This week’s global brand collaboration spotlights encompass a diverse range of sectors, including brick-and-mortar retail, skate culture, luxury timepieces, and fashion.
Harrods, the epitome of heritage British luxury, collaborates with Burberry for a month-long birthday activation. Meanwhile, Dover Street Market joins forces with artist Soldier Boyfriend for Wafflesncream, Nigeria’s first skateboarding company, and Breitling partners with Victoria Beckham to redefine luxury watches for Spring 2024.
Below, we delve into these strategic alliances. Subscribe here to receive the Collabs & Drops newsletter updates straight to your inbox every Tuesday.
Dover Street Market x Soldier Boyfriend for Wafflesncream#
Details: Limited hand-printed boards, February 3
Social context: Soldier Boyfriend has 35,300 followers on Instagram, and Dover Street Market London has 785,000.
Verdict:
- Community is at the core of skating, making this project authentic to the subculture. With each deck sold, a percentage of the profits will be donated to the Wafflesncream Skatepark Project, assisting in the construction of Nigeria’s first purpose-built skatepark.
- Wafflesncream is Nigeria’s first skateboarding company, founded in 2012 with the aim of supporting young skaters. Now, it’s on a mission to build skate parks around West Africa. Lagos-born creative Soldier has a personal connection to the company, discovering it after he ran away from home at 16 and became involved in Lagos’ tight-knit skating community, helping to paint Wafflesncream’s first physical skate shop and design tees.
- For Dover Street Market, this partnership provides an opportunity to accentuate its support of streetwear and skate brands, being a stockist for the likes of Stüssy, Supreme, and Palace.
Burberry x Harrods#
Details: Month-long Burberry takeover of Harrods and limited edition collection, February 1
Social context: The three Instagram posts about this collaborative project, including one shared post, have gained over 18,000 likes at the time of writing, which is quite low considering that their combined Instagram reach is over 21 million.
Verdict:
- Burberry continues to dominate London’s fashion scene with physical activations, now dousing Harrods in its Knight Blue to celebrate the retailer’s 175th anniversary.
- The project represents a fusion of luxury and experiential retail, immersing customers in Burberry’s identity via a fellow British icon and enriching the luxury brand’s association with national heritage in the capital.
- The takeover features an in-store Burberry food truck serving British pastries and hot drinks, a Camping Corner pop-up selling hiking accessories such as a hot water bottle and bespoke knight bottle opener, as well as an exclusive capsule. Burberry x Harrods is a 360-degree collaborative project that will undeniably drive social traffic to both brands, increase footfall at the retailer, and prepare consumers for Burberry’s upcoming show at London Fashion Week.
Breitling x Victoria Beckham#
Social context: On Breitling’s Instagram (1.6 million followers), the three posts about this collaboration have over 8,300 likes so far. On Victoria Beckham’s Instagram (32.6 million followers), there are over 21,500 likes.
Verdict:
- As Victoria Beckham’s eponymous fashion brand is well-regarded in the industry, the collaboration enhances Breitling’s fashion credentials. Furthermore, the campaign was shot by iconic Italian photographer Mario Sorrenti, adding to its high-fashion feel.
- Limited to only 1,500 editions, the timepieces are collector’s items. Featuring the VB initials and Breitling logo, they are inspired by the British designer’s Spring 2024 collection.
- As the luxury watch industry evolves to serve the new generation of style-led consumers, brands are increasingly tapping into fan culture and fashion design, so tie-ups like this make perfect sense.