Multiple co-branding and collaborations are offering more benefits to DTC brands. This has seen companies producing better products and meeting the needs of their customers better. However, designers need to be careful when making deals or entering into partnerships with established companies. Before entering into any partnership, designers need to determine how much they are bringing to the partnership and what the brand is offering. The reputation of a company in the market is determined by consumer perception of it. The better the reputation of a company, the better it will perform in the market. If a brand is labelled as unreliable or untrustworthy, it is unlikely it will perform well in the market. Such a reputation negatively affects how partners choose to engage with the company for a co-branding venture. The opposite for this is true as good reputation results in a favorable company performance.
Looking at Virgil Abloh’s model of operation, not everyone can work with it comfortably. His model works in a way where consistently Virgil has not watered down his core values and aesthetics. He has done it so many times that it looks more legit every time he introduces a new product. However, other people would choose a different model from what Virgil does. If you were to do a collaboration with Coca-Cola or AVR and it did not come out successfully, you will likely think they sold you out. However, Virgil has done it to a point where it is no longer a sellout. In fact, this has turned out to be his nature or being when dealing with others.
As a designer, you need to consider whether you want to align yourself with any particular brand. You need to think beyond the collaboration and what it will do to your followers. Think of whether your followers will vibe with the collaboration or they will think that you sold out. For instance, if you decide to collaborate with Fila, will your followers think you sold out or they will now like Fila even more. When Yeezy collaborated with Adidas, it had a phenomenal impact on its followers that influenced them to wear more of Adidas.
A real designer should have a significant effect on a brand they choose to collaborate with. Think of whether you are going to put a halo effect on the company or you're going to leave your followers looking for solutions elsewhere. Although it is difficult for an artist or a designer to build confidence in themselves, it can go a long way in imparting a company in the right way. A good designer should be able to walk up straight to a company and tell them that is is what they are bringing to the table.
Nobody saw a pair of Jordan 1 the same way until Virgil cut up the tongue, slicing up the upper part. He brought a new idea that no one has seen before, impacting everyone across the board. Although some people may argue that he only rethought of a shoe that already existed, no one saw that before him. As much as it is easy to hate it after it has been done, it is very difficult to spot it before it is done.
If you are a designer, you need to look at life from your own lens. Think of how you can make something better, and then present your idea to a brand of your choice. Give the company or the corporation a reason to hire you. They should have an interest in what you bring and the uniqueness of your brand.
If you are the CEO of a big company, with all the investors and shareholders, you will be more concerned about their trust in your capabilities. Going to the shareholders and announcing that Kanye West is the sole reason the brand grew 5X over the last five years could trigger negative reactions and perceptions to the company. You need to think of what would happen if Kanye walks away when partnership does not work or the sales start to decline for some reason. So, the focus on the CEO and the management is to tell the shareholders that everything is going great without having to give any recognition to a particular designer.
While the consumer will focus on how good certain shoes are selling, the CEO will look at it from the standpoint of how great the company is doing. They will attribute the growth of the company toa certain product without necessarily praising a particular designer. There is no way the CEO will put all his eggs in one basket. Instead, he will look at the whole portfolio and what it means to the company. The moment you attribute the success to a particular designer, it could signal your downfall if the sales decline or the partnership fails to work out.
The nature of work or the contributions of the designers to a particular field makes them disrupters. Essentially, the work of the designer is to make you see things in the way you have never seen or thought of before. They will always ask why things have to always look in a particular manner and try to put something new out there. They have the ability to connect in ways that have never been done before and speak to others of many different levels.
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