Collaborations have well and truly taken over the fashion landscape, with high-profile brands tapping emerging designers for what can amass career defining moments. Combining the minds, resources and budgets of two differing brands, not to mention their individual fanbases, has produced some of the most imaginative design work of the year. Add the promise of exclusive drops with limited stock into the mix, and the brand collaboration remains synonymous with hysteria-inducing, must-have pieces.
From Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama to Mugler x H&M, brand link-ups are defining the year in fashion. In case you missed them, we recap on the hottest collabs to hit our screens this past month.
Palace x McDonald's
It’s safe to say that Palace helped solidify the brand collaboration, having joined forces with the likes of Y-3, Adidas and Moschino to produce items that live on as hypebeast holy grails. Always one for a gag, Palace just tapped fast food giant McDonald’s for their latest capsule. McDonalds’ global influence reaches far beyond the realms of food, from film cameos to pop music name checks, so it’s a tactful move for the British skate giants.
Pairing Palace’s ironic tendencies with McDonald’s renowned brand identity, the streetwear collection comes splashed with golden arches, witty one liners and a McPalace drive-thru - and will no doubt be gobbled up at the same speed as Palace’s anticipated drops. In true Palace style, the garms were accessible this week via a QR code atop Maccies nugget boxes, leading to a secret webstore. For those that missed the launch, the 15 piece meal in question - spanning tees, skateboards and a hoodie - will be available today at the US' first ever Maccie D’s restaurant located in Downey, California, in a 1-day Palace takeover. For the lucky locals, grab a McPalace meal while you can.
GmbH x Scholl
Back in 2022, Berlin-based GmbH debuted their SS23 collection Ghazal - an exploration of South Asia culture, paying homage to the heritage of co-founders Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Işık. Amid fluid maxis and peak-a-boo slips, it was a futuristic clog-cum-slider that caught our attention - namely, a collaboration with footwear brand Scholl, which fans can now get their hands on.
As a heritage footwear label, Scholl have long prioritised comfort and health through design. An uncanny pair, perhaps, given GmbH’s roots in Berlin’s rave scene where comfort, and most of your clothes, are left at the door. Yet the pair's Ghazal Pescura - a reinvention of Scholl’s 1970s orthopaedic clog - gives comfort a tech-wear twist, combining a textured footbed and wooden sole with chunky knit uppers. The result is a modern summer slider which promises a foot massage while you head to the pool. We’re sold.
Heaven x Bleach London
Under the guise of creative director and certified cool girl Ava Nirui, Marc Jacobs’ diffusion line Heaven has successfully positioned itself as a Gen Z mainstay, blending ‘90s teen nostalgia with the Tiktok-cores of today. It’s a label with experimentation at its core - a perfect match, then, for a collaboration with hair colourists Bleach London. Teased via a digital campaign this week, their series of hair dyes are seen transforming run-of-the-mill characters into a colour-bombed lineup that could be the cast of a Gregg Araki flick. The collaboration matches the pace of Gen Z’s trend consumption, delivering semi-permanent colours which allow for continual reinvention.
Much like Heaven, Bleach burst onto the scene at a time when 2010’s Indie Sleaze loving youths wanted experimentation without the hair salon cost. With a range of techni-colour DIY dye kits, Bleach rapidly became a go-to for daring British youngsters, an influence that reigns true over today’s generation. With shades ranging from ‘metallic pink’ to ‘luminous green’ you can Heaven-ify your look for the night. All the fun, none of the commitment; this is quite literally a match made in heaven.
Telfar x Melissa
Jelly fashion has been having a moment since Coach, Gucci and Loewe plasticised their footwear for SS23, so it’s no surprise that brand-du-jour Telfar are following suit. Riding high on the success of their recent collab with Jean Paul Gaultier - which brought us rubberized, Bratz-esque platforms - Melissa has returned to jellify Telfar’s sell-out shoppers.
The Telly Jelly collection transforms Telfar shoppers and matching sliders in Melissa’s recycled ‘Melfex’ jelly, updating classic colour ways in a gelatinous finish. It’s not enough to carry a Telfar bag these days - you’ll have to curate the contents of your bag too, for they come completely transparent and demand attention.
Words by Ella Aldersey-Williams