When Should Small Brands Open Their Doors?
As survival gets tougher for emerging brands, they’re getting more commercial with their collaborations.
In today’s SOTA INSIDER, we’re talking about…
Why small brands are saying yes to big collaborators
Fashion’s upcoming sustainability reckoning
What’s next for John Galliano
The car brand that’s entering fashion
Adidas’ Fight for Its Stripes
When Should Small Brand Collab With the Big Guys?
This month Places+Faces, the “if-you-know-you-know” UK streetwear collective once known for its sold out London music events and merchandise, announced a series of football shirts with Gymshark, the UK mass gym wear brand valued at $1.45 billion.
The collaboration that promised to put the “culture” into “gym culture” was met with mixed reactions. “Why would you do this?” one fan commented on Instagram. “Selling out?” another replied.
The news was followed this week by LA-based label Reese Cooper that announced a new sub-line dubbed ‘RCOS’ (Reese Cooper Outdoor Supply) in partnership with PacSun, the American fast fashion brand that turns over $900 million annually. “This better not be y’all’s downfall,” another Instagram commenter warned.
From smaller brands like TwoJeys and Rhude working with Zara to Brain Dead and thisisneverthat partnering with the multi-billion dollar Minions franchise, it’s become a common practice for credible smaller fashion brands to trade their cultural influence for financial backing, broader distribution, and a global marketing platform.
However, this raises a critical concern: at what cost? For the original fans, these alliances with larger companies may threaten the unique personality, vibrant energy, and tight-knit community that initially attracted them to these smaller brands.
Supreme knows all about losing OG fans. Ever since ownership started selling stakes in the company, the brand has never really been the same. Just last week, it was sold again, this time to eyewear giant EssilorLuxottica for $1.5 billion, over 25% less than what VF Corp paid for it in 2022.
What’s Happening?
The partnership between smaller and bigger brands is nothing new. In 2022, BoF already published an article titled Why Brands Are Tapping Unconventional Partners for Big Collaborations. But now more than ever partnerships between larger corporations and smaller brands have become increasingly common. Why?