fashio fashion goes pop

LINKED BY A LOVE of performance, music and fashion have always enjoyed a close relationship. Our most iconic music stars – from Elvis to the Spice Girls, Nirvana to Madonna – have always showcased looks as distinct as their hits, while catwalk shows are soundtracked by the world’s best DJS. Now, the boundaries are further blurring. Thanks to the return of brash logo culture, brands with major youth appeal, such as Balenciaga and Supreme, have revived the desire for merch, branding the kind of mundane ephemera (ashtrays, keyrings, mugs) normally associated with post-gig stands. To buy into a logo is to revel in the groupie-like obviousness normally reserved for devotees of boy bands.

Some of the biggest fashion labels are going even more literal, drawing on the talents of our popstars, rockers and rappers for engaging collabs. Why dress an artist when you could work with them? To name just a few we’ve seen recently: Rihanna and Manolo Blahnik, Zayn Malik and Versus, MIA and Astrid Andersen, Tyler the Creator and Converse, Courtney Love and Nasty Gal, Guns N’ Roses and Off-white, Beyoncé’s Ivy Park line for Topshop. That’s a list as impressive as it is diverse.

But what’s the appeal? Done right, the relationship is mutually beneficial. Today, we take our popstars heavily art-directed. Fashion brands tapping into that is a canny move, a blending of aesthetics that also introduces the label to a whole new audience. For the musician, a fashion collab offers another creative pursuit as well as extra kudos. Here are three collabs we want in on right now.