I’m all for an interesting collaboration — I thought Fendi and Versace designing for each other was unusual and fun — but these cross-branding exercises are starting to dominate in ways that trample the original brand. We saw Fila artlessly stamped all over Roksanda’s clothes, and adidas is all over Gucci’s stuff; now Dior and Maria Grazia Chiurri are working with tech companies:
The designer collaborated with D-Air Lab, a start-up that produces items like the Antarctica Suit, which allows scientists to work in temperatures as low as minus-128 degrees Fahrenheit. A version of the suit, complete with electronic control unit, found its way into the show, as did variations on the start-up’s airbag vests.
WWD and I are asking the same question: Why, exactly? And at what point does Dior, or any one of these brands, lose itself in the name of the next partnership? Also, FYI, somewhere around slide 55 — it might BE slide 55 — there is a dress that might be the most dire example of needing a hoik that I have ever seen on a runway.
