Fashion Collaborations: The History and Current Trajectory
Written By: Jordann Landretti
A fashion collaboration involves two separate creative parties consisting of designers, brands, artists, celebrities and more coming together to create new and exciting clothing, accessories, or fashion lines. Fashion collaborations are not a new idea; they have been relevant since the 1930s. The first recorded fashion collaboration was between Elsa Schiaparelli, an Italian fashion designer, and Salvador Dalí, a Spanish artist who took part in the Surrealist movement.
This collaboration occurred back in 1937 and featured the infamous “Lobster Dress.” The dress itself was a lobster design painted by Dalí, and the construction of the dress was done by Schiaparelli. The “Lobster Dress” was the wedding dress of Wallis Simpson, bride to the Duke of Windsor, which solidified the iconic legacy of the look (The History and Effectiveness of Luxury Brand Collaborations | Croud, 2025).
Collaborations of artists and fashion designers are a key part of dreaming up successful creative ideas that draw in consumers. In the 1950s, collaborations looked like big fashion brands styling celebrities. Particularly memorably, Christian Dior often dressed Hollywood actors in new elegant looks—one example being his design for the popular actress Ava Gardner. In the 1960s and 1970s, an influential collaboration involved Emilio Pucci, a politician and Italian fashion designer, who created a menswear line with Ermenegildo Zegna, a major fashion house (The History and Effectiveness of Luxury Brand Collaborations (Croud, 2025).
In addition, Karl Lagerfeld collaborated with Chanel, then took over as a new creative director, making the brand into a ready-to-wear line and bringing a new life to it. His work included the interlocking Cs logo, gold chains, tweed fabric and quilted leather, which helped bring the dying brand back to life (Borrelli-Persson, 2020). This is a key example of why brands gravitate towards collaborations: the need to bring something new and fresh to customers back to the brand. However, modern collaborations look a little different.In addition, Karl Lagerfeld collaborated with Chanel, then took over as a new creative director, making the brand into a ready-to-wear line and bringing a new life to it. His work included the interlocking Cs logo, gold chains, tweed fabric and quilted leather, which helped bring the dying brand back to life (Borrelli-Persson, 2020). This is a key example of why brands gravitate towards collaborations: the need to bring something new and fresh to customers back to the brand. However, modern collaborations look a little different.
The key change started in the 1990s when Nike collaborated with Comme des Garcons, creating a sneaker and sportswear line. In the 2000s, Marc Jacobs worked with Stephen Sprouse to make Louis Vuitton graffiti-splattered handbags, which set the stage for more collaborations between fashion designers and artists. Now, collaborations look more like limited edition lines, as seen in the Louis Vuitton Takashi Murakami collab. It can also be seen in celebrities working with brands. Some familiar examples include when Chanel worked with Pharell Williams and Kanye West worked with Louis Vuitton to create their own shoe collections (The History and Effectiveness of Luxury Brand Collaborations | Croud, 2025).
Now, brand collaborations are more common and involve less effort, seemingly done for cash grabs rather than their previous purpose of creating something new and inspiring. Brands like Supreme that work with merging graffiti artists such as Damien Hirst showcase obscure brands. Lululemon did a collaboration with Saul Nash (SLNSH), which seemed like it was more for creative purposes instead of money. The silhouettes, fabric construction and overall description of the design process makes this collaboration stand out. In contrast, it’s hard to tell if collaborations between Skims and Dolce & Gabbana or The North Face, Lululemon and Disney, or Nike and Tiffany are for money or a genuine love of design and art. These collaborations, among others, are seen as money grabs and are overall not received well in the creative world.
However, the fact that the collections are limited edition and one-of-a-kind works really well with consumers who are loyal to these brands. A successful modern brand collaboration can look one of two ways: an artist or some sort of edgy new style that brings back old styles and inspires people who see it, or sticking two popular people or brands together that will sell based on brand recognition alone.
The success of the collaboration is measured based on how well the product sells, the novelty of it and how creative the collaboration is. Consumers are getting tired of poor-quality styles from the brands they love, so any new collaborations in the future would benefit from taking inspiration from artists and focusing on high-quality ideas rather than just for quick financial gain.
Edited By: Hana Razvi, Quinn Diedrich, Olivia Ruetten, & Simran Khanuja
