being produced: adidas announced the release of the limited edition Superstar sneaker last year and presented the Run-D.M.C model at the end of the year. x Keith Haring x adidas, timed to Christmas, and in the fall of this year, a collection was born, the main theme of which was the graphics of the very first collection Run-D.M.C. and adidas.
Wu-tang clan
Alife nike
The New York hip-hop team Wu-Tang Clan is better known for its musical collaborations — for example, Basta Rhymes and Kanye West — rather than fashionable ones. But in 2006, the Alife team, working at the intersection of street art and street fashion, agreed with the participants of the Wu-Tang Clan to launch a joint collection of clothing. The initiator was Oli "Power" Grant, the executive producer of the team, who already had experience in the clothing industry, he had his first attempts in this field in the early 1990s. But real success came to his Wu Wear brand only with the release of the album "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)", in 1995.
Grant was pushed into cooperation with Alife by the desire to restore Wu-Tang Clan to its former popularity: after the collapse and a fairly early reunion in 2004, the group needed a kind of success marker. The result of cooperation was a small unisex collection, which included sneakers, bombers and T-shirts with the symbolism of Wu-Tang Clan. At the same time, the first batch caused such a stir among the public that it was decided to re-release some models, for example, “Everybody Hi” sneakers, “A Wu-Tang Life” t-shirt and “RIP ODB” bomber jacket - a tribute to the memory of team member Ol 'Dirty Bastard life in 2004. By the way, this collaboration did not become the last for Wu-Tang Clan - in 1999, Nike released the super-limited series of Dunk sneakers as a promotion. They say that only 72 pairs were made - for close friends and family members of the band members, and rare items for sale cost $ 7,500 - just nothing for simple black and yellow sneakers with the Wu-Tang Clan logo.
Pharrell williams
Moncler, Uniqlo, adidas, Moynat, Louis Vuitton, Gap, RAW G-Star
Farrell Williams has long become his boyfriend in the fashion industry: he has his own clothing brand Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream shoes (Farrell launched with a friend and owner of another popular street label Nigo), he is friends with Anna Wintour and becomes a regular guest of events such as the ball of the Institute of Costume of the Metropolitan Museum or the presentation of the professional award CFDA, and he himself was often recognized as one of the main examples of impeccable style. Therefore, it is not surprising that one after another big brands want to get such a distinguished collaborator.
The first in the list was the fashion house Louis Vuitton, who invited the artist in 2004 to create a collection of sunglasses Millionaire. Farrell worked on it together with the then creative director of the brand, Marc Jacobs, and the source of inspiration was the film "Scarface". In 2007, it was decided to re-release the collection, adding models in two new colors: purple and blue. A year later, Louis Vuitton again decided to work with a musician and producer, only this time over a capsule of jewelry. Jewelery designer Camilla Michely helped with the work on it, and the content of the Blason collection turned out to be simple: angels and variations on the LV monogram in yellow and white gold with a generous portion of diamonds.
In 2010, Farrell launched a new collaboration, launching a line of vests for the Italian brand Moncler. The collection was created in conjunction with the textile company Bionic Yarn - another brainchild of Farrell, and as a print, used the work of Japanese artist Keita Sugiura. Three years later, the artist made a collection for Moncler again, this time sunglasses. Farrell himself described Moncler Lunettes as a mixture of "futurism and 1950s style", and each model was made of titanium from the first to the last detail.
In March of this year, Farrell announced that he had long been working on a joint project with the sports brand adidas. Cooperation promises to be long, but the first fruits can already be assessed: in September, the first release of the Farrell capsule collection, which included three customized models of the classic Stan Smith in black, blue and red, happened. The second part of the collaboration was released at the end of October, and here the Superstar Track bombers joined the regular version of the sneakers. The last part of the Polka Dot Pack this year was presented in November. These included bombers and Stan Smith polka dots sneakers.
The most interesting project of Farrell was, perhaps, the work of his company Bionic Yarn with the Dutch brand G-Star RAW, which resulted in this year’s RAW collection for the Oceans - eco-friendly denim from recycled plastic bottles. The plastic gathered at the bottom of the World Ocean is processed into a thread like textile, then it is connected to cotton fiber and the finished fabric is created from the resulting mixture. So, they presented women's and men's things that cost between $ 100 and $ 200 and made the world a better place.
In April, a small Farrell capsule appeared in the stores of the main Japanese conductor of the mass market Uniqlo - a collection of t-shirts i am OTHER, named after its creative and record label. Finally, Farrell’s last collaboration today is with Moynat, one of the oldest French suitcase companies in France, which was restarted in 2011 from the hand of the head of LVMH conglomerate Bernard Arnaud. Together with the current creative director Ramesh Nair, Farrell created a collection of handbags inspired by the image of retro steam locomotives. And, as the singer himself admits, the dream to do something similar has been pursuing him for the last seven or eight years, after watching the 1946 musical "The Harvey Girls" with Judy Garland in the lead role. When Farrell shared his idea with Ramesh, he showed him the archival logo of Moynat in the form of a locomotive - a sign of fate, not otherwise.
Kanye west
Nike, Louis Vuitton, A.P.C., Giuseppe Zanotti, Adidas, Bape
For a couple of years, Kanye "Yeezus" West has grown from a typical ghetto-rapper in baggy jeans and indistinct polo shirts into one of the most stylish guys in show business, for whom now even in a skirt to walk around just spit. Of course, for the fashion-reload, it is worth saying thanks to his stylist Virgil Ablo, but a new image was brought by Kanye not one proposal for cooperation from fashion brands with a name. The first proposal came from the Japanese street brand BAPE, which is generally known for its love for all kinds of collaborations. Kanye was a longtime fan of the brand and even starred in some of her lookbooks, and in 2006 he released the capsule collection of sneakers.
In 2007, the sports giant Nike addressed the rapper with the same proposal, and for the brand it was the first entirely unsportsmanlike collaboration. The release of Nike Air Yeezy, on the design of which Kanye worked with Nike creative director Mark Smith, happened two years later. By the way, the final version of the sneakers was quite different from the prototypes, for example, initially Kanye wanted to put a LED backlight on the sole. The release of a collection of three models, created under the auspices of Kanye West, was accompanied by such success that it was almost immediately decided to arrange a second run. Nike Air Design Manager Nathan Van Hook helped design Kike with Nike Air Yeezy 2, both inspired by ancient Egyptian culture and also used imitations of snake skin and other reptiles. The collection was released in 2012 and was so popular that on eBay you could find lots of Nike Air Yeezy 2 at a cost of up to 3 thousand dollars (almost 10 times higher than the retail price).
In a break between two collaborations with Nike, Kanye West collaborated with the luxury brand Louis Vuitton. In her songs, released in 2008-2010, the rapper so often mentioned the name of the company, that in the end she decided to invite him to release a joint collection of sneakers. This collaboration was one of the most unexpected: hardly anyone could seriously imagine that a French house with a long history would cooperate with an adherent of street culture. But for Kanye, she literally became a springboard into the world of high fashion and consolidated his status as a fashion icon of our time. The joint collection included three models, each of which was named in honor of a member of the West creative team: Louis Vuitton Don in honor of his friend and concert director Don C, Louis Vuitton Jasper received the name of personal hairdresser Kanye Ibn Jasper, and Louis Vuitton Hudson - his partner, musician Mr. Hudson.
In 2013, Kanye West released his first capsule collection of clothes - the French brand A.P.C offered him to do this. Known for its high-quality casual-things, the brand literally hit the jackpot: on the first day of the collection’s sales, the official online store collapsed, unable to withstand the flow of customers, and sweaters, jeans and T-shirts, which Kanye West’s hand touched to create, literally sold out in hours. In the wake of A.P.C. invited the rapper to re-cooperate, and this summer saw the light of a new, autumn-winter capsule. This time, Kanye was inspired not only by his own wardrobe, but also by vintage military uniforms, hence the jackets resembling flight bomber jackets, parks with natural fur and camouflage colors.
In September 2012, in honor of the release of the new album "Cruel Summer", Kanye West released the eponymous capsule collection with the Italian shoe company Giuseppe Zanotti. The newly-born designer and Giuseppe Zanotti took the shoe model already existing in the brand's collections as a basis, making it in a total white color, and decorative elements in the form of sheets were made of ceramics. The price of one pair, for a minute, was $ 5800, however, in the collection it was possible to find more democratic models for just $ 1,000.
Last year, Kanye made a surprise attack - he stopped working with Nike and signed a contract with their main competitors, adidas. According to the rapper, Nike refused to pay him a percentage of the sales of the sneakers he created, so Kanye had to make a choice in favor of a more financially advantageous offer. The full collection of YEEZis 3 sneakers promises to be released in January or February next year.
Rihanna
River island
For the popular British mass market brand River Island, star collaboration is an infrequent story. But the debut took place with none other than R'n'B-diva Ryannoy. “We cannot imagine a better designer for a new collection. Rihanna is an icon of style and can look stylish in both casual clothes and branded things,” representatives of the British brand said in an interview. The first collection of Rihanna for River Island was presented at the show as part of London Fashion Week, and it appeared in stores in the spring of 2013 and clearly reflected the singer’s own style: relaxed jeans on the hips, loose T-shirts and crop tops.
Apparently, she liked playing designer so much that less than half a year had passed, as the second collection of the fall-winter season 2013/2014 hung on River Island already, and again on the topic of hip-hop and street culture in the spirit of the updated DKNY. The third - and so far the last - collection for the brand Rihanna was released in November 2013 and, according to RiRi, became the cherry on the cake among all its previous authorship. In it, the singer, as they say, has come off in full: a floral print, reminiscent of last year's autumn-winter Givenchy, golden brocade, leather and a coat of strict cut.
Missy elliott
adidas
In April 2004, adidas clothing line introduced a joint collection with hip-hop Big Mom Missy Elliott Respect M.E. The story, as usual, has been worked out over the years: the actress has appeared in adidas clothes literally everywhere, so the brand decided without hesitation to introduce her to general creativity. It is curious that for the German sports giant this was the first collaboration with a musician since 1986. The collection itself included a couple of dozen variations on the theme of sportswear and brand trefoil, but the percentage of sales went to the charity organization "Break the Cycle", aimed at combating domestic violence. Simultaneously with the release of Respect M.E. and as her support, Missy Elliott released a record of the same name that collected her main hits.
Rita ora
adidas
The cooperation of Rita Ora with adidas became known in the spring of this year. As the first stage of cooperation, which is planned to be extended for three seasons, they promised to release at once five rulers created together with the singer. “I'm a huge adidas fan,” said Rita Ora. “I worked in a sneaker shop when I was sixteen and just love these shoes. It's so cool to be able to do something with the brand I worked for as a teenager.”
As a result, several different lines appeared within the same collection: Spray with a print imitating a gradient from graffiti spray paints, Roses with a picture of roses inspired by French sculpture, feminine Pastel, sports Colourblock and Black referring to hip-hop culture. Before starting work on the collection, Rita Ora prepared herself thoroughly: she studied the entire archive of the brand over the past 50 years, visited the adidas factory in Germany and personally met the entire creative team. “Now I look at designers in a completely new way,” the singer said during the presentation. “The process of creating clothes is so complicated, I could not even imagine this before.”
M.I.A.
Versace versus
Usually, collaboration collections of brands with celebrities do not pretend to be a genius of design ideas, and the main thing is the well-known name on the label. Therefore, the joint work of British hip-hop divas of Tamil origin with the Italian house Versace was a pleasant exception. To begin with, at first glance, plain T-shirts and simple-cut dresses adorned with a print inspired by the fake Versace, which immigrants sell on the streets of London.
"The arguments about fakes have always been a part of my work, I often speak on this topic in my songs, - said MIA - When Donatella Versace suggested that I create a joint collection, I immediately thought that this could be a great idea. Versace products are so often illegal copy, so why not make a fake fake so that the fake manufacturers could in turn make his fake. " By the way, this is not the first design experience for the singer - in the late 1990s she studied visual art in Central Saint Martins, and also worked on the design of the cover for her own album. In general, the tandem came out more than successful: Donatella's kitsch past found an ally in the M.I.A. prone to kitsch.
Grimes
Saint laurent
2012 became for the Canadian singer Grimes a peculiar year of recognition in the fashion industry: her song “Oblivion” became one of the most frequently used soundtracks at shows, and Karl Lagerfeld almost personally singer-dressed the first row in the spring during her show Chanel Haute Couture Summer 2013. Finally she managed to try herself as a designer. Edie Sliman, who was responsible for the Saint Laurent collections, suggested that Grimes make a joint capsule for men's T-shirts. It includes five basic models with prints inspired by the 1970s Love Poster series of art works by Yves Saint Laurent itself, and T-shirts were sold in the Florentine concept store Luisa Via Roma.
Snoop dogg
Happy socks
For one of the most unexpected - and, it seems, one of the most successful - collaborations, thank the Swedish brand Happy Socks, which specializes in socks of wild colors. "I always wanted to draw and now through drawings I can express my emotions, which I did not always manage to convey through music or acting," Snoop Dogg shares her impressions in an official press release on The Art of Inspiration collection. However, it is easy to believe in the rapper’s sincere interest in the brand: it is easy to imagine socks with psychedelic prints in his wardrobe.
Solange
Puma
Бейонсе не единственная в семье Ноулз, кто может похвастаться успехами не только на музыкальном, но и модном поприще. Решив не отставать от старшей сестры, Соланж год назад заключила контракт с брендом Puma, о чём ее фанаты узнали из tumblr-блога певицы. Немецкая компания пока что не может похвастаться таким количеством звездных коллабораций, как ее главные конкуренты adidas и Nike, однако начало положено. Младшей сестре R'n'B-дивы Бейонсе предложили стать креативным консультантом Puma.
Первой работой на новом поприще для Соланж стал проект “Girls of Blaze”. В помощь Соланж пригласила трех друзей-дизайнеров из Нью-Йорка: Герлана Джинса, Уильяма Окпо и Хишама Баручу. Вдохновившись Бразилией и ее колоритом, они представили четыре новые вариации на тему классической модели Puma Disc Blaze, и, кстати, именно в тот год компания впервые представила женскую коллекцию этих кроссовок. Спустя почти год на свет появилась вторая совместная работа Соланж и Puma. The new capsule consists of two lines: Wild Wonder with iconic for the brand models Suede and XT2 and Behind the Bazaar, the release of which promises to appear at the end of the month.
Lykke li
& Other Stories
A girl with a bright appearance and penetrating voice Likke Lee noticed the "younger brother" of the Scandinavian mass market retail H & M, the brand & Other Stories, and invited to make a joint collection. The synergy of the two sides is obvious - the resulting work has become a manifesto of Scandinavian minimalism and almost dominant total black. Likke worked on the collection side by side with the chief designer & Other Stories, Benaz Aram, and the main theme of the collection was, as usual, the uncomplicated idea: "What would Lykke herself put on when going on tour." As it turned out, the singer's wardrobe would be quite modest: 23 items of clothing, including laconic tops and silk shirts, shorts and trousers, loafers and shopper bags. The price category came out quite democratic - from 29 to 345 dollars, and you can buy things from the capsule collection in the online store of the Swedish brand.
Stromae
Mosaert
Few people know, but in fact the Belgian rapper Paul Van Aver, better known as Stromae, not only writes down cool tracks, but also releases clothes under his own label. Paul, in collaboration with his long-time stylist Coralie Barbier, launched the Mosaert brand (the name is an anagram of the singer’s stage name) last April, releasing a small capsule. The first, pilot, collection batch, sold at the Hunting and Collecting store in Brussels and on the official website of the brand, sold out just a couple of days. Moreover, it included only socks (17 euros) and polo shirts (90 euros) - in many of them Stromae himself appeared in his videos and at performances. Just recently, the singer presented the second collection of his brand, and this time the main Paris concept store Colette took it on to implement. In addition to the already familiar polo socks and it includes several models of cardigans and sweaters - all in the best traditions of unisex.