Best Collaborations of 2017

Legend has it that an anonymous scholar once said, “don’t mess with success.” While that advice can be applied to different avenues of life, it also holds a surprising amount of weight in fashion, particularly ongoing, multi-season collaborations like Adidas’ work with Alexander Wang. What started in 2016 with a set of monochromatic basics sold through pop-up trucks around New York City has since grown into several drops that have included neon rave-like biking gear, tearaway track pants, velour soccer-inspired tops, and a lineup of heavily paneled sneakers. Tied together across seasons by the inverted Adidas Trefoil, reversed three stripes, and an obsessive use of satin, the collections only emphasize Wang’s ability to turn athletic pieces into everyday staples—even as athleisure remains a dirty word for many fashion followers. —Skylar Bergl

What do Blue Ivy, Penelope Disick, and Dover Street Market’s Ginza outpost all have in common? They all have a lot of custom clothing you can’t afford, and they all turned five this year. To celebrate half a decade of existence in Tokyo’s upscale shopping district, DSM Ginza collaborated on exclusive items made with a handful of their favorite brands, including Gosha Rubchinskiy, Supreme, and Bape. But the retailer’s 5th anniversary capsule collection with cult Japanese label Undercover took the prize for Most Must-Cop. Adhering to their punky roots, the Undercover x DSM wares featured images of a mohawked woman in pastel hues, the Grim Reaper popping up to say hello from behind a hand-drawn DSM logo, and a rose screen-printed above the words “chaos and balance.” But most covetable was a blue leather jacket, worked to a perfect patina, with “We Are Beautiful Zombies” scribbled across the back. It was so good that even toddlers with overstuffed wardrobes might do a double take. —Steve Dool

Let’s be honest: Any Best Collaborations of 2017 list would be incomplete without Nike and Off-White’s behemoth partnership. Very few releases dominated the conversation both in sneakers and fashion quite like the  “Ten Icons Reconstructed.”

Rumors of a collaboration between Nike and Off-White first surfaced late last year. By spring of this year, photos of Nike x Off-White Air Jordan 1s, Air Max 90s, and more had leaked. In August, Nike announced Abloh had reinterpreted 10 classic silhouettes. And then… you, your homie, and everyone else you know probably called your plug, frantically trying to secure a pair.

The Nike x Off-White sneakers were easily some of the most hyped releases of the year. Everyone from the downtown cool kids to Naomi Campbell and Jay Z have rocked them. Even the GOAT, Michael Jordan, asked for a custom pair, signed by Abloh. But, unlike some of the drops we saw the last 365 days, these were so good that it warranted the hype. —Karizza Sanchez

In 2000, Louis Vuitton sent Supreme a cease and desist letter after the streetwear brand released a skate deck incorporating its logo into LV’s iconic monogram. So, it was all the more impressive that, in early January, it was announced the Parisian fashion house, under the leadership of lead menswear designer Kim Jones, who’s long been a fan of streetwear, was working with Supreme on an official collaboration.

The collection—a monogrammed/logo-filled line of box logo T-shirts and hoodies, skate decks, denim truckers, leather trunks, leather accessories, and more—garnered an insane amount of attention both from Supreme fanatics and people who just found out about streetwear this year. Pieces were being resold for tens of thousands of dollars on Grailed and eBay. Some rich kid in Dubai even covered the Ferrari he can’t drive with the same red Supreme x LV monogram. 2 Chainz, Odell Beckham Jr. and more unexpected celeb fans, like Beyonce and Madonna, flooded our timelines with Supreme x LV ’fit pics.

Hype aside though, Supreme x LV was not only the biggest fashion collaboration of the year, but was also a sign of the times. High-fashion has increasingly been accepting and to an extent mimicking streetwear, but Supreme x LV further blurred the lines between the two worlds. —Nick Grant

In July, Dover Street Market released Junya Watanabe’s latest collaboration with The North Face. Watanabe presented a range of outerwear—a varsity jacket, a duffle coat, and an oxford jacket—that pulled from The North Face’s vintage archive and utilized repurposed duffle bag fabric. The collection was small, concise, but further showed that the Japanese designer doesn’t just make clothing, he reinvigorates it. But then again, it should be no surprise that Watanabe, Rei Kawakubo’s protege and former pattern cutter at Comme des Garçons, continues to prove he’s one of the most innovative designers of our time. —Nick Grant

Scrawling on things is big business, particularly if your hand-drawn typeface catches the eye of Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s creative director. On the heels of a wide-ranging, graffiti-style collaboration with Trevor Andrew, aka GucciGhost, Michele brought Spanish artist Coco Capitán into the fold this year, tapping her to tag tees, tank tops, and other items with gloomy, haphazardly-rendered thoughts like, “What are we going to do with all this future?” and “I want to go back to believing a story.” At the risk of over-evaluating the meaning behind a few scattered, brief sentences, the Capitán pieces seemed particularly timely when they were presented on the runway in Milan, capturing the general angst of the present moment; who hasn’t had a thought similar to “common sense is not so common” in the past year? Her work may have also garnered attention for baring more than a passing resemblance to the handwriting style of the artist Jim Joe, famous for, among other things, creating the cover art for Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. Either way, making an impact with pithy sayings and crooked letters amidst the noise of the Gucci circus is no small feat. —Steve Dool

Gosha’s running list of collaborations with Kappa, Sergio Tacchini, and FILA have been a key factor in the recent resurrection of ‘90s-inspired retro sportswear. But when people talk about a perfect match between collaborators, look no further than his work with Adidas Soccer. The partnership debuted at his Kaliningrad fashion show in January and made waves as a long introduction to next year’s World Cup, which will host matches in the same city. Inspired by the sport, the collection of soccer gear balances being ready for the street as well as the pitch—or at least the sidelines. Sure, thick cotton hoodies wouldn’t pass for proper in-game attire, but it looks at home paired with a knee-length puffy wind coat a coach would wear while gesticulating wildly in inclement weather. Using sports to inform fashion trends can be heady territory, but with Gosha’s vision and expertise, it’s clear that the inspiration didn’t wind up diluted. In fact, it stayed up to snuff even for a discerning soccer audience that could point out inauthenticity from a mile away. —Skylar Bergl

When it comes to big time collaborations, few brands today have rivaled what Ronnie Fieg has been able to accomplish with Kith. From global names like Nike and Coca-Cola to more niche labels like Aimé Leon Dore, he’s made what seems impossible come to fruition. But one of his best (and perhaps most unexpected) partnerships this year was the exclusive collection he designed with Moncler. The red, white, and blue range first debuted as a part of the brand’s Kith Sport presentation at New York Fashion Week this past September. While appearances by Scottie Pippen and LeBron James might have stolen the show, the line—which included Moncler’s signature puffy jackets emblazoned with Kith branding, down hoodies, T-shirts, sweats, Moncler hiking boots and sneakers, and three shearling-lined pairs of Asics Gel-Lyte III—were definite standouts. —Mike DeStefano

KAWS is no stranger to the fashion world. Whether it’s his sought after collaborations with Bape and Supreme, his dearly missed OriginalFake label with Medicom Toy, or even his 2017 Air Jordan IV collab, the artist has created some legendary projects. This year, KAWS worked with Japanese retailer Uniqlo on a more budget-friendly collection. To no surprise, KAWS fanatics welcomed the release with open arms. In fact, the collab was such a success that Uniqlo tapped him to create two more collections, which included KAWS’ signature X’d out eyes with characters from the timeless Peanuts comic strip and cartoon.

While the $15 T-shirts and $30 hoodies were hits, the Snoopy plush toys was the definite must-cop. KAWS’ toys and figures have always been highly collectible, and the chance to own one for an affordable $40 almost seemed too good to be true. —Mike DeStefano

Dating back to 2007, Supreme's The North Face collaborations have traditionally been among the most highly coveted items to drop each season. In truth, and depending on who you ask, the Supreme x TNF collabs have had their ups and downs over the years and that was evident this year; the first drop, which featured leather Nuptse jackets and leather Base Duffels, received lukewarm reviews. It didn't help that the Mountain collection from the collab leaked months before the leather collection was released. Many were disappointed that the leather collection became available first.

Eventually, Supreme made the Mountain collection part of its week 15 collection and it featured a Mountain Baltoro jacket, a Mountain Parka, Mountain crewneck sweaters, Mountain T-shirts, Mountain six-panel hats, and a Mountain Nuptse blanket. As expected, the entire collection sold out instantly, but it was the two jackets that served as the highlights of the collection as they landed on the backs of, what seemed like, every Instagram fashion icon. As with all of Supreme's work, especially its collabs, there was an Easter egg in its design that was uncovered by infamous Supreme historian DropsbyJay. The design, which actually originated way back in 2014, was created by then-Supreme creative director Angelo Baque and was inspired by an original Ralph Lauren Polo Sport vest. While the history of the Mountain collection and the Polo Sport inspiration might not signify much to many Supreme collectors today, it means a lot to me. Polo/Polo Sport was the original "streetwear" uniform. So, a Supreme x The North Face collab, sprinkled with a little Polo Sport, is an OG collector's dream and absolute must-have. —Rich Lopez