The involvement of corporate brands in fashion collaborations continues, with some of the most active participants over the last six months or so being beverage and automotive brands. One recent example is Pepsi’s Project Cobalt, which introduced its first collection last week.
Project Cobalt, a partnership between Pepsi and a consultancy called All Beuys Club, is unusual in that it does not feature any corporate branding (at least at this time).
But it is similar to other ventures in involving a range of designers, in this case young or emerging examples. The first class (of two planned per year) includes Alexandra Kennedy and Samantha Giordano of womenswear brand Dolores Haze, Drew Villani of menswear label Dreu, and Olu Alege and Edgar Garrido of creative studio Street Level Culture. The first product line debuted in a week-long pop-up shop in New York and continues at Project Cobalt’s web and mobile shopping site.
This isn’t the first time Pepsi has taken part in a designer collaboration. Previous projects have included aligning with Vogue Italia to highlight a 20-piece “Pulse of New Talent” clothing and accessories assortment from 10 labels in six countries; pairing with six designers for a “Live for Now” capsule collection available at retailers including Bloomingdale’s, Colette, and Liberty of London; and joining the Narciso Rodriguez x Bottletop Collection.
Meanwhile, Ford celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mustang last fall with a selection of 15 Mustang-inspired t-shirts for women and men, with three designs each from five labels. Designers included Anna Sui, CO|TE, Pamela Love, Paula Cademartori, and Rogan. Produced by Loomstate, the entire array was available on gilt.com.
Heineken has supported design ventures along the same lines. In autumn 2014, it announced its fifth annual #Heineken100 promotion, in which it partners with a handful of design studios known for innovation within their respective areas of expertise. The initiative is positioned as supporting out-of-the-wheelhouse, envelope-pushing designs, with each label creating a men’s lifestyle item unlike anything they’ve done previously. Participants in the 2014 incarnation included leather goods house Parabellum, eyewear brand Garrett Leight California, and RTH, which recycles surplus goods to create new lifestyle products.
Other corporate brands that have made forays into designer fashion collections range from Playboy to Chupa Chups to Mountain Dew.
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