Footwear collaborations require companies to understand how linking the right partnership to market a new product design takes more than luck. Its understanding the small nuances from initial design through to commercial manufacture, to deliver a better experience than the day before – to a fickle yet sophisticated consumer. And the right digital marketing is key to delivery.
Collaboration among brands with celebrities, athletes and designers are growing at a rapid rate. It’s unprecedented. And when all of the ingredients are right, the collaborations are shaping the active lifestyle footwear industry FAST from fashion straight up the ladder to competitive footwear.
Its undeniable the success of Adidas, Nike and Reebok because of their collaborations with celebrities and power athletes – and those collaborations have given them a unique position to enhance their brands and drive demand. From strategy and design to engagement, brands are driving influence and loyalty. Whether with an athlete/celebrity/designer collaboration, fashion runway shows in New York, London, Paris or Milan, the giants see the power in collaboration and that awareness is driving sales and resonance for the brands who are on the same track as the giants of the fashion industry.
While brands may not openly identify themselves as a fashion brands, and while traditional runway labels may not see them as competitors, to consumers considering what footwear/clothing to buy, it increasingly seems like one and the same.
Ugg x Jeremy Scott (above)
Nike Air Max 97 LX x Swarovski, has approximately 55,690 Swarovski crystals total on the uppers (above).
French high-fashion streetwear label Vêtements did for its first collaboration with Reebok. Now there’s a second one in the making – Deconstructed Instapump Furys, price tag $900, (above).
