Looking Back at a Year of Surprise Collaborations

In this episode, “Collaborations Create Community,” we examine how unique collaborations have infused hope and energy into a marketplace dominated by pandemic fears, and in turn have helped to build more meaningful brand communities.

Since early 2020, customers have been forced to rethink how they engage and buy from brands. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, not only has shopping shifted to online, but customers needs and wants have changed.

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This shift has meant that fashion brands have also had to rethink how they engage and sell to consumers. Dealing with a global pandemic, put fashion consumption in stark reality to more important issues. What’s more, customers were now working from home and were focused less on new trends and more on comfort. But they also desired relief from the constant stream of pandemic news and the monotony of being cooped up at home. This made the marketplace ripe for fashion brands to try new ways to engage their customers—outside of their normal, “tried and true” marketing strategies. And for many, this meant seeking partnerships and collaborations with other brands to create new narratives, and an element of surprise.

Caryn Pang, an adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design, and retail technology consultant, also believes that collaboration provided an opportunity for brands to energize their employees, especially when racial issues added another layer to pandemic anxiety. She explains: “At the core of collaboration is teamwork, which is an important part of the inclusivity and accessibility conversation that began in earnest in the spring of 2020.” And she adds that a sense of inclusivity and accessibility that can be engendered through teamwork can also lead to a much-needed sense of community. “In turn, community creates a sense of belonging and optimism. This real need for belonging, coupled with a sense of shared hope, can be attributed to the pandemic and being home for so long, disconnected from others. It’s human nature for people to want to come together and collaborate—to create a future together.”

When it comes to noteworthy collaborations in 2020 that managed to infuse real energy into the fashion space, Caryn highlights Gucci and The North Face. “This collaboration is about accessibility, playfulness and brand story. It was completely unexpected due to the price point difference between the two brands.”

She also references another unexpected collaboration between Kith and BMW, because it crosses industry boundaries. “Kith is a very hip and cool streetwear brand. BMW is an established, well-positioned German luxury brand. This collaboration led to a real M4 Series car and ultimately represents trust and acceptance between two target markets.”

Caryn continues: “Another boundary crossing collaboration was between Crocs and Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was all about fun and whimsy, featuring two chicken drumsticks on top of a Crocs clog.” She acknowledges that this collaboration, and others, also helped to make Crocs relevant again, especially among a younger consumer.

Finally, she mentions the Nike collaboration with Ben & Jerrys. “I don’t know of many shoe and ice cream brands that have collaborated in the past—but besides the element of surprise, the connecting tissue for this collaboration was an alignment of social values between companies. Both have communicated strong messages of equality and both have signed on Colin Kaepernick as a spokesperson.”

In 2020, the most successful collaborations took a different approach from what we’ve seen in the past, or what was expected. They’ve all but redefined the potential for brand partnerships. Caryn says that in the coming year, we’ll likely see a lot more industry crossovers when it comes to collaborations. “We’ll continue to see a focus on companies trying to build more meaningful and authentic relationships between brands and customers—even if that simply means being humorous and not overly serious!”