The most important collaborations of 2021 according to Lyst From Yeezy x Gap to the hacking of Balenciga e Gucci
In recent years, partnership has been a strategy increasingly used in the fashion world: whether it's celebrities, influencers or unlikely collaborations between very different brands, cooperation allows brands to experiment with new designs and aesthetics, but above all to attract new customers, break into a highly competitive market and create a destabilizing wave of demand. Luxury retailers are increasingly open to the idea of making their brand more accessible to a wider demographic of customers through partnerships with mainstream and high street giants, in order to drive sales and engagement, with exclusive collections and limited edition gems to meet a growing demand for "novelties", more common among Gen Z consumers. A marriage of minds that evokes infinite creative possibilities, Elsa Schiaparelli and Dalí or Vivienne Westwood and Keith Harring, but also practical. Smaller labels get a money-booster or some kind of mentorship when working with big brands (not least Ader Error for Zara), while once-forgotten labels (like UGG or Crocs) get a second life thanks to partnerships with giant brands of hype. 2021 was the year of the union between giants, often part of the same financial groups, which, in order to face the market crisis due to Covid, decided to cancel the unwritten rule according to which a collaboration between big names could not really be done: Dior and Sacai, Jean Paul Gaultier and Sacai, Versace and Fendi, Gucci and Balenciaga, Gucci and North Face, but also Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. Here are the most successful collaborations of 2021 according to Lyst data:
1. Yeezy x Gap
The high-end collaboration - actually “hacking” - between the two historic fashion houses made its debut in April during the Aria fashion show by Gucci on the occasion of the house's centenary. In the two months after the catwalk debut, there were more than 5,000 daily searches for the collaboration that set the model to follow for partnerships between big names and that saw Fendi join forces with Versace in September. In 2021, Gucci came full circle by offering a collection full of references to horseback riding - whips, saddle-shaped hats and riding boots - the archival sensuality of Tom Ford, joined Alessandro Micheles's oniric language through septal piercings, purses with a bleeding heart and even a chinchilla as an accessory, all doubling from co-branded textures, bi-logomania and iconic Balenciaga silhouettes. A riot of elements in front of which most have turned up their noses, but like all high-profile collaborations (or hacking, in this case) such as LV x Supreme, the logos become the symbol of a power game, which shows how the two brands can combine to maintain their cultural grip with two hands instead of one.
