From Rihanna to Daft Punk: How musicians are keeping fashion collaborations interesting
When it comes to collaborations, it seems like we’ve seen it all. The over-saturation of these fast fashion moments hardly allows us enough time to digest one limited-edition collection before our attention is pushed towards another. We’d say we were over the thrill, but that would probably be a lie. Especially with the refreshingly new kind of collaboration starting to emerge: that of the designer/musician collab. Though the musician half of the partnership rarely has experience in the fashion industry, there is something incredibly exciting about these strategic alliances. When the worlds of fashion and music collide, as we’ve seen happen with Beyonce’s latest collection for H&M, the media buzz is unbeatable. Designers and musicians tend to identify each other’s creative values, so why not work together?
Fashion favourite Hedi Slimane of Saint Laurent Paris has traded in models for musicians with the Saint Laurent Music Project, a portrait series inspired by the relationship between music and classic YSL. French duo Daft Punk, who mixed Slimane’s spring womenswear runway soundtrack, is the latest addition to the series. The designer also shot the dapper set’s June 2013 cover for Dazed & Confused. Slimane reaffirmed his ability to mold contemporary music through his recent collaboration with Canadian mixstress of the moment, Claire Boucher aka. Grimes. The two recently produced a collection of illustrated men’s T-shirts, influence by vintage YSL love posters. Grimes, who doubles as a talented illustrator, inked the five T-shirt designs herself (they’re currently available on ssense.com).
In more recent collaboration news, megastar Rihanna has teamed up with Brit label River Island for a second time to produce her sophomore collection for the brand. “I just wanted stuff that I wanted to wear” the starlet replied when asked what got her interested in fashion design. “Seeing things on the rack that were great, but that could have been a little more me”. And a little more Rihanna is what everyone wants to be too. The summery collection is made up of Rihanna-esque hoodies, crop tops, spaghetti-strap dresses, and swimwear. The sure-to-be-a-hit collection hits stores and online May 25th.
