On March 9, Spanish luxury brand Loewe (Loewe) and Swiss sports brand On (Angrun) released the first joint capsule series. The series debuted online through Loewe and On's WeChat mini-programs, and landed in Loewe offline stores on March 10.
Luxe.Co noticed that Loewe×On has become the fourth joint collaboration between and luxury brand×sports brand in the last month after Gucci×Adidas Original, Miu Miu×New Balance, MM6 Maison Margiela×Salomon .
Above: Loewe×On
Above: Gucci×adidas Original
Above: Miu Miu×New Balance
In recent years, the cross-border cooperation between luxury brands and sports brands has become normalized. ) and other sporting goods giants, and now it has extended to more professional outdoor and fashion sports brands such as Salomon (Salomon), DESCENTE (Desante), The North Face (North Face), FILA ( Fila ).
Why are luxury brands more and more keen to cooperate with sports brands? In this article, Luxe.Co will analyze the four ways behind it through specific cases:
- Relying on the trend status of sports brands Group
Rely on the trend status of sports brands
Sports brands "Trend "The trend is unstoppable! After the epidemic, the younger generation is more eager for outdoor sports and actively embraces a healthy lifestyle, which makes the sports brand’s status in the fashion trend circle and the younger generation of consumer groups increasing. This is an important consideration for luxury brands to deepen cooperation with . The boundary between
movement and trend is further broken by . On the one hand, in the past few years, sports giants such as Nike and Adidas have borrowed the practice of trendy brands to arouse the great enthusiasm of consumers with the scarcity strategy of limited quantity and lottery. Chris Paradysz, CEO of PMX Agency, a global consulting agency, said bluntly: " has traditionally been retailing through direct sales and wholesale, but now the classic retail channel is upended, especially streetwear and sports brands are doing this. They are changing people's thinking. and shopping ."
On the other hand, more and more sports and outdoor brands are gradually approaching the fashion industry through " daily ", they move from the mountains to the city, with more fashionable and avant-garde designs, among young people A wave of " Urban Outdoor (Urban Outdoor) " was launched.
For example, the Swiss sports brand On, co-branded with Loewe, was founded by professional athlete, three-time world champion and six-time triathlon champion Olivier Bernhard. It has a number of its own patents and initially served professional runners.In recent years, On has gradually expanded to outdoor and lifestyle fields. With its creativity and diverse cultural forms, On has become a new generation of "trend synonyms" in the eyes of young people.
Both luxury and sports brands are trying to impress young consumers with fresh designs. In collaboration with Loewe, the two sides have launched a series of colorful "urban camping" clothing, including shoes and ready-to-wear, such as the gradient pop color of the sunset, which expands the use scene of professional sports equipment, integrating practicality and functionality at the same time. The fashion aesthetic of the younger generation.
Picture above: Loewe×On
Under the trend of “urban outdoor”, a number of trendy sports outdoor brands have emerged, such as Salomon, a French professional sports brand jointly launched with MM6 Maison Margiela recently. , it has been successfully out of the circle through the cooperation with Comme des Garçons (Rei Kawakubo) and other designer brands; The North Face (north) , co-branded twice with Gucci (, Gucci ), has already passed the "Purple". Trend product lines such as "Label" and "White Label" have penetrated into the fashion field; New Balance ( New Balance ) , which has recently cooperated with Miu Miu ( Miu ), is one of the earliest fashionable sports brands.
Above: MM6 ×Salomon
to create the next popular sports shoes
It is not difficult to find that the joint cooperation between luxury brands and sports brands often focuses on the iconic shoes of sports brands.
Starting around 2019, the industry has increasingly reached a consensus: For luxury brands, sneakers have become the new "It Bag", which, like handbags, has become a status symbol." New York Times " once commented: Sneakers have become popular, and luxury brands have gradually joined, a large part of the reason is that they have discovered , which is a luxury market for men, , which allows men to collect designer bags and High heels as obsessed with sneakers.
Claudia D'arpizio, an analyst and partner in charge of the global fashion and luxury business of Bain consulting firm (Bain & Company), said in November last year that now 30% of consumers enter luxury goods through "sneakers" Realm .
These sports brands that have become the partners of luxury brands usually have popular classic shoes. The reason why these shoes can become classics is that they have made major breakthroughs in functionality and appearance design, or have young people behind them. A legendary story that people love to talk about.
such as Prada (Prada ) chose the adidas Originals SUPERSTAR which came out in 1969. This shoe was the first full leather basketball shoe on the market at that time. With its excellent support and highly recognizable shell head , known as "the most watched basketball shoes in the 1970s".
Dior (Dior) chose the Air Jordan 1 launched in 1985 by Jordan Brand under the Nike Group. The legendary record of "flying man" Jordan (Michael Jordan) in the American Professional Basketball League NBA has given this sneaker a special history and story. With the continuous iteration of Air Jordan product design, its influence in the trend circle in recent years to come unabated. Air Jordan today not only has the attributes of basketball shoes, but also exists as a fashion item and collectible.
Above: Dior × Air Jordan 1
Luxury brands are often deeply involved in the development and design of joint series.While inherits the aesthetics and tonality of both parties, luxury brands will also introduce their own iconic techniques and special crafts to transform these classic shoes.
For example, Loewe recreated On's trail running shoes with pure hand-dyeing; Miu Miu recreated New Balance's uppers with frayed denim; Maison Margiela splits Reebok's Classic Leather running shoes Toe Tabi designs and deconstructed Salomon's outdoor running shoes; Dior incorporated its classic embroidery into the Nike logo on the Air Jordan 1; Prada reinterpreted the adidas Originals SUPERSTAR with Italian leather craftsmanship.
With revamped classics, luxury brands are creating their next sneaker hit.
Taking advantage of the seasonal boom (ice and snow sports)
Luxury brands are influenced by seasonal factors to a certain extent in their choice of partners.. In the past winter, ice and snow sports are undoubtedly the hottest topic. And under this craze, luxury brands have put their money on it, and they have entered this popular track through two paths: launching their own ski series; cooperating with professional sports brands in the ski field to create fashionable and functional singles Taste.
In the latest several collaborations, the luxury brand's ski series covers a wide range of categories, from ski suits to ski equipment, almost everything. For example, Dior has released the men's ski limited series for two consecutive years. The three cooperative brands are from different segments: high-end professional sports brand DESCENTE, Swiss professional snowboard brand AK SKI, Swedish professional outdoor protective gear brand POC.
Above: Dior×AK SKI/POC
Prada has partnered with ASPENX, a retail brand of the resort complex operator Aspen Skiing Company. Incorporates the PRADA Linea Rosso collection's Extreme-Tex waterproof layer, a graphene liner for thermoregulation, and incorporates artist Paula Crown's unique black-and-white graphic design.
The natural attributes and positioning of luxury brands fit the trend of high-end and fashionable skiing market. However, ice and snow sports equipment is usually highly specialized. Cooperation between luxury brands and professional sports brands is an efficient way. On the one hand, it can quickly share industry knowledge and on the other hand, it can save development costs.
At the same time, under the ice and snow boom, those sports brands with ski genes ushered in their own highlight moment, bringing their own "hot spots" and "traffic" , luxury brands to cooperate with them at this specific time point, it can be regarded as "" An excellent opportunity to attract attention.
Reaching more potential consumer groups
For all brands, co-branding is an important way to reach new consumer groups. And luxury brands and sports brands can bring their target consumer groups together through joint cooperation, and even achieve the effect of "1+1>2".
By partnering with sports brands, luxury brands are expanding to professional sports consumers and younger generation consumers.
Some sports brands focus on professional segmented tracks. Although the coverage of the customer base is limited, consumers usually have high loyalty and purchasing power to their brands, or they can cultivate a group of new customers for luxury brands and expand luxury brands. The wearing scene of the brand.
On the other hand, as mentioned above, sports brands already have their place in the fashion world.Cooperation with sports brands also shows the intention of luxury brands to move closer to the younger generation of consumers.
In addition, for sports brands, relying on the prestige and status of luxury brands, they can accelerate the high-end transformation. Bloomberg columnist Andrea Felsted pointed out in the latest analysis, "By making its hottest sneakers harder to come by, Nike is becoming a premium brand like Gucci or Louis Vuitton rather than a mass mainstream product. Such a shift is critical for the sport. The assets and profits of supplies giants have huge value.”
Attached: Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson and On global design director Thilo Brunner dialogue video, revealing the behind-the-scenes details of the joint cooperation:
