Fashion collaborations have exploded in popularity over the last 10 years. From Supreme x Louis Vuitton to Gucci x Adidas, high fashion houses are teaming up with streetwear giants and other fashion houses to bring their designer fashion to new audiences and create bold collections that are outside of their typical style.
But which is the most successful fashion collaboration of the last 10 years? Hey Discount looked at social media data, Google searches and the number of articles written about them to find out which are the most popular and which failed to grab the attention of fashionistas.
The most successful fashion collaborations
1. Nike x Off-White - Collab Score: 9.96
Taking the top spot as the most successful fashion collab of the last 10 years is Nike x Off-White. The collaboration takes the top spot for a whopping four of the five factors we looked at and ranks second for TikTok views, giving it a collab score of 9.96.
2. Supreme x The North Face - Collab Score: 8.76
Supreme x The North Face is next on the list, ranking in the top three for three factors. The two brands have a long history of collaborating, joining forces as far back as 2007, and have released over 20 collections. Together they have a collab score of 8.76.
Where to find this collaboration: Farfetch
3. Gucci x Adidas - Collab Score: 8.71
In third place is Gucci x Adidas, with the luxury fashion house and the sportswear company recently dropping their highly-anticipated collaboration for AW 2022. The collaboration scores 8.71 in our index thanks to its ranking in the top five for three factors including reaching first place for TikTok views.
The least successful fashion collaborations
1. Moncler x Dingyun Zhang - Collab Score: 1.11
In the top spot is Moncler x Dingyun Zhang, the collaboration between the Italian fashion giant and the Yeezy collaborator, featuring a range of futuristic outerwear. The collab is the least popular on Pinterest and has a very low number of articles.
2. Torrid x Betsey Johnson - Collab Score: 1.33
Taking the second spot for least successful fashion collaborations is Torrid x Betsey Johnson. The fashion designer known for her whimsical and over-the-top designs partnered with the plus-size brand Torrid in 2020. They produced a collection inspired by her late 1980s runway shows and is the least publicised in the index.
3. M.I.A. x Versace - Collab Score: 1.95
Up next is the collaboration between musician M.I.A and the Italian luxury fashion house Versace in 2013. They collaborated on a capsule which took inspiration from counterfeit Versace pieces. The collab has the lowest number of Instagram posts and is in the top three least searched, giving it a collab score of 1.95.
The most-searched-for fashion collaborations
1. Nike x Off-White - Google searches: 2.62 million
First collaborating in 2017, Off-White and Nike shook up the sneaker world when they dropped “The Ten”, Virgil Abloh’s take on some of the brand’s most iconic footwear. Five years later the Nike x Off-White Air Jordan 1 OG Retro High is considered the holy grail amongst sneakerheads with pairs going for more than £4,000 on the secondhand market.
2. Yeezy x Gap - Google searches: 2.43 million
Taking second place is rapper and fashion designer Kanye West’s collab with one of the world’s largest outfitters. Launched in 2021, the collection featured comfortable and boxy basics like hoodies.
3. Crocs x Balenciaga - Google searches: 2.39 million
Demna Gvasalia sent shockwaves through the fashion world when he sent Crocs down his Balenciaga catwalk during Paris fashion week in 2018. The 10 cm platforms polarised audiences and their success sparked further collabs, the most recent being the stiletto croc debuted in 2021.
The most publicised fashion collaborations
1. Nike x Off-White - 3.65 million articles
Taking the top spot as the world’s most publicised fashion collaboration is Nike x Off-White, clocking in at a whopping 3.65 million articles on the partnership. Nike x Off-White sneakers are some of the most coveted in the streetwear world, all featuring the trademark red zip tag and ironic text in quotation marks.
2. Supreme x The North Face - 373,000 articles
Supreme and The North Face take second place with 373,000 articles on their frequent and inventive collabs. Outerwear pieces from their many collaborations are some of Supreme’s most sought-after items.
3. Supreme x Burberry - 192,000 articles
Up next is another Supreme collab, this time with the British luxury fashion house Burberry. Featuring an array of Burberry's classic outerwear pieces with Supreme’s contemporary spin, including a hot pink trench coat, the collab reignited interest in the streetwear brand.
The most popular fashion collaborations on Instagram
1. Nike x Off-White - 558,484 posts
By far the most popular fashion collab on Instagram, Nike x Off-White has over half a million posts dedicated to it. Many of the designs featured in the collections were literally deconstructed with a knife and rebuilt by Off-White’s head designer Virgil Abloh, who added his own trademark touches.
2. Louis Vuitton x Supreme - 126,983 posts
Taking second place is the Louis Vuitton x Supreme collab. Regarded as the collaboration which kickstarted the trend of luxury fashion houses working with streetwear brands, the two brands have over 126,000 posts dedicated to their pieces.
3. Supreme x The North Face - 55,798 posts
In third place is Supreme x The North Face with just under 55,000 Instagram posts. Thanks to their many collaborations, Supreme helped reposition The North Face as a streetwear brand and earned both brands loyal fans.
The most popular fashion collaborations on TikTok
1. Gucci x Adidas - 164.6 million
One of the most highly anticipated collaborations of 2022 takes the top spot for TikTok views. The Italian luxury fashion house and the German sportswear giant teamed up to create vintage-inspired sportswear, packed full of colour, logos and the hallmarks of both iconic brands.
2. Nike x Off-White - 72.1 million
Next up is the Nike x Off-White collaboration with 72.1 million views on the platform. Widely hailed as one of the best collaborations of the decade in 2017, the shoes featured in the original collection sold out immediately online and still fetch high prices on the resale market today.
3. Kenzo x Nigo - 64.8 million
Taking third is the collaboration between the French luxury fashion house Kenzo and the founder of A Bathing Ape and Billionaire Boys Club Nigo. Their collection is centred on the boke, a Japanese flower.
The most popular fashion collaborations on Pinterest
1. Nike x Off-White - 12,400 Pages
The Nike x Off-White collaboration is the most popular fashion collab on Pinterest, featuring on 12,400 of the site’s pages. This collaboration is one of the most famous streetwear team-ups, renowned for breathing new life into classic Nike silhouettes like the Jordan 1.
2. Louis Vuitton x Supreme - 11,100 pages
Taking second place is the Louis Vuitton x Supreme collaboration, with 11,100 pages dedicated to the collection. The collaboration sent the fashion world into a tailspin when it was announced in 2017 and included duffle bags and shoulder bags that incorporated Supreme’s bold red and white logo.
3. Supreme x The North Face - 7,710 pages
Up next is yet another Supreme collaboration, this time with The North Face. It takes third place with 7,710 pages dedicated to it on Pinterest. The two brands have collaborated frequently over the years, with Supreme adding streetwear touches to The North Face’s classic functional clothing.
Methodology
We used list articles to build an initial list of fashion collaborations over the last 10 years before analysing each one on the following factors. We then gave each fashion collaboration a normalised score out of ten on each of the factors, before taking an average across each of these scores to reach our final overall score out of ten.
The most-searched-for fashion collaborations: The total number of Google searches for each fashion collaboration from June 2021 to May 2022 according to Google Ads.
The most publicised fashion collaborations: The number of articles on each collaboration according to Google’s news tab.
The most popular fashion collaborations on Instagram: The number of Instagram posts using the hashtag [brandxbrand] or [brandbrand].
The most popular fashion collaborations on Tiktok: The number of Tiktok views for the hashtags [brandxbrand] or [brandbrand].
The most popular fashion collaborations on Pinterest: The number of mentions of each collaboration using [brandxbrand] on Pinterest.
All data correct as of 05/07/2022
