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Last October, Tokyo–based streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (Bape) teamed up with Michael Jackson’s estate to release a limited-edition capsule collection featuring a varsity jacket inspired by the iconic ‘Thriller’ music video. Two weeks later, Labrum London unveiled a collaboration with Tupac Shakur’s estate, releasing a series of T-shirts and sweatshirts illustrated with the late artist on the back, as well as waistcoats and jeans. More recently, Nigerian streetwear brand Ashluxe partnered with the estate of Fela Kuti, a legendary Afrobeat musician, to release a full collection inspired by the artist.
Brands like Diesel, Adidas and Burberry are attempting to harness the power of music platforms such as NTS and Colors in a bid to build cultural relevance, marking a growing trend for fashion brands.
A growing number of fashion and streetwear brands are forming partnerships with late musicians’ estates in a bid to build cultural capital and hype. There are benefits to tap into on both sides, but there must be a natural synergy between a brand’s target audience and the music, experts warn — otherwise, it won’t feel authentic and could fall flat.
The goal is to explore shared values between the artist and the brand, says Yinka Ash, founder of Ashluxe. “I have always been heavily influenced by my culture, my people and our history,” he says. “This is a continuation in that vein. The central theme of my creative expression is calling attention to black excellence and I think very few people embody excellence like Fela.”
Collaborating with estates, rather than living artists, is arguably less risky and can be more rewarding, experts say. “Those legacies are static. You judge those artists on the values of the time. If there are any controversies you know about them, as they’re likely all documented. So the chances of having a scandal (like Adidas and Kanye) are super low,” says Paul Simmons, strategy director and cultural insight consultant at brand communications agency MA World Group, which has worked with the likes of Moncler, Hermès and Prada.
“As consumers, we anchor ourselves in the past and nostalgia becomes more interesting. Fashion brands looking to these musicians’ brands of the past creates a safety net,” he adds.
Mutual benefits
To cut through in an increasingly competitive market, many brands are looking beyond selling fashion to create a world in which they can immerse customers — with many expanding into hospitality and fine dining.
In the music industry, similar collaborations have emerged: Diesel teamed up with NTS Radio last year to host a series of international raves; YouTube music platform Colors Studios has partnered with brands like Burberry and Adidas; more recently, Balenciaga partnered with digital identity company Eon to allow customers who purchase a Balenciaga hoodie access to an exclusive song.
Late musicians’ estates come with worlds (and fans) of their own. “Not only is there a wealth of brand equity to lean on, but you can dig up things that people have never seen before [such as exclusive artwork] and use it to shape a product or collection. It makes these partnerships more interesting and presents a different kind of opportunity than working with a current artist,” says Simmons.
For the estates, there is the draw of keeping an artist’s legacy alive. Thanks to platforms like TikTok, a new generation is discovering these artists — whether it’s a viral dance trend set to ‘Smooth Criminal’ or a slowed-down version of Tupac’s ‘California’. “A lot of these artists had passed before the height of social media,” says Raya Khaled, stylist and consultant who has worked with artists such as Asake and Cardi B. “These collaborations are a way to bring those artists to life in a way that connects with today’s generation. It allows brands to tell a narrative that goes beyond fashion and adds depth to their identity.”
The Shakur estate first approached Labrum London founder Foday Dumbuya in 2019 to create a collection that celebrated Tupac’s 50th birthday. After pandemic delays, development began in earnest in 2022.
Labrum London, known for its profound storytelling, particularly around West African history, saw the collaboration as an opportunity to bring to life Tupac’s legacy, inspired by his book A Rose That Grew From Concrete. “It’s a perfect time to bring it to life because what he spoke about in the book ties in with our ‘designed by an immigrant’ narrative: this idea that you came from nothing and you became something,” Dumbuya says, noting that a lot of Labrum customers are also fans of Tupac. “From a storytelling perspective and from a brand perspective it was great.”
Ashluxe echoes this sentiment. It’s not the Kuti estate’s first rodeo with a fashion brand — back in 2019, it partnered with US-based streetwear brand Carhartt Wip. However, this collaboration allowed Ash to tell a story that is familiar to both audiences. “Fela’s story has been retold many times but never from a ‘shared-lived-experience’ point of view,” he explains. “This is the first time a wholly African-owned brand has been given access to the archive of Fela’s body of work. It’s an immense honour and we are so proud to be part of history.”
For younger brands like Ashluxe and Labrum, tapping into the legacy of a music icon gives them authority. “It’s a way of bringing a sense of legacy to a fashion brand,” says Khaled. “It’s a marketing boost for these brands but it has to be authentic and organic. If there’s no natural overlap with a brand’s target audience and the music, then the partnership wouldn’t make sense.”
Bape, known for its varsity jacket and logo-heavy prints, saw an opportunity to remake the King of Pop’s most iconic varsity jacket, worn in the ‘Thriller’ music video. Following the drop, American rapper Offset shared a photo with the original varsity jacket on X (formerly Twitter), which was viewed over 14 million times.
The Bape x Michael Jackson collection allowed the Japanese streetwear brand to cater to an older demographic within its broad consumer base, which is between 14 and 40 years old, the company says. “The people who bought this collection are musicians, people who are fans of music. It’s not Gen Zs but mostly millennials,” says Adrien Kunz-Aubert, Bape general manager Europe. “It’s for those people who love the songs ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ and [film] Moonwalker, and also love music and art. That was our intended audience.”
Challenges for young brands
Such collaborations can be costly for small brands, says Labrum’s Dumbuya, particularly when an estate is not funding the collection. For the Tupac collaboration, Labrum handled the design, production, manufacturing and marketing; more support is needed to help brands amplify these partnerships and boost sales, he says. “Smaller brands need the estates to take more of the marketing so that the story comes to life and people are able to reach the product. It was a great opportunity but we had to do it ourselves.”
As agreed with the Shakur estate, the collection was only available in the UK, which had its limitations, Dumbuya explains, as a lot of consumers in the US resonate with Tupac’s history. “We don’t have the same reach that the estate would have, especially in the States.”
Exclusivity, though, is a smart play with these kinds of collabs, says Khaled. “Scarcity creates demand.” These collaborations should run in limited quantities, so consumers treat the items like collectibles and likely lead to sell-out collections. In Japan, Bape’s largest market, less than 20 varsity jackets were available; in London there were only four. They cost £1,479 — compared to £379 for a standard Bape nylon varsity jacket — and sold out worldwide. “All of our products are limited-edition. People that know the brand know that, and they buy with the intent to collect,” Kunz-Aubert adds.
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Whether a heavyweight luxury brand or an emerging young designer, there are still a number of legal setbacks that can surface, particularly when it comes to intellectual property. “For emerging brands you want to do everything to reduce any reputational damage,” says intellectual property lawyer Uche Eseonu. “They need to have a really clear catalogue of the IP that they own beforehand and make sure that is clearly ring-fenced before going into the partnerships… where things tend to go wrong is when people haven’t clarified what they own beforehand and what’s joint, or the terms of use.”
Other key legal checkpoints include duration of exclusivity, field of use (what types of products will be created) as well as territories (outlining where the collection can be sold) — all of which must be laid out from the outset to avoid legal mishaps later down the line.
As this trend continues, brands must ensure they not only protect their intellectual property, but that the collaboration fully aligns with the brand world they are looking to create. “Fashion and music are all part of this big cultural fusion and it’s evolving,” says Khaled. “They can’t live without each other and I think more brands are starting to realise that.”
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