Abercrombie Draws Crowd With McLaren Formula 1 Race Car
● The two brands kicked off their accelerating partnership with a party, a race car and hundreds of guests cramming Abercrombie's Fifth Avenue flagship.
Abercrombie & Fitch cleared out a big block of space at its Fifth Avenue flagship in Manhattan to showcase a McLaren Formula 1 race car and the just-released lineup of licensed McLaren graphic T-shirts, hoodies and jackets.
Content creation, social media collaborations and events are also part of the partnership, which has evolved from last year's onset of the relationship between the two brands when drops of Abercrombie's McLaren licensed graphic tees and apparel went viral on TikTok.
Now the collaboration includes six licensed T-shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts, a total of 27 stock keeping units across men's, women's and kids', with more to come through the year. The products, priced $40 to $90, are being sold on abercrombie.com and at Abercrombie stores. The race car is on view at the Abercrombie store, located at 668 Fifth Avenue, through Sunday.
Abercrombie hailed the partnership with McLaren, the British luxury auto manufacturer, with a party Tuesday evening at the store, with a largely Gen Z and Millennial guest list. Fifth Avenue lamp posts were donned with papaya-colored flags featuring the race car's silhouette. Both Abercrombie and McLaren are looking to appeal to new audiences with this partnership.
"Over the last year, our relationship with McLaren has grown from TikTok virality to a very real friendship, weaving the relaxed and effortlessly elevated world of Abercrombie with the invigorating and fast-paced world of McLaren Racing," Carey Collins Krug, chief marketing officer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., said in a statement.
Louise McEwen, McLaren Racing's executive director of brand and marketing, said, “Our fans are incredibly important to us and we are always looking for new ways to make them feel part of the team, and this collaboration does just that."
In addition to the partnership's launch festivities, Abercrombie will unveil a digital sweepstakes on TikTok, for a chance to win a trip to Miami with a guest, enjoy a Formula 1 race weekend, receive a McLaren replica helmet signed by McLaren race car driver Lando Norris, as well as $500 worth of Abercrombie product from the Abercrombie x McLaren collection.
The McLaren racing team entered its first Formula 1 race in 1966 and has since won 20 Formula 1 world championships, 183 Formula 1 grands prix, the Indianapolis 500 three times and the Le Mans 24
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