Earlier this year, during my subway commute, I came across a pair of shoes that were truly repulsive. They were a bizarre combination of a Gucci loafer and an Adidas sneaker, resulting in a design that clashed with both brands. These shoes had a slender black leather upper with Gucci’s signature brass horsebit hardware, three white stripes on each side, and a one-inch wooden heel adorned with a golden Adidas trefoil logo. They looked like dressy gym shorts and could easily be mistaken for something a meathead leprechaun would wear.
These offensive loafers are the result of a marketing tactic called a collab, which often leads to questionable aesthetics. Gucci and Adidas have engaged in a sweeping product partnership, creating numerous co-branded clothing, shoes, and accessories since 2022. These collaborations, including logo bucket hats, ribbed-knit sweatsuits, colorful leisure suits, Pan Am stewardess-inspired handbags, and a Gucci monogram fabric golf bag, have attracted substantial attention from celebrities and fashion media. In fact, in December, college quarterback Caleb Williams even sported a plaid Gucci x Adidas suit, complete with three stripes on the jacket and pants, when he received his Heisman Trophy.
Not all companies can charge exorbitant prices like $1,100 for hideous shoes, but many consumer brands have attempted their own version of the collab trend. Salad-dressing company Hidden Valley and ice-cream company Van Leeuwen released ranch-flavored ice cream. Dolce & Gabbana and Smeg introduced Sicilian-print appliances. Le Creuset and Warner Bros. collaborated on a Harry Potter-themed set of Spellcasting Spatulas.
The number of these pairings has increased over time, and their results have become more surreal, cynical, and tiresome. It’s time to put an end to the collabs.
Collab, short for collaboration, involves two brands coming together to create and promote new products under both of their branding. The purpose of collabs is often promotional, as it generates more excitement and media attention than individual product releases. This technique is especially popular in fashion and food industries, where consumers are easily enticed by novelty. Collabs provide brands with the opportunity to reach a wider audience and receive consumer attention through news coverage, which is more effective than traditional advertising.
The collab trend as we know it today began with Target in 1999. The retailer hired architect Michael Graves to design affordable housewares, which turned out to be a massive success. Target then ventured into fashion collabs in 2003, working with designer Isaac Mizrahi. H&M followed suit with collaborations with renowned designers like Karl Lagerfeld. These collaborations often result in high-demand products that sell out quickly, causing consumer frenzy. Limited availability and artificial scarcity contribute to the appeal of collabs, driving sales.
Around the same time, Marc Jacobs, the creative director at Louis Vuitton, demonstrated that collabs could be successful even without affordability. Vuitton collaborated with artists like Stephen Sprouse, Yayoi Kusama, and Takashi Murakami, bringing art-world coolness to the brand and exposing artists to a wealthy clientele. Vuitton’s collaboration with the streetwear brand Supreme in 2017 created a media frenzy comparable to the moon landing.
There are good collabs and bad collabs. The good ones have a clear rationale behind their existence, such as showcasing emerging talent or targeting specific audiences. For example, New Balance created shoe designs with medical-scrubs brand Figs, recognizing the influence of healthcare workers in the sneaker market. A good collab doesn’t guarantee a good product, but it presents an opportunity for innovation.
The bad collabs, which make up the majority, lack a compelling reason to exist. They produce products that seem absurd, like Kraft and Juicy Couture’s bedazzled velour mayonnaise-themed tracksuits or New Balance’s collaboration with Blue Bottle Coffee, which simply involves placing the coffee brand’s logo on white sneakers. Judging a collab based on its design overlooks its primary purpose: generating media attention through press releases and viral social-media posts. The goal is to establish brand presence in consumers’ minds, regardless of whether the attention is positive or negative.
If 95 percent of these collabs disappeared tomorrow, nobody would miss them. The focus has been on what the collaborating companies gain, while regular people are bombarded with meaningless novelty. This branding tactic rarely adds true value to consumers’ lives. Most collabs, even the potentially good ones, are primarily an exercise in status hustling. They remix existing signifiers to create an illusion of exclusivity, but in reality, they offer little substance.
It’s time to put an end to this constant influx of collabs that often serve no purpose or benefit to consumers. Let’s prioritize meaningful products over superficial collaborations.
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