High Five: Raising a Glass to Fashion Collabs
I’ve always been drawn to fashion and alcohol brand collaborations. There’s something really exciting about how these two worlds merge – blending creativity, culture and luxury, while also pushing boundaries along the way. These days, what you drink is just as much of a fashion statement as what you wear. The choice of a pint glass in your hand in a Hackney pub garden says just as much about you as your Nikes, and the Picante has become as much of an accessory as a designer handbag.
Brands have caught on to this shift, and in recent years we've seen a surge of collaborations between drinks brands and fashion designers – ranging from high-end spirits and champagnes to more affordable beers and RTDs.
With London Fashion Week starting, and the iconic blue of 1664 Blanc surrounding it, it’s the perfect time to dive into these collaborations and share my top five picks (in no particular order)…
Jean Paul Gaultier x Piper Heidsieck Corset Champagne Bottle Holder
Agency & Designer: Jean Paul Gaultier
Two of the defining luxury brands of the era, Jean Paul Gaultier collaborated with champagne brand Piper Heidsieck to create a corset-inspired bottle cover and matching ice bucket. Still a collectors’ piece today, it takes advantage of the risqué relationship between champagne and lingerie.
Gaultier and Piper Heidsieck joined forces again in 2011 to create a can-can inspired fishnet bottle cover and accessories, stating that the combination of fishnets and latex “is the seductive touch of the Parisian woman”, giving them stand out amongst the sea of more traditional champagne brands.
Palace x Stella Artois
Agency: MPC Creative
Designer: Palace
The now iconic logo has been used across hats, jackets, jumpers, bags, t-shirts and more, with every drop selling out fast. The brands have successfully tapped into streetwear trends and pub culture, to create the ultimate uniform, completely changing Stella’s reputation amongst beer drinkers.
Absolut x Multiple Designers
Agency: BBH
Designers: Versace x Tom Ford x Stella McCartney x Nik Bentel
Absolut really leads the way when it comes to designer collaborations, with fashion being a key feature of their brand strategy for over 40 years. Mostly seen as bottle designs or covers, my personal favourites are the Gareth Pugh x Absolut bottle jacket, and the Loren Cronk denim clad edition. But they also famously collaborated with Tom Ford in 1999 with a series of bright, disco-inspired ads and with Versace featuring the face of the decade, Kate Moss, in 1997.
More recently, Absolut collaborated with Nik Bentel, quirky accessory designer, on the Absolut Espresso Martini Handbag – a shoulder bag in the shape of the iconic cocktail, including an adorable mini Absolut bottle charm. Check it out here.
White Claw x Tombogo
Agency: VCCP US x High Snobiety
Designer: TOMBOGO
Hard seltzer brand White Claw teamed up with TOMBOGO, an up-and-coming design label on a collaboration combining fashion and refreshment. The incredibly clever collection consists of stylish items of clothing with the added practicality of pockets to store your White Claws – combining fashion and function in a highly wearable and innovative way. No more losing your drinks at a party!
A personal highlight of the collab is the ring pull inspired jewellery range, and can holder / bag, showing you can create statement pieces out of one of the product’s most unassuming features.
JW Anderson x Guinness
Agency: JW Anderson
Designer: Jonathon Anderson
As a recent Guinness convert, it would be wrong to not include the JW Anderson x Guinness collaboration. The two Irish icons recently collided on a collection of high-end t-shirts and jumpers, featuring Guinness’ iconic logos and image, which debuted at Milan fashion week in November 2024.
Anderson is a self-proclaimed fan of Guinness and its advertising, perfectly timing the collaboration with the surge in the stout’s popularity amongst the younger generations. Although a jumper will cost you considerably more than a pint, even with London’s current prices…
Other brands have followed suit, with Guinness t-shirts and caps now being found at several retailers, showing the brand’s surprise impact on the fashion world.
