Collaborations : The Good, the Bad and the Pointless

It’s likely not the most legitimate opening for musings on the ever-growing number of collabs available from brands, but it started for me with Kenny Dalglish. More specifically the Puma Kenny Dalglish silver football boots I coveted, and had as a youth. I doubt that King Kenny had a huge amount of input, but the marriage of sporting brand and designer with icon of the day has undoubtedly led to some classic silhouettes; the Adidas Rod Laver, the Nike Jordan III, Converse Chuck Taylor and the Diadora Borg. Even though my love affair with Puma ended abruptly, their Clyde was itself endorsed by Walt Frazier, and remains a high point.

Now though it seems that we are snowed under with a constant stream of exclusive collaborations, from footwear, clothing, accessories, figures and beyond. Designers an celebs alike have released lines with the high street, bringing queues, hype and the odd memorable piece. Uniqlo and H&M have been major beneficiaries in recent years thanks to Jil Sander and Stella McCartney. The re-release of classic trainers, under heritage, retro and retro plus guises has had a mixed response; delight for those able to locate a much loved classic, frustration for those having hunted down the original. Indeed, brands are even cannibalising their own output, such as the Air Force one/ Jordan release and the Spikez Jordan. Moreover, giving designers freedom can result in headlines, but offer us the bastard child of Jeremy Scott and Adidas. Other notable howlers include Louis Vuitton x Kanye West shoe, and the Puma Yo! MTV Raps trainer, while at times there seems little point, as when s2a teamed up with the Kings of Leon.

For those of us less enamoured with the world of the training shoe through age and aesthetics, though, there is an all too ready stream of collabs ready to appeal to our sensibilities. As ever, the challenge may be extracting the wheat from the chaff, but when done well the appeal is undeniable. Mark McNairy who, save for his New Amsterdam range of shoes, has recently collaborated with Beauty and Youth, Norse Projects, Urban Outfitters, Bass, Union, Pro Keds, A Continuous Lean and Engineered Garments. Despite the volume, most are highly desirable, and show a great sensibility and detail. Junya Watanabe has worked with Trickers, although the results are often better on a wish list than in a collection for those trying to keep a relationship between money and sense. Using traditional standards of construction with a twist, they can offer much needed profile for older brands. Moreover, there is undeniably something about the apparent rarity of a piece which appeals to our basest instincts.

Some favourites:

Barbour x Tokihito Yoshida Driving Jacket

Present London x Trickers Brogue Chukka

Levi’s x Filson Tote Bag

Sperry x Band of Outsiders Orange Suede Chukka Boots

Billykirk x A Continuous Lean Duck Canvas Briefcase

Hanon x Clarks Ashcroft Shoe